Best holiday car gift ideas under $500

Good screwdrivers are one of those things that most of us learn to live without. Instead we deal with whatever crappy, imprecise and unergonomic lump of plastic and steel we find in a drawer. But there is, in fact, a better way. Meet the Vessel Megadora tang-thru screwdriver set. These are beautifully weighted and super strong, plus they feature JIS rather than Phillips tips, and you can hammer on the back of them. The best part is that they're way less expensive than the tool truck brands.

Porsche prices are insane, but there's an easier and cheaper way to park a Porsche at your place (spoiler alert: it involves Legos). This kit is amazing as it lets you choose between building your 911 as either a Turbo model with fat fenders and a big ole spoiler, or as a sleek, narrow-bodied Targa model. Multiple Roadshow staffers have this kit and it's gotten an enthusiastic thumbs-up all around.

If your loved one likes to get off the pavement, they'll need Maxtrax. When stacked, these recovery boards can be used as a bridge over deep trenches and can help you self-recover out of pretty much anything. The Extreme boards feature 88 replaceable mil-spec anodized alloy teeth, so if any get damaged you can just screw in a new one. They are also helpful in snow and ice when all-wheel drive and snow tires don't quite cut it.

If you have a car enthusiast in your life with a low-ground clearance ride or two in the garage, you can be a hero and get them a set of these Race Ramps. Frankly, it's a pain to have to bust out a floor jack and jack stands to lift a car up for things like a simple oil change. These longer, two-piece ramps feature a lower incline that even my Honda S2000 can crawl up. And the two-piece provides easy access to roll under the car from the sides if needed. Yeah, they're pricey, but the auto-obsessed person in your life will thank you.

Ratcheting wrenches are handy to have, like, super handy. These tools allow you to easily tighten or loosen stubborn fasteners in constricted or hard-to-reach places. Thanks to their integrated ratcheting mechanisms, you don't have to constantly -- and annoyingly -- reposition the wrench while working, which saves time and reduces stress. If you want the crème de la crème, grab this complete set from German toolmaker Wiha. It includes 31 wrenches in both metric and imperial sizes, as well as a handy foam tray to keep everything organized. An ultra-premium product, these tools feature a beautiful and long-lasting satin-chrome finish plus 72-tooth ratcheting mechanisms, which click with just 5-degrees of handle movement. At around $487, this kit isn't cheap, but it's totally worth it for a set of wrenches you can pass down to you kids or grandchildren.

The latest installment of Turn 10's beloved car hooligan driving game is here. In addition to having even more amazing-looking cars, it takes place in Mexico. And it basically allows you to get out all your bad driving impulses -- intersection donuts, ill-advised drift practice and hellacious speeding -- without actually going to jail or killing yourself. We're going to be playing all winter long.

A candle that smells like castor oil two-stroke smoke? That's weird, right? Yes, but it's also awesome and a perfect gift for your favorite motorcycle weirdo. While it's not necessarily the kind of scent most of us would want in the bedroom, it's perfect for a garage, especially if your loved one suffers from that post-large-holiday-meal-itis.

BMW's classic airhead engine design is one of motorcycling's most beautiful and iconic. So we'll be damned if we don't want to celebrate by having a half-scale see-through one spinning away on our desks. This is a real conversation starter that looks like it would be epic fun to build.

I'm declaring war on nasty-looking dashcams that hang down like a tacked-on appendage. I've also warmed to the idea that a dashcam needs to cover your six, not just the road ahead. The Vantrue S1 gets me there with an integrated look, rear camera, low-light Sony sensor and supercapacitor, instead of a typical internal battery, for more reliable power when the car is off. It also has an internal GPS sensor to record car location during a captured incident or for route playback as you view a clip. I've always been impressed by Vantrue dashcam performance, but never by its designs. The S1 is its only dashcam (out of a line of far too many models) that I wouldn't cringe at seeing in my own car and would expect excellent performance from.

-- Brian Cooley

Give your kids an early taste of the McLaren experience with this electric 720S ride-on, which packs three different top speed settings and the capability for remote control if you aren't ready to let the little ones have full control. There's plenty of fun features in here, too, like a USB port that lets you play music, LED headlights, butterfly doors and, yes, a functional horn. It'll only handle 65 pounds, though, so don't try and pull any, "Well, I'm young at heart" shenanigans here.

This little Stirling engine has nothing to do with cars, but chances are the gearhead in your life would still get a kick out of it. An external-combustion engine, this intricately detailed dynamo runs on heat, using the expansion and contraction of gasses to turn a small propeller. While completely different from your typical four-stroke, Otto-cycle engine, it is nonetheless very cool with four individual cylinders. It's made of stainless steel and comes with a fetching wooden base. No, this desktop Stirling engine isn't cheap, checking out for $350, but it is an intriguing novelty and something that's sure to start a lot of conversations.

This Milwaukee M18 18-volt Impact Driver is a champ. Instead of busting out the air tools, we use it to zip off and on lug nuts when doing winter tire swaps. And its compact size makes it ideal to take to open track days in case we need to rip off a wheel for whatever reason. Since it's part of Milwaukee's 18-volt power tool ecosystem, there are over 200 tools the lithium-ion battery pack can be used with, ranging from saws to leaf blowers.

Logitech's G Driving Force Racing Wheels are a great way to elevate a love for driving games to a passion for sim racing. The G923 works with either PlayStation consoles or Xbox consoles depending on which version you pick, and either works with a PC gaming setup. The wheel feature dual-motor force feedback and 900-degrees of rotation give players more control and better immersion than thumbsticks can. Everything needed to hit the virtual road is included, like Paddle shifters and a three-pedal box. I've personally used the G920 -- with its optional external Driving Force Shifter -- for years with my Xbox One for a variety of racing titles like the Forza Motorsport, Forza Horizon and Dirt Rally series. With a whole new generation of Xbox Series X games around the corner, we expect the updated G923 is even better.

Why get your off-roading loved one a pair of amber lights? Remember, lighting is to see and be seen. Having a set of amber lights in the rear of your truck, buggy or UTV means that others can see you when the dust gets thick. Safety is definitely not third, y'all. We like these because they only draw 24 watts yet still push out 2,450 lumens. Plus, each measures just 3 by 2 inches, they're submersible and come with a wiring harness. Caveat: Amber lights are illegal to use on the pavement, so only flip that switch on the dirt unless you want a visit with Johnny Law.