Quick-Fix Solution for Roadside Flats
An innovative European automotive product that should appeal to Southern California drivers is Quickwheel, a 14-pound folding mini-ramp with wheels that can be carried in the car and attached under a flat tire so the motorist can resume driving in a few minutes without changing the flat.
Manufacturers’ representatives say the product will be available in the the United States in mid-September for $129.95, and that it has been road tested on numerous surfaces and under a variety of weather conditions. In case of emergency, it is unfolded and placed in front of the flat tire. Then, according to instructions, you simply drive onto the ramp and the wheel-with-flat is automatically locked in a “cradled” position on the rust-resistant Quickwheel frame via a special safety strap. A Quickwheel spokesman said the frame with wheels can be driven “for miles and miles at moderate speeds up to 45 m.p.h., and is warranted for six years, or 5,000 miles of actual use.”
Quickwheel comes in two models, one for 12-, 13-, and 14-inch wheels, the second for 15-inch wheels, and can be used on passenger cars, mini-vans, light trucks or campers. According to the manufacturer, boat, snowmobile or other two-wheel trailers also can use the device without modification.
For additional information, write Quickwheel Inc., 52 Mason St., Greenwich, Conn. 06830, or call (203) 629-2573 or (203) 629-2574.
Floating Beanbags
Speaking of flats, there’s a new luxury beanbag float (for relaxing in your pool or at the lake) that its promoters say never needs inflating and can be dried out and used pool-side or in the living room as a chair.
AQUA-PUFF, which lets you float upright, and AQUA-PUFF PLUS, with a built-in headrest for reclining, are filled with “specially treated” soft polyfoam and come in raspberry, robin’s egg blue, yellow or white and are guaranteed “to float a lifetime.”
Each beanbag weighs 6 pounds and has a hook for convenient storing or hanging up to dry. “We’ve done product testing and it never sinks,” said company public relations director Vicky Belk. “We never had a 400-pound person on it, but one lady who ordered one said she weighed 325 pounds. She called to say how great it was and it didn’t sink.”
To order, at $69 for the regular model or $79 for the deluxe, plus shipping and handling charges, call (916) 893-1156 or write to the Newest Things, 1070 Marauder St., Suite A, Chico, Calif. 95926.
This Tip’s for You
Tip Computers International, a San Diego-based firm that two years ago came out with the Tip Computer, a card that helps you calculate 15% or 20% of a bill up to $100, has just developed two new plastic cards to help you know what, where and whom to tip.
Everyday Tips contains a listing of 58 service persons to tip or not to tip, includes a recommended amount and a comment with each job category. A bartender, for example, would be properly tipped with 15% added to your bill, but only when you are served at the bar. No tip for the grocery sacker is OK, but you might want to give 50 to $1 to the grocery carry-out person.
A separate card, Travel Tips U.S.A., gives information on tipping limousine drivers, bellhops, doormen, manicurists, etc. An informational brochure with both cards stresses that tipping “is optional,” and that the tip amounts and percentages are based on custom in an American city of average population--about 50,000 or more, according to marketing director Jerry Newfield.
“If you live in or are traveling in one of the country’s larger cities such as New York, Chicago or Los Angeles,” the brochure continues, “you may find a few of the amounts or percentages to be on the low end of what is customary.”
If sold separately, each new card costs $1.50; it’s 99 cents for a small vinyl carrying case and 79 cents for the original Tip Computer. The company sells all four items for $4.50, plus $1 for shipping. To order, or to receive information about what local and national stores carry the products, call (800) 527-9493 outside California. In the state, call the company collect at (619) 488-7332. Or write to Tip Computers International, 5733 La Jolla Blvd., Suite 6, San Diego, Calif. 92037.
Locking in the Power
Power Lock is a new, simple, key-lock device aimed at keeping unauthorized persons from using your computer, TV, VCR, stereo or other electrical appliances or power tools.
You unplug the appliance and put the plug into the small Power Lock, then turn its key, which inserts little bolts into the holes of the appliance’s plug. You then take the key with you, making it impossible to replug the appliance into the wall socket. Allen St. James, manufacturer of Power Lock, says the device is tamper-proof and is compatible for three-prong and two-prong plugs. To order, at $9.95 plus $1 for shipping, write to St. James Industries, P.O. Box 56, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93102, or call (805) 963-9400.
