There's just no way to get things done in the dark. It's never a good idea to stick things in places you can't see. When you're talking about auto repair, sticking something where it shouldn't go can be painful, expensive, or both. If you're lucky, a trip to the auto clinic can save you, but if it's really not your day, you could end up with a terminal situation.

Shop lights are cheap and easy to handle. In the old days, you had to be careful with your light. The bulb got very hot, and so did that wire cage that was supposed to protect it. Anybody who has used an older bulb style work light has felt the bite at one time or another. The other downfall of the old incandescent bulb lights -- and I mean downfall literally -- was the fact that every time you dropped it or even knocked it really hard, you blew the bulb!

Thanks to rapid advances in just about everything, you can now work under a well-lit car without worrying about being burnt or breaking the bulb. The old dangling work light has been replaced by lightweight, cool fluorescent units. Wow, what a difference. They put out better light, can be dropped over and over without worry, and don't cost much more than the old school lights. They don't generate any heat so you can have two or three of them under the hood with you, and since they won't break you can stick them in nooks and crannies to light just about any situation. The bulbs last forever, too. Fluorescent work lights are even available as rechargeable cordless units. One less cord to trip over or snag tools on is a great thing in a work environment.

If you have a shop full of the old incandescent units, fill the metal cage with other useless things -- like your old beeper or the Egg Wave you bought when 2 am TV came back to haunt you one morning -- and use them for fishing weights or tree decorations.