I am the type of person that closes empty barn doors, if you catch my drift. I bought the Escort Solo 2 cordless. I bought it the morning after my first speeding ticket in over 24 years. This is the best cordless model on the market, and better than many corded units. As to how it compares to the Valentine 1, no clue. I've been very satisfied with it. I never considered mounting it in the rear shelf..that sounds like a great place. The profile is very nice, thought it is longer than many other units, it is very thin, and operates on 2 AAs. Battery life seems to be super. The included batteries died in a few weeks. I've had the replacement set in for 2 1/2 months and still showing 4 bars.

At least I haven't had another ticket...yet.