Waxing creative automotively in Southern California

Under all the glitz and glamour that outsiders normally associate with Southern California, there’s an economy where people still get a little dirt under their nails, and a big part of it involves motor vehicles.

Making the cars seems almost boring when you look at the really creative products manufactured around the region for use with cars. And unlike in Detroit or the auto manufacturing centers in rural Dixie, the Southern California auto industry is full of creative people and small factories where ambitions don’t require billion-dollar investments.

The products are as varied as $2-million alloy-wheel sets and $10 cans of a car wax that you probably have never heard of. And then there’s the $10,000 turntable for your garage or driveway, just the thing to help you avoid having to back out.

Here are just three products that I really like, even if I can’t afford them all:

CarTurner: This turntable spins your vehicle around 180 degrees on a 13-foot, 4-inch stainless steel disk.

Why spend $10,000 on this turntable? Safety and convenience. A lot of people live on busy streets, where backing out is a nerve-racking problem that can take forever.

With the turntable, you always drive straight out, meaning you don’t have to repeatedly crane your neck left and right until you find an open gap to back into. It also is safer for pedestrians, particularly when you consider more than 100 kids are run over in back-up accidents every year.

“This product is going to save lives,” said Bill Schwenker, the San Diego entrepreneur who developed it.

The device is fairly new and the company doesn’t seem to have much of a sales network. I can’t vouch for its quality, but the idea alone seems to merit attention. It has to be a lot cheaper than moving to a new home or changing your driveway, if the problem is truly a serious one.

The device is assembled in San Diego with mostly U.S.-made components. It is powered by four low-voltage electric motors that spin the car around in 23 seconds. It operates by a remote control. In the past, these kinds of turntables cost tens of thousands of dollars and required a major construction job.

But Schwenker figured out a way to keep the entire assembly remarkably thin -- just 3 inches high -- meaning it could simply be placed over an existing concrete pad. Information about the device can be obtained at www.carturner.com or by calling (858) 481-3660.

Protect All: This is a cleaner and wax all in one that seems made for real people who don’t have all day or even more than five minutes to detail their car.

The product originally came out of an aerosol can and you can still buy it that way, though the company also offers a trigger pump bottle now. The original packaging featured a funky picture of founder and President Adam Huber waxing his own recreational vehicle. Huber is now semiretired, but the family runs the business in Anaheim and is still manufacturing the product in a small plant with about 10 employees.

It contains carnauba wax, a surfactant that helps suspend dirt and a UV blocker.

I have used this product for more than a decade. Most of the time, I don’t even wash the car first. I just spray some on the hood, trunk and top and polish it off with an old towel. Water beads up on my car, just the same as when I use a more time-consuming wax.

Because it’s clear, it won’t dry to a haze if you miss a spot. And you can use it on every surface of the car, even the glass.

Ken Newman, the company’s marketing chief, said the product has a loyal following among motorcycle and recreational vehicle owners. He does little advertising compared to better-known brands.

“What’s your time worth?” Newman asks. “This is a way to protect your car in very little time and using very little product.”

It is sold at recreational vehicle stores, some motorcycle shops, some Wal-Marts and the company’s website at www.protectall.com.

Lexani and Asanti wheels: At the other end of the car product spectrum are wheels by Lexani Corp., the hot alloy-wheel manufacturer in Corona. A lot of alloy-wheel companies have moved to China, where cheap cast-aluminum wheels are churned out.

The wheels made by Lexani, under the Lexani and Asanti brand names, are forged and assembled at the plant in Corona. Forged wheels -- formed by presses instead of casting that pours molten metal into molds -- are strong and can handle road hazards better than cast wheels, according to many experts.

The company makes top-of-the-line products, sold through distributors, for most of the luxury vehicles on the road. You can take a look at its products at www.lexani.com and www.asantiwheels.com.

“Celebrities and artists request wheels from us first,” says Aaron DeWitt, the company’s marketing chief.

The company makes most of its wheels to order, offering hundreds of designs and finishes.

The top of the line is a $2-million set, studded with diamonds. Not in your price range? You can get a cubic zirconia set for just $250,000.

The company calls it the “ultimate in blinged-out wheels.”

ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com