Karl on Cars

Of course nobody is still buying Chistmas gifts on December 24th, right?

But, in theory, if you still have to buy something for that car geek on your list you might stop by the local Radio Shack. They've got $8 remote control cars that range from Enzo Ferraris to Porsche Carrera GTs to Hummer H2s. I bought two of these toys in Ford GT form a couple months ago when I couldn't pass up the low price. Last week I saw some more, and because those first two were bubble-wrapped for future posterity it made sense to snag a couple more for the kiddies.

I bought another one of the Ford GTs, plus a white Hummer H2 (my son loves everything Jeep/Hummer). The cars' frequencies are displayed on the outside of the box, so it was easy to pick up two models that wouldn't interfere with each other. These were "pre-Christmas" toys, so we tore them open and fired them up as soon as we got home. Each uses two AA batteries in the vehicle and a 9-volt in the controller. They're pretty quick, and they even come packaged in a re-usable display case.

Trust me, at $8 (plus tax) the smiles-per-dollar are pretty tough to beat. Just don't expect the exterior mirrors to last long if you buy two and let the kids loose with them.