Thanks for the responses.

OGB - The only thing I have ever used the scalpel blades for was removing deep splinters. A needle would have probably worked as well.

Timo - For most of my driving, I am well within the free service area for my AAA. I spent this afternoon cleaning out my car and refreshing supplies, and noted that I do in fact have a fuse kit (made it up last time I blew a fuse and forgot I had it). Wiper blades are a good idea I hadn't thought of. A Haynes repair manual might not be a bad idea either.

This led me to another important point - it doesn't do much good to carry stuff if you forgot you have it. To remedy prevent stuff like that from happening, I inventoried everything in my car and printed out and laminated lists of the contents of each kit and taped them to the container I keep my stuff in, and made another copy to keep in the glove box.

Since I use Microsoft Outlook to schedule everything else in my life, I added some reoccurring appointments to it to remind me when different things need refreshing.

As to specific vehicle repair kits, I have mixed feelings. While I have decent mechanical aptitude, I have no real experience doing much 'under the hood' work with modern vehicles. Other than basic 'unbolt and replace', I'll leave the repair work to others. I do carry plenty of water and replacement radiator hoses, a tow rope, and sometimes a come-along when I go out of town. Overheating and getting stuck are pretty common problems relatively speaking. I keep our vehicles maintained and do a pretty thorough check before any out of town trips, prevention being the best medicine.