you can stop freaking out that you've once again waited 'til the last-possible minute to purchase a gift for the one day of the year you deign to show appreciation for the person who brought you into this world, or at least who nurtures you through it. i've got you covered ... well, so long as your mother's day shopping budget is in the neighborhood of, say, $180,000. but trust me! she'll like this way more than those coupons for a free back rub, that's for sure.
not to traffic in tired stereotypes, but anecdotally speaking, i've never met a mom who didn't like a nice, relaxing, kid-free visit to the day spa. well, for the bargain price of the average home in the u.s., you can get your madre a bmw m760, and she can have that spa day right there in the driveway.
you'll wanna be sure to option it up with the luxury rear seating package ($1,800), rear executive lounge seating package ($5,750), ambient air package ($350), panoramic sky lounge led roof ($900) and bowers & wilkins stereo system ($3,400) for the fullest effect. for all that extra scratch (hey, maybe the bmw dealer will honor your back-rub coupons for a discount), your momma will get:
- a pretty legit massage in a fully reclining rear seat complete with footrests
- the soothing, new agey sounds of siriusxm radio's spa channel on the premium stereo system via the remote-controlled, seatback-mounted infotainment screen
- aromatherapy courtesy of the 7-series' air-purifying and perfuming ambient air package, with eight fragrances and three intensity levels
- light therapy using the panoramic sky lounge's starry, starry night-like led ceiling featuring 15,000 points of light (eat your heart out, george h.w. bush) in a half-dozen selectable color palettes.
all you'll need to provide mom is a nice, fluffy terry cloth robe and some cucumber water. and don't worry, as i noted when i took some me time in the m760 last year, if you consider the cost of a single day at a chichi big-city day spa, this baby pays for itself in, like, a thousand sessions.
if those features aren't in the budget this year, the mommies (and husbands and sons) have offered up some of their favorite features:
apple carplay, rear cross-traffic alert
for years, i've wanted a car that had a chauffer's window between the front and rear seats that could be raised when my sons were being especially obnoxious, but since that has yet to materialize, my favorite feature is apple carplay. i have no time to futz with connecting my phone to a car's bluetooth; apple carplay allows me to quickly connect my phone loaded with all my favorite songs and blast them as i drive my sons to soccer/baseball/basketball practice. as a side benefit, it gives me control over the car's music and it allows me to truly embarrass my kids by singing along to drake or whomever we're listening to at the moment — preferably with the windows rolled down for all to hear.
another favorite feature of mine is rear cross-traffic alert. it's not the most exciting thing, but it has saved my butt — well, actually, a car's rear end — by alerting me that a vehicle is approaching as i try to back out of a spot in a busy parking lot. bonus points if the alert system has arrows that tell me which direction the approaching car is coming from.
— jenni newman, editor-in-chief
2018 honda odyssey's cabinwatch
one of my new favorite features is the cabinwatch system on the redesigned 2018 honda odyssey ... but it took a while to win me over. at first, the system, which uses a camera to let front-seat occupants see the rest of the passengers, day or night, on the display audio screen, seemed like a gimmick — a creepy one. once my family got past the giggles and the heebee-jeebies, however, it proved useful. during a couple of road trips, i used it a lot to see if my toddler twins were finally napping and to monitor the third-row shenanigans happening with my 7-year-old daughter and niece.
— jennifer geiger, news editor
purse hanger, trash-bag holder, chilled storage
i'm the granny on the staff, so when my girls were young, the vehicles we owned lacked many of the parent-friendly features available today because they simply didn't exist. if i could go back in time, these are the features i'd find helpful for everyday driving and road trips with kids:
- a purse hanger: mine always ended up on the floor somewhere with its contents spilling out. bonus: they can double as a trash-bag holder, which brings me to my second item ...
- a trash-bag holder/ring: it's a mathematical rule: kids + cars = trash. vehicles equipped with a trash-bag holder or ring keep the mess contained and off the floor.
- chilled storage chamber: thirsty kids make for cranky travelers. built-in coolers help everyone keep their cool, and they mean moms don't have to haul coolers around with all the other stuff that comes with kids. (of course, kids sipping water or juice while traveling means you'll make a few more pit stops.)
— jennifer burklow, assistant managing editor-production
built-in retractable sunshades
as a new mother, my wife jackie has been especially thankful for cars with built-in, retractable sunshades on the rear windows. and we've been in dozens of cars together with the feature, but now with a newborn, it's been a boon — especially because the suction cup ones we use on our car are flimsy and garbagy.
— joe bruzek, managing editor
foot-swipe-activated liftgate
when i was a kid, cars didn't have all the cool tech and convenience features they have today. but if they had, i think a foot-swipe activated liftgate would be a must for any parent, mother or father. try juggling a young child or two while loading groceries into the back of a vehicle while futzing with your key fob and purse or whatever, in addition to trying to keep the shopping cart from rolling away. i frankly don't know how mothers have survived this long without this feature, and i think it should be mandatory on all new vehicles, just like backup cameras.
— matt schmitz, asisstant managing editor, news
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