Why should you use a car bra, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Car bras give your vehicle’s front end an extra bit of style and protection. Whether you’re flying down the highway or setting records at the track, your front end is vulnerable to damage caused from kicked-up road debris. But, when you have a car bra in place, it protects your front end, keeping your paint job looking immaculate.  Oh, and did I mention that car bras give a sporty, custom look to your ride?

Great, so now that you understand the benefits of using a car bra, you may be interested in knowing about the different styles of car bras available. Car bras come in a few different styles, like full front end bras, sport bras and mirror bras. A full front end bra covers your vehicle’s bumper, the space between your headlights, and a portion of your hood. Sports bras, on the other hand, just cover the leading edge of your hood, giving you protection against flying rocks, kamikaze bugs, and other paint-ruining debris. Lastly, a mirror bra goes around the housing of your side mirrors to give them the same protection as your ride’s front end.

So now you know that you want a car bra, and you’ve even decided on a style, but how do you know which brand is the best? Here’s a run down on some of the top car bra brands in the industry to help make your decision even easier. When it comes to car bras, Colgan, Covercraft, Coverking, LeBra and Speed Lingerie are all names that won’t let you down. These manufacturers have several years of experience designing some of the best car bras around, using only the finest materials and utmost craftsmanship. And, they back their products with industry-leading warranties.

These days, with all the extra amenities loaded onto them, pickup trucks are getting treated more like European luxury sedans than work rigs. In fact, with electric windows, leather interior, climate control and entertainment systems coming standard, it’s easy to forget that trucks are actually designed to do work. And if you’re one of the few truck drivers who truly does use your truck for what it was designed for—loading and transporting cargo—you’ve probably learned the hard way that this kind of activity can inflict serious damage to your rig. But there is a way to work your truck as it was intended, without flogging the paint and sheet metal—enter bed caps and bed rails.

Let’s start with bed caps. The first order of business for a bed cap is to absorb the brunt of the blows, drops and scrapes inflicted by cargo before the paint and body gets hit. They’re either made of steel, diamond-plate aluminum or heavy-duty ABS plastic, all incredibly durable materials, and they feature a custom shape, designed to fit specifically on your truck’s bed. Even better, bed caps are easy to install, just peel the double-sided tape and stick ‘em to your bed. But the hidden benefit of bed caps is the style factor—they look great. And, most bed cap kits are available with matching tailgate caps which protect the top of your tailgate and round out the style.

Bed rails are next. These are a little harder to install than the caps, but they also add another dimension of usability. Just like the bed caps, bed rails protect your paint & body work and they look great. But bed rails go one further and give you a super-secure place to tie off cargo, running the length of your truck bed. This comes in real handy when you’re doing those heavy hauling chores.

When you’re shopping for bed caps, tailgate caps and bed rails, be sure to seek out the top brands. EGR, BAK, Putco and Dee Zee are the biggest in the biz and worth your hard earned dollars. After all, you spent a lot on your truck, so get the best caps & rails you can find, and put that beast to work for you—which is what it was made to do.

Nothing sets your vehicle apart from the mundane motoring masses like some strategically-placed chrome accessories. Chrome not only gives your ride the shine it needs to stand out from the highway herd, there’s a certain satisfaction that comes from lighting up the eyes and turning the heads of unwitting pedestrians as you roll on down the street in your shine machine!

Beyond the shine, chrome accessories even deliver the added benefits of strength in some cases. By replacing flimsy factory parts with chromed-ABS plastic, chromed steel or even polished billet aluminum accessories, your ride gets the bling you seek along with an upgrade in build quality and durability. Face it, the OEM factory parts are designed to save money—for the factory—so we sometimes have to take matters into our own hands. And, that’s where aftermarket chrome accessories come into play.

It doesn’t matter what kind of vehicle you drive, even a little bit of chrome goes a long way in shining up your ride. And, most types of chrome accessories are super easy to install. The easiest are called chrome overlays. They simply stick onto your car with ultra-sticky double-sided tape. These include certain chrome door handles, chrome vents and chrome pillar post trim.

Other types of chrome accessories are a little harder to install, but certainly not beyond the realm of the average do-it-yourselfer. Chrome fender trim, chrome fuel doors, and chrome billet grilles fall into this category. But rest assured, the glimmer and gleam gained from installing these parts & accessories makes the extra work well worth the effort.

When shopping for chrome accessories, always keep an eye out for quality. Like anything else, there are manufacturers of dubious quality, and then there are the top-notch builders. Brands like Dee Zee, Putco and Go Industries all fall into the top-notch category. Brands like Jimbo’s Sorry-Ass Chrome Accessories fall into the former, and should be avoided at all costs!

With the sea of chrome accessories out there, things can get a bit confusing. But if you keep an eye out for the top brands, purchase from reputable retailers and do your homework, your ride will be twisting the necks of innocent bystander in no time.

It’s not sensible to affix multiple of your children’s play shields to the hood of your ride to ward off wind and other debris. Rather than spending hours on end wrestling with duct tape and twine, invest in a true deflector—creafted for your vehicle specifically. And, the best part, these deflectors won’t get you strange looks as parents guard their children while they direct them in the other direction.

Whether you’re heading out across the country or you’re simply commuting to work, your vehicle deserves premium protection from collision-happy bugs. That’s where a deflector comes in handy. It launches wind up and over your windshield, sending that bug away from your car and minimizing crash landings that result in smashed bug guts.

Bug shields do precisely what their name indicates, they keep your vehicle safe from the onslaught of bugs you’re bound to run into. They mount to the leading edge of your vehicle’s hood and fend off harsh conditions as well as the largest of insects practicing the seppuku ritual on your vehicle.

Most bug deflectors are crafted by high-impact acrylic plastic, although there are some that are crafted for even greater strength and durability from stainless steel. Regardless of the type of material you choose for your bug repelling accessory, they mount with strong 3M adhesive tape—no screws or other tricky installation techniques.

And, for even more vehicle protection, consider adding other types of deflectors to your ride. There are window deflectors, vent visors, sunroof deflectors and more that shield against thrusting winds, road debris, rain and bugs

And once you’ve selected the perfect deflector for your needs, it’s just as important to select the right brand for your needs.  Leading deflector manufacturers include, AutoMax, Lund, AVS, Westin, WeatherTech and more.