Gearshift Covers



Dragging main in souped up cars used to be the cool way to hang out, but more and more young people have turned away from the racing scene, turning instead to cars that just plain look good with fancy gearshift covers, fancy wheels, and LED or phosphor based accessories that light up at night. Psychedelic colors dance to and fro to the beat of the music on panels that line the sides of cars as they cruise up and down main street. Pulling in to Sonic, Dog 'n Suds, or A&W, roller-skating girls carrying trays of food to the cars watch bug-eyed as new models purchased by mommy and daddy and filled with high school kids pull through, as drivers show off their wheels and turn heads from those who sit in the cars chatting about the English class teacher and eating their food.



Chevys, Fords, Dodges, Pontiacs, and Buicks are replaced with high fuel efficiency Hondas, Toyotas, Mazdas and Hyundais. Some kids opt for the four wheel drive Subarus, while othersdrive Suzukis, Volkswagons, and even Mercedes (if their parents are wealthy enough). Science and economics classes were not neglected by this group of students who learned about fuel efficiency, ecology, and the new green earth as they sat listening to their teachers talk about limited resources. Parents give their children allowances that go much further with fuel efficient cars, when gas costs $3.00 per gallon.

Not only are flashing panels of color in vogue, but the cars are further dressed up with front end leather covers and other things such as steering wheel cover,s pretty gear knobs, and stuff that lines the rear window, invisible from the side windows where reflective coatings bounce the incidental external light away from the car, shielding the insides from probes by police flashlights and stray light from neon lights of nearby stores. Cars that get even higher gas mileage, in the form of Toyota and Honda hybrids make their way through the showcase, too, where their young drivers show off what a few extra tens of thousand of dollars can buy, for one in the mood for an electric vehicle that charges at home off the power grid, but which also uses a gasoline engine for fast acceleration.