I use a handheld vac I bought at Sears that has spinning brushes. This thing is F'ING ESSENTIAL. Spinning brushes are the ONLY way to go. It's small enough to get into most parts of my car. If the car is dirty I usually use a small Craftsman shop vac to get into the crevices and stuff. It's a small one...only like 1.5 HP...but it does the job. It wouldn't be any good for doing all the carpets because it's not powerful enough, but the combo of the little spinning brush vac and it is good.