For the female auto enthusiast in your life, or to make the woman in your life feel more comfortable when she’s visiting your space, we suggest the Tocca 007 candle. It’s scent includes hint of the leather interior of an Astin Martin, as well as the essence of a dry Martini.

Price: $36

For the junior enthusiast in your family, the movie Cars by Disney/Pixar is just the thing, and you can offer it in either wide- or full-screen for under $20, or Blu-Ray for under $25. It’s a modern classic, waiting to be enjoyed by the whole family.

This Wagan Tech IN-9738 Heated Seat Cushion keeps you cozy and warm as you drive through cold weather to or from work. It’s especially useful in those moments before the heat kicks on in the morning. It’s powered by the cigarette lighter / power port in your car.

Price: $18 - $20

This FM tuner by Kensington works with any iPod that has a dock connector, allowing you to either play your iPod over any FM stereo (including the one in your car) or stream your favorite radio station through your iPod. It comes with instructions, and is great for anyone who owns a car just old enough to not have an mp3 jack built in.

Price: $20

Turtle Wax Ice, unlike most polishes, can be used in full sunlight. It gives great shine with just one application, but works even better when layered. The complete kit includes a Turtle Wax micro-fiber cloth, but you can buy them separately for less than $3 / each, as well.

Price: Ice $12 - $20, Cloth $2.75 - $3.00

Armor All has long been a product of choice for cleaning the upholstery and interior surfaces of cars, and with this gift pack of wipes for different surfaces, you can help your favorite gearhead keep their leather, vinyl, and glass in spotless condition.

After all, what good is a ride in a horseless carriage if it’s covered in dust?

Price: $13 - $25, depending on the retailer.

Here, then, are tips for safe night driving:

1. Prepare your car. Make sure headlights, taillights, and turn signals and windows are all clean, and that your headlights are properly aimed, both to ensure that you can see the road correctly, and to keep from blinding other drivers.
2. Don’t drink or smoke while driving. Alcohol is a depressant and can increase fatigue, as well as impair your response time, while nicotine and carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke are a detriment to night vision.
3. Err on the side of light. While they won’t help you see any better during the early twilight hours, having your headlights will make it easier for other drivers to see you.
4. Slow down. Drive more slowly when you’re driving in the dark, and leave more room between yourself and other drivers. Distance is more difficult to judge without adequate illumination.
5. Be kind. If you’re following another vehicle, switch to your low beams, and do the same when facing oncoming traffic. If someone in an opposing lane keeps their high beams on, you can avoid glare by watching the right edge of the road.

While these tips are meant for night driving in normal conditions, they’re doubly appropriate in inclement weather. Remember also, that if road conditions are bad enough that you don’t feel confident in your vehicle, there is no shame in staying home, or stopping in a motel for the night.

The holiday season is upon us, and even auto aficionados can get caught up in the hype. We’re going to feed your need for car-related gifts beginning this Friday, with day one of our gift guide.

With longer nights and darker days, it’s important to remember that the chance of being in a car accident increases by 50% as soon as the sun goes down. Tomorrow, we’ll be featuring tips for safer night driving.

We’ll also be looking at the spate of Christmas-oriented car commercials, because some of them are cheesy but others are just plain fun.

Stay tuned.

Instead we offer this link to eHow on How to cook a turkey on your engine.

Please note, we offer it as entertainment, and strongly recommend that you choose a more conventional method of cooking the family bird, one that involves an oven. Or a grill. And lots of hungry relatives giving advice.

You would if you’d ever heard of the Citroen Halftrack. It was a car developed by (you guessed it) Andre Citroen who used a Kegresse track system for the rear propulsion. Kegresse developed his system while working in Russia, using personal vehicles from Tsar Nicholas II’s personal motorcade.

Citroen adapted the technology to his cars, which, as halftracks, had normal front wheels. Among his other achievements were a special herringbone-style gear that helped reduce axial thrust. He was a Freemason and some thing the Citroen logo is an adaptation of the Freemasons’ symbol for architecture. Citroen’s other big splash was when he used the Eiffel tower as the world’s largest billboard.

Later, Citroen and Georges-Marie Haardt formed a partnership of exploration, using Citroen halftracks sporting Kegresse’s drive system to lead the first motorcar expedition across the Sahara, from Toggourt, Algeria, to Timbuktu, Mali, in 1922, and then to traverse Africa from north to south in an expedition known as La Croisere Noire, in 1924-25.

The most famous Citroen-Haardt expedition included military personnel who were studying the technology (the US would later use it in both World War I and World War II). This expedition, known as La Croisiere Jaune began on April 4th 1931, in Beirut, Lebanon, and followed Marco Polo’s Silk Road to Beijing, China, during which it was besieged by bandits, delayed by Russian bureaucracy, and documented by National Geographic Magazine.

From Tsarist Russia to Beijing, and from the heart of Paris to the trenches, halftracks connect more than you think.