Automotive Reviews

Blanket does not get warm enough to make it better than any good quality regular blanket. Also, It gave off an unpleasant odor, a fuel like smell.

I bought this for transporting a large musical instrument over long drives in the winter. So far it seems to have worked. My gripes so far are: 1. small. at least for the instrument. I got a second one, but for most folks using this for the "regular" reasons, it should be ok. A little larger would still be nice though. 2. the plug fell apart. I was able to reassemble it, but it shouldn't have twisted apart on the third use. 3. no temp control. It would be nice for the ability to set it on different temps, but this one heats to one temp only. It isn't too hot or anything, but sometimes I'd like to be able to regulate it more. 4. it heats quicker when it is folded up. When it isn't, it may take a long time.

Overall, it seems to be a good purchase. Time will tell and I may need to update this, but it is pretty good.

My boyfriend got me this blanket for Christmas because he was tired of either sweating or listening to me shiver every time we take a winter ride in the car. We own a small car and since he is bigger than me and usually driving, the heat seems to hit him much more directly. This resulted in a constant heat-up, heat-down battle that was only resolved with the purchase of this blanket. I didn't have any of the odor or fragility issues that some of the other reviewers did, so maybe I just got lucky but for now, we can leave the heat off or on low so that my boyfriend doesn't cook while I stay toasty warm underneath the blanket. Even though I have a fairly unique situation, this heated throw provided the perfect solution.

I received the product and tried to unroll it. It's cold in Connecticut right now. The floor protector would not flatten out. The on-line description does NOT mention that their directions state to unroll the protector in the sun at a temperature of 90F. Also, the temperature has to be a minimum of 50F to apply a tire abrasion pad to the protector. Their instructions state the garage floor has to be defect free and vacuumed to prevent stones,etc. from damaging the protector! OK - what about all of the sand and small stones that fall off of the car with the ice and snow after winter driving!

I RETURNED this defective product - it would not unroll and flatten out. I suspect that even if I was able to install it, it would be quickly damaged due to driving over it with small stones, etc. that accumulate with each snow storm.

The car pad was exactly as I expected, good quality and easy to install. I would recommend it to anyone.

I bought this years ago, but I never could get it to fit on my ear. I'm not sure it would fit on anyone's ear. It is very poorly designed.

Motorola used to sell a Flexible Ear Receiver with a standard earphone plug (3.5mm, I think) that I used with a walkie talkie at work. It fit my ear perfectly, and is adjustable to boot (sorry, Brian, but maybe you're putting it on wrong...). It was about the only thing I could comfortably wear all day (I can't stand having one of those earbuds jammed in my canal). I found it also worked great with my portable radio, CD player, and laptop (mono only, obviously). Unfortunately, Motorola says they don't make that configuration any more. The Receiver shown here is their new model, which has a much smaller (2mm?) plug. If you have compatible equipment, however, this should be a comfortable and useful accessory. It's especially good if you listen more than you talk - I could hear everything with the radio clipped to my belt as I went about my day, and when I picked it up to talk into it, people could tell I was "on the phone."

When I picked up this unit from Wal-Mart, the clerk at the register told me to keep my receipt because some of these were coming back. That should have been enough for me to put it back on the shelf. But I brought it home anyway...

It worked fine for a couple of days, and then next thing I knew the temperature on the thermostat was showing me it was 79 degrees -- a reliable thermometer showed 69. But the heater was REALLY hot. I turned it off, let it cool and tried it again. It worked fine until...

The next couple of times I tried using it, I had the timer set for 3 hours. After about 10 minutes, the whole unit shut off.

I should have listened to the clerk and never bought the darned thing. Returned it to Wal-Mart where the service clerk said "I won't even ask why you're returning it. Almost every one of these we've sold has come back."

I've since picked up a DeLonghi unit from Sears. So far, so good with that one. But my advice is to stay away from this Honeywell unit.

I guess there are several lemons of this model, but mine is great. Once you get past the ugly fake wood paneling in front, it is noisless, odorless, and as long as I pay attention to the controls which are easy to use, it does just fine.

There is a control for running the machine on 800, 900 or 1500 Watts, and not trusting my house's old wiring I've always used the 800 which works just fine, even when my room needed to be heated 20 degrees. The thermostat and timer for shutting the thing off have always been functional as well. The digital display is easy to read and use. Additionally, the thermostat keeps the temperature within 2 degrees above or below what you set it to, and when it reaches 2 degrees above, a light comes on and it stops heating, although the unit remains on.

I used this radiator all winter, and there's no sign of damage whatsoever. Contrasting this to my room mate's electric fan space heater ($16) which short circuited and nearly started a fire, I would recommend this as a safe, trustworthy alternative. If you get a lemon on the first try and have kept your reciept, try doing an even exchange, because I really can't say a bad thing about this radiator.

We recently ordered this roof pack for use on our minivan. However, the one that we received is not the same as the one in the picture shown. It is much smaller and the box said it was the "Junior Roof Cargo Pack". The one we received is about half the size as the one shown. We plan on returning it for our money back...

The previous reviewer obviously had an ordering mix-up that caused them to receive the Junior Carrier. The Junior is a completely different item. The picture is not misleading as the above reviewer states. We have this carrier and it is great. It frees up room inside the van on out of town trips (we have two children) and does exactly what it is supposed to do, carry your stuff on the roof. We usually only use it to pack clothing in, but a suitcase is usually what takes up the most cargo room anyway. Great item.

I have only had the alert on my car for a couple of days,so don't know if it is causing the deer to avoid me, but it would cause most anything to leave the vicinity...this thing is LOUD!!!! If you install it, by no means should it be set up to be activated when the engine is turned on..use the switch or headlight option.(You would not want to be sitting at a stoplight in town with this thing screaming...) It is a bit annoying even inside the car--you have to turn the radio up. However, I drive deer-infested roads and am willing to put up with most anything if it will keep these "rats with antlers" off my windshield!!

These batteries only last so long. Yeah, it beats Duracell by a landslide, but I mean COME ON! These only lasted 24 hours in my CD player, and even store branded batteries lasted longer, and they were ALKALINE! These batteries may be industrial and will be good for stronger operations, but if they only last 24 hours, then you'll even be better off using store-brand alkaline poor quality batteries that last 40 hours.

I'm a welder and I bought this item to protect me from the gases and fumes that are produced while I work. Because a welding helmet covers your entire face (from ear to ear and down to your upper chest), there are almost no options for respiratory protection. However, this model works around that by bringing in the air over one shoulder and then discharging out the other side (You may need to move the outlet valve from the bottom to the side). It's fairly comfortable and is easy to hook up to the SAR pump: The mask's hose terminates with a 3/8" NPT female, has a reducer to 1/4" NPT female, then ends at their goofy connector.

Good features:
1: With the hose it back, it can't easily get melted by molten splatter
2: It doesn't interfere with or fog up the welding helmet.
3: It doesn't prevent any head movement
4: The respirator is light weight and compact
5: By pulling in supplied air, there's virtually no risk from ozone, carbon monoxide, burned paint, metal fumes, or anything else in the immediate area.

My complaints:
Big #1: The head straps are AWEFUL and keep falling off the silicone face piece (this model is obviously a conversion from an APR and needs filter cartridges to hold everything in place)
2: There are no size options: it only comes as a "medium" (I seem to be a "large")
3: It's quite noisy with the outlet valve inside the helmet (Both annoying and you can't hear anything around you with the air whistling through)
4: It's fairly expensive for what you're getting

Would I buy it again . . . Yeah, I guess so. There are not many choices for a compact SAR half mask. One other thing, make sure your pump puts out at least 4 CFM. Any less and you'll have to inhale slowly with the pump.

This piece of equipment worked really well as far as juicing up the battery when it's dead, and it's really easy to charge and use. Problem is, after I had used it a couple times, the cheapo plastic clamps BOTH SNAPPED. Now they can't grip on the battery terminals. Under warranty, but so expensive to ship (shipping not covered by warranty) that it isn't worth it. Great idea, shoddy construction. ALL VECTOR have these same plastic clamps, so try to find one with metal clamps.

Worthless description of product.
- what are the dimensions?
- how long will it hold a charge in the trunk of my car? (some last only a couple of weeks some are supposed to last for 3 months)

Someone needs to make one of these that trickle charges from the car's battery so the backup is always fully charged.

It's reasonably priced, easy to use, works exactly as advertised and saved me time, inconvenience and money the first week I had it.

I wish I could say that about everything I bought.

This piece of equipment worked really well as far as juicing up the battery when it's dead, and it's really easy to charge and use. Problem is, after I had used it a couple times, the cheapo plastic clamps BOTH SNAPPED. Now they can't grip on the battery terminals. Under warranty, but so expensive to ship (shipping not covered by warranty) that it isn't worth it. Great idea, shoddy construction. ALL VECTOR have these same plastic clamps, so try to find one with metal clamps.

I purchased this item for my husband last Christmas, and the air hose cracked and started leaking air. He swapped mine for his, since he had had a tire that was losing air, and we both drive a distance to work. Anyway, I am purchasing another soon, but DEFININTELY NOT ANOTHER one like this. It did work for a SHORT time, and that's why it's getting two stars instead of one.

Unlike the other reviewer, we have had no problems with our unit. We have owned it for one year, used it to inflate several car tires, and to start our neighbour's car one frosty morning. She had left her headlights on over night and came over for a boost to get to work. Instead of driving my car over, I grabbed the Vector. She was clearly suspicious, but also clearly thrilled when her car started immediately. The unit could not, however, start a 1985 305 V8 (carb) with a totally dead battery, but it rates fewer cranking amps than the car requires. It should easily handle anything up to a fuel injected V6, and perhaps new fuel injected V8s as well. If in doubt, compare its cranking amps to the minimum for your car before buying.

We also hooked it up to an inverter and powered a 25" television for an hour. Not bad if the power goes out. Can be recharged in a running car.