Author: Tabitha

A tool chest that also doubles as a rolling stool sounds like a great idea. That’s obviously what the folks at Mychanic thought when they created the Sidekick Stool. The unit comes with a padded seat that can support up to 450 pounds. There are two cabinets for storing your tools and other essentials, while magnetized trays fold out from each side. The Sidekick Stool’s three-inch urethane casters allow you to roll over uneven floors. Order one for $100 from www.mychanic.com.

The Hitch Hotel was designed as a more practical and affordable alternative to pop-up trailers. The 240-pound fiberglass shell, which attaches to your vehicle’s Class III hitch, can transport larger valuables, such as bicycles, in 60 cubic feet of space. However it also expands to create sleeping quarters for two adults (you supply the mattress), supported by four retractable legs. The unit includes a roof vent and two vented windows. The Hitch Hotel will be priced at $3,500 (it’s not yet available), but you can obtain one for $3,000 through the manufacturer’s Kickstarter campaign. See full details at www.hitchhotel.com.

Author/radio host Thomas Torbjornsen’s book, entitled How to Make Your Car Last Forever, is a valuable resource for keeping your vehicle on the road. Torbjornsen has accrued a wealth of information on all facets of vehicle operation and what you need to do to keep it in peak running condition. His simple and straightforward explanations include plenty of step-by-step photos that help reduce the “huh?” factor. From changing burned-out bulbs, to more complex procedures, this $20 book should help those people who want to hang on to and maintain their older wheels. Order at www.quartoknows.com.

Keeping your garage floor clean is particularly important if you have interlocking tiles, an epoxy-type coating or some other stylish high-buck finish. Less water and mud also means a slip-free garage floor and less grime being tracked all over the place. For that, you need a Clean Park Garage Mat. This protective catchall is available in a variety of sizes and in 20- and thicker 50-mil vinyl. The mat comes with raised edges that will keep literally gallons of liquid from spreading all over your floor. Prices start at $35 for the three- by- four-foot size, and top out at…

Well why not, says The Sleuth. Many luxury-vehicle makers have already created fastback versions of their utility vehicles, starting with the BMW X6 many years ago. Apparently it’s a virtual certainty that Porsche will introduce a four-door “coupe” version of the popular Cayenne utility vehicle. The new model, which is expected to launch sometime in 2019 as a 2020 model, will look just like a tall wagon from the front, but behind the rear doors a giant hatch will change the vehicle’s character from staid to sporty. There’s no definitive word as to powertrains, it’s likely that the Cayenne’s current…

BMW’s new K1600GT motorcycle has a feature virtually unknown in the industry: a self-leveling headlight. As the rider tips the bike into a corner, a conventional headlight redirects itself downward on the side the rider is steering into, leaving the turn ahead largely unlit. The ALLight (for Always Level Light) is a simple bulb replacement for H4-, H7- or H11-type bulbs. Mounted to a small electric motor, it stabilizes the headlight on the roll axis, and since it won’t flick up to blind oncoming motorists, it can run super-bright LEDs that are the same brightness for low beam as high…

The 840-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is out of production, but The Sleuth believes its replacement is a more well-rounded athlete. The 2019 Challenger SRT Redeye has a Demon-based 797-horsepower supercharged 6.2-litre V-8. That compares to the 2018 SRT Hellcat Challenger’s 707 horses and 650 pound-feet of torque, which gets a 10-horse bump to 717 for 2019. Why doesn’t the Redeye get all 840 of the Demon’s horses? The Sleuth hears that the Redeye’s hood scoops are too small to cram enough air into the engine. The Redeye also comes with fender flairs to hold wider rubber for the purpose…

Developed in partnership with Jaguar, an electric speed boat using Formula E racing technology has set a new world record of 88.61 mph. Jaguar Vector Racing smashed the previous record of 76.8 mph, more than 10 mph faster on a water course in England. The electric boat was designed and constructed by Jaguar Vector in partnership with Jaguar Racing’s technical partner, Williams Advanced Engineering of Formula One-racing fame. The team will attempt further records over the next 18 months as part of a major initiative “to push the boundaries of performance and to showcase British engineering.” Perhaps astonishingly, this boat…

Most people probably haven’t heard of Polestar, but The Sleuth believes it won’t take long before that changes. The first car from Volvo’s recently announced spinoff division is a two-door coupe called, appropriately enough, Polestar 1. Among its unique features is a carbon-fiber body that Polestar claims is stronger and more than 500 pounds lighter than a similar steel structure. For propulsion, the Polestar1 will use a Volvo-sourced plug-in hybrid powertrain that includes a twin-turbo four-cylinder engine that directs power to the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. There are also twin electric motors, one for each rear wheel.…

The Spy Guy recently scored some seat time in the automaker’s newest gas-electric model, and found it to be leaps and bounds ahead of the previous Honda Insight that bowed out after the 2014 model year. It was thrifty enough, but was ultimately overwhelmed by Toyota’s highly successful Prius. This time around, the Insight is based on the Honda Civic sedan, although a mild front and rear redesign has yielded a more attractive shape. The car’s hybrid powerplant produces a net 151 horsepower, which is enough to create decent acceleration along with an estimated 52 miles per gallon for combined…