What are those items that you always bring with you on an inaugural ride in a brand new car, or those things that you transport from one vehicle to the next that you can't live without? Automotoportal posted a list of the Top Things You Must Have in Your Car and for the most part we wholeheartedly disagree with the choices (the full list can be found after the jump). Lip balm? A Candy bar? Those hardly make the cut of must have items for motoring in our book.

We did agree with the inclusion of the American Map 2007 U.S. Road Atlas, although we'd prefer a portable sat-nav system to the old ink and parchment. The meager pen is also a must have for scribbling missives while tooling along or penning a good-bye letter when stranded in a snow drift. Sure, a first-aid kit is a good idea, but don't spend your own money on that, let your mother buy it as a Christmas or Chanukah present. And a flashlight? I always have two of them with me when driving; they're called the left and right headlights. Joking aside, if you're going for essentials then where's the bottled water, extra quart of oil, blanket and road flares?

Missing from the list entirely is spare change, and lots of it. And we're not talking about pennies here, we mean quarters. Quarters are about ten times more valuable inside a car than out because you can hardly ever find one when it's time to pay the piper his toll fee. Kudos to the first company who installs a portable mint in the glovebox to produce quarters on demand, we'd take that over heated and cooled cup holders any day. The Automotoportal list also doesn't include any tuneage. At this point I'd rather listen to silence while driving than local radio, so if there's no iPod or satellite radio handy than we need to inform Houston we have a problem.

What items do you need with you at all times in the car? If you answer lip balm, you will be made fun of.

[Source: Automotoportal]

Top 10 Things You Must Have in Your Car (from Automotoportal):

1) American Map 2007 U.S. Road Atlas - The must-have! This brand new edition -- the gold standard of road atlases -- delivers all the features of a deluxe atlas at a price you'd expect to pay for an atlas with much less to offer. With colorful, easy-to-read maps, spiral binding, and accuracy guaranteed, this item is a necessity for every driver on the road.

2) Umbrella - "Murphy's Law" - It will rain on the day you have that important client meeting.

3) Pen - We all do business and take messages in the car.

4) Flashlight - Everyone drives at night; make sure you're not left in the dark.

5) First Aid Kit - You never know when you'll need a band aid - and won't have one in the car.

6) Tire Gauge - In this time of skyrocketing gas prices, correct tire pressure will increase gas mileage.

7) Sunglasses - Two words - sun glare!

8) Lip Balm - Might not be essential, but it's nice to have in the glove compartment.

9) Air Freshener - Whether it's takeout food or hockey equipment, no one wants their car to smell like the stuff we transport.

10) Candy Bar - As you go from point "A" to point "B" and you don't want to stop, you might need a quick snack.