Cash For Clunkers - Art Car Renaissance???

Cash For Clunkers Art Cars

During the recent government "cash for clunkers" program this country witnessed an art car renaissance within the car dealership community. The program gave birth to the hidden talent that laid dormant within some of our countries finest car sales people. No longer did they just have to blow up balloons first thing every morning or make sure that the standard signage was clean and ready to go. During cash for clunkers a new and innovative signage program was needed so they took to their canvas with gusto to tell the world about it. What we saw was the raw inner creative spirit coming through as public works of art through car painting, car sculpture and even car destruction performance art. I don't know if our country will ever be the same, but I hope this new cash for clunkers art car renaissance will not effect us adversely.




Cash For Clunkers Sculpture



Cash For Clunkers Destruction Performance Art

Hanging Up on Phoning and Driving

The call has gone out across the land: Ban phoning and driving.

Don't let one more phoning-and-texting-at-the-same-time tow truck driver wind up in another suburban swimming pool.

Don't let one more conductor run a signal and cause a multiple-fatality train wreck while playing Tetris on his iPhone.

All this banning stuff sounds perfectly justified until you realize that motorists who are self-absorbed enough to pay more attention to an electrical device than the road are the same self-absorbed nitwits who have been making the roadways unsafe ever since Gloria Swanson first checked her peacock feathers in the rearview mirror.

These are the people who are otherwise playing with their radio tuners ... reading ... turning around to yell at their kids.

They are interested in themselves so very much and you and I so very little that if this great country were to take their cell phones out of their hands on the road they would simply go right back to swatting their kids with the sports page, reading meeting minutes, and figuring out other ways to escape the boredom of having to be concerned about the welfare of people outside their windshields, all while chatting away on their Jawbones.

Your Unhumble Car Czar is committed to the interests of responsible cell phone users on this nation's roadways ... and behind prosecution to the fullest extent of the law for any U.S. driver who is too dimwitted to realize when his or her use of technology behind the wheel is compromising the safety of the road-going public.

My office will sponsor legislation that seeks no additional legislation to prosecute this nation's self-absorbed for road-going infractions.

Quite simply, motorists who cannot drive on the roadways without endangering themselves and others will face the same local law enforcement actions they always face for speeding, weaving, failure to control, assured clear distance, failure to yield, and driving into residential swimming pools.

Some motorists clearly can talk on the phone and drive a car safely, just as some BMW drivers can drive without idiotically cutting in and out of traffic and some pick-up truck drivers can drive without idiotically tailgating little Eurosnob weasels driving BMWs. (See this blog on September 31 if you would like to learn about smart cutting-in-and-out of traffic and smart tailgating).

We should no sooner ban phoning and driving than we should ban little German I'mbetterthanyoumobiles or big F-350 Super DuyouwonderwhatIhaveinmypantsters.

Being a self-appointed government official who didn't study very hard in school -- and who has only a shaky idea of the process of introducing bills and making them laws based entirely on partial recollection of a Sesame Street song -- I will be posting details of this legislation on Craigslist. I will trade a new-in-box George Foreman Grill to any party with the authority and wherewithal to draft this bill and see it through Congress (likely a congressman or a member of The House of Lords).

If you would like input on this bill, please use the comment links below. I will be checking them frequently on my monotonous morning commutes.

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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Van Covered with Stuffed Bear Road Kill

A van covered in stuffed bear trophies is one way to tell the world "I am cute and cuddly" or "I brake for carnival games" or "I break for garage sales" or "I am covering a major bad paint job or "my car is really a clunker in disguise"

Night of a Thousand Papa John’s Pizza Camaros

Personal Factoid: Papa John's Pizza has been banned from your Unhumble Car Czar's humble undisclosed location because of rude, pushy, door-to-door solicitors who purport to rep coupon books for The Papa. The kind who interrupt dinner and stand at your doorstep brazenly running the "Yes" routine misappropriated from some Dale Carnegie course.

Do you like pizza?

Do you like saving money on pizza?

Do you feel like a moron yet for not slamming the door in my face earlier?

But give Papa props for his summer campaign to locate and repurchase his long-lost 1971-1/2 Camaro Z/28, sold to float his fledgling restaurant interests in 1983 and repackaged in 2009 as the heart and soul of the nation's third largest pizza chain.

A replica of this gold-with-black-stripes Z/28 has been making its rounds on Papa John's commercials, looking like nothing more than an eccentric affectation of a pizza baron who actually holds a driver's license. Kind of like those weird local car dealer and rug store commercials that never went through an agency ... on a national scale.

But now that the back story is out (a quarter mil finder's fee fueled by pure chest-thumping American muscle car passion) and The Papa is giving out free pizzas to everyone who rolls up to a Papa John's store in a Camaro tonight, I your Unhumble Car Czar, by the powers vested in me by myself as President Obama's self-appointed national Car Czar, hereby declare John H. Schnatter, Louisville, Kentucky, a.k.a. "Papa John," The Order of the Stand-up Car Guy.

That's unless this whole promotion turns out to be some sly cross-marketing deal with GM to tie-in with its newest and much-hyped punchy pony, in which case The Order shall return to its previous co-holders, Jon Bon Jovi and Sean Penn.

Way to go, Papa.

Muscle Car Nation owes you a few smoky-burnout salutes tonight.

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The Witchmobile! Another Art Car By Rebecca Carthedral

The Witchmobile! Another Art Car By Rebecca Carthedral

The Witchmobile with rear booster brooms


Photo by JanasJournal.com

The Witchmobile is a 1962 Dodge Lancer decorated by Rebecca Caldwell the creator of the Carthedral and David Hilborn. Vexing, hexing, and perplexing from Oakland, California, the Witchmobile was created to bring art and craft (witchcraft!) to the mundane and to honor the creative spirit on the highway of life. The Witchmobile, a work in progress, started in June 2009 and will be at it's first Art Car Fest this September in the bay area.

Automorposis Movie Trailler by Harrod Blank

This is the 2 minute trailer for the film "Automoprhosis" by Harrod Blank creator of the Camera Van. The full length film runs 77 minutes and is currently being shown in film and art festivals.

The Santa Cruz Film Festival VIII Worlds Fastest Art Car in the Making-David Best & Crew

via scscreamer

I found this posted on facebook today and is a great way to see and art car in the making with time lapse video. Most people take weeks and even years to build their art cars. David Best with a team of people can take three days to build his cars. In this video they took one day to build the "worlds fastest art car". I don't know, I think I have seen faster but the end result is simply stunning. Here is the YouTube description of this video.

On Thursday, May 14, 2009 artist David Best and a team of art car creators beat and beaded a Miata into a masterpiece. The creation of the "world's fastest art car" at The Tannery Arts Center was completed in 14 hours by David Best and SCFF volunteers. This collaborative event was illuminated by our friends at Photoflex and filmed as a time lapse short by Peter McGettigan and Ed Schehl. The film screened alongside Harrod Blank's Automorphosis at the closing night festivities on Friday, May 15, 2009

Panoramic Picture of the underside of a Cadillac???

Panoramic Picture of the underside of a Cadillac??

via

I never thought that a panoramic picture of the underside of a Cadillac would be so amazing, but here it is, amazing. I found this by accident while surfing the net and this caught my eye. It almost looks like a motivation poster, maybe a whole series of these could be made. Its about time the guy who designs the underside of cars gets some artistic credit:) Well done great idea.

15 Most Popular Penny Art Cars Worth Every Penny

Penny covered cars seem to be a dime a dozen, but are worth every penny. These are the 15 most popular penny vehicles I found on the web starting with Steve Baker who covered his 1971 Ford Econoline van in pennies. He was also featured in Harrod Blanks Art Car Book "Wild Wheels" but I believe the car is no longer in operation. Steve is seen here wearing a penny suit that he wore while driving his art van and while playing golf. Steve wore this suit because he believed in the healing power of copper.

1) Penny Van Creator Steve Baker in his Penny Suit



2) Pennymobile Art Car

via GypsyMermaid

3) The Penny Armored Art Truck

by tokyohanna

4) Penny Honda Civic Art Car at the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum!

by abbyanduriah

5) Jimmy McDole and Susie Q and the Penny Art Van

by Delta Niner

6) Cadillac Penny Art Car

by Theresa Thompson

7) Penny Art Bike named Copperhead

by denaldo

8) Old Penny Art Car

by RoxanneRayes

9) Penny Minivan Art Car

by SanDiegoMama

10)Penny Mini Art Car

by edenacadia

11) Penny Cadillac Art Car

by Photosbychristensen

12) Penny Ford Escort Art Car

Photo by

13) Penny Corvette Art Car

via PennyVett

14) Penny Art Truck by T Stone

via Zenzibar

15) Penny Canadian Penny Dodge Van

by Endlisnis

The Peace for Pompous Doofs Program: Turn-in Thoughtless Horn-honkers, Win Fabulous Prizes

Wasn't it cool back in the 80s to walk away from your ride and beep your car alarm, telling the world that your car, its contents, and you were hot stuff?

Not to be messed with. Probably packin'.

Since then, we've elected four U.S. presidents, Madonna has slept with several generations of NBA teams, and Bowling for Soup has performed the quintessential musical mockery of that decade.

Since then, every plain vanilla sedan and minivan on the street has gotten a its very own beep beep security system standard at the factory.

Did you know that if you have a beep beep security system in your car in 2009, and you surely do, that beep-beeping it just isn't cool anymore?

It's not cool because since the 80s it has been possible to both ignore Madonna and lock your car and arm its security system by simply pressing the interior door lock button ... no beep beep required.

Most citizens are aware of this, and while it is entirely forgivable to beep-lock one's vehicle in those hands-full-from-unloading-and-still-gotta-corral-the-rugrats times, it is unforgivable, clueless, and oafish (and bad ... very bad) to beep-lock one's vehicle all the time -- like late at night, every night in a residential area.

The government’s new Peace for Pompous Doofs Program (PPDP) will beginning September 1 allow U.S. citizens to turn-in annoying horn-chirping neighbors to the government to be crushed and recycled in exchange for sleeptime peace.

Got a neighbor who insists on hopping out of his car and clicking his honking keyfob as he strolls up to to his doorstep like some IZOD-clad dork straight out of Pretty in Pink?

Turn 'em in.

While you're enjoying uninterrupted peace some quiet summer's evening, periodically imagine the soft, crackling "squish" sound the fine fellow made as some humorless government PPDP contractor clicked his very own fob button.

Pending funding for the Peace for Pompous Doofs Program (which is in the stimulus package or health care package, I forget which, somewhere between the paragraph that lets the government kill your grandmother and the paragraph that lets the government feed your grandmother's corpse to Muslim terrorist detainees as a pork substitute) neighbors can begin turning in unneighborly neighbors on midnight, September 1 with no complicated paperwork required.

It's fun and easy, but not that easy.

Please do not, for instance, use the anonymous comment links on this blog to rat-out the names and addresses of violators, as any names and addresses appearing in the comment area of this blog shall be considered fictional and prankish in nature and not subject to libel or any other laws in the State of Massachusetts or its surrounding 49 states, District of Columbia, and any and all U.S. territories.

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Knitted Motorcycle Cozy - For cold night rides

Knitted Motorcycle Cozy - For long cold night rides

The knitted motorcycle "cozy" was created by Washington DC artist Theresa HoneywellI assume for long chilly night rides. Her artwork series is titled KNIT!, and Theresa uses the traditionally feminine mediums of knitting to embellish "macho" subjects such as a motorcycle and a jackhammer.

LaundryCar by Smitty Regula- Mobile laundromat for a clean gateway

LaundryCar - Mobile laundromat for a clean gateway

Have you ever robbed a bank and needed to make a "clean" gateway, well the "laundromatic 2000" will allow you to do just that. This is the LaundryCar created by Smitty Regula over in Houston Texas. Its totally covered in washing detergent containers, clean laundry and a washing machine up on the roof. I do hope you don't need quarters for that, but what a great idea, a mobile laundromat. Drive over to someones house, do their laundry, put it up on the line, go around the block a few times to air dry and presto, clean clothes.

Apocolypticop Cruiser FOR SALE - Fashion Police Artcar to Intercept the Ordinary!

Apocolypticop Art Car and Creator

Apocolypticop Art Car Front

Apocolypticop Art Car Rear Window

Apocolypticop Art Car Inside Dash

Apocolypticop Art Car Roof Mounted Arsenal

Yet another Art Car for sale and this time its an ex police interceptor purchased back in 2000 with a 5.7 v8 engine with only k200 on the clock. This one is called Apocolypticop Art Car and is for sale right now on ebay for only $2,249. The sale ends in 9 days so you better get over there and put your bid in for this fashion police beauty. It comes complete with an unparalleled roof mounted rocket arsenal, radar, small garbage can, alien techno thingies and lots of red and blue lights. It also has a separate electric system for all the art car extras, such a deafening hoof mounted horn, fog lights, public address speaker and various other odds and ends. It also has a ton of glued objects and an assortment stickers attached all over the the car. Best of all, the car smells fine.

Artistic Licence - The Art and Adventures of Steve Porter

Artistic Licence Art Car By Steve Porter

Art History By Steve Porter

I found this Volvo Art Car this morning called Artistic Licence by Steve Porter. He created it to promote his new music album and also created a video featuring his car. During the summer of 2007, Steve went on tour around Europe in his ArtCar. In total he travelled 3461 miles and visited eight different countries. I like what he wrote on his web site:

"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved making up art and music.He had lots of different ideas and spent many years creating them. Some ideas worked well, some not so well.But he kept on and on, with new songs, pictures and inventions.

When he was more grown up, the boy realised that making things up was the best way for him to feel real and alive. So he tried his very best to make his living through his ideas and creations.

The story continues..."

He also created these really cool custom demo CD packages to send his music out in the mail. He calls it "the greatest demo tape ever". The CD case for his music looks like and old school tape and then stuffed into a custom bubble wrap envelope. I agree this is really a great idea!!!

Thanks Steve, I love your work and I wish you the best in all your endeavors:)

Snake Art Cars - Kevins GI-Joe Cobra Rattler Art Car

GI-Joe Cobra Rattler Art Car - Rear View


GI-Joe Cobra Rattler Art Car - Side View


Inspiration for the GI-Joe Cobra Rattler Art Car


I finally got around to the most sought after car in the world, the snake art car because last week was like snake central. I go a second email from Kevin owner of the Hundai Cobra Art Car shown above explaining to me why he though his cobra car was a good candidate for art car central. Then I kept finding snake pens around the house and one in the car when my phone went missing. Then I went to the county faire and my kids wanted to see the snake exhibit. Snakes every where, so I finally gave in and decided to get this over with and post Kevin's cobra art car. I showed Kevin the real snake car and asked him if he though his car was up to par for consideration to ACC, here is what he said:

"I'm sure you will see that the whole car is in theme of a G.I.Joe/Cobra Vehicle and a lot of effort and design went into it. While I enjoyed the cobra car link you sent me I feel as though my car has a lot more artistic design complexity over a simple repeating snake scale pattern wrap on a car.

I'm also including a pic of the cobra rattler toy that my car's theme is based on, please view it to compare my car and the the theme I'm trying to achieve.

Thanks again, your blog is fun to look at!"

Kevin H.

Kevin thanks for your submission and I apologize for the long wait into ACC. I am sure it was well worth the wait. I also added other snake Art Cars so as not to excluded any o the other Snake Art Cars.

Snake Car - Covered in Vinal Wrap and "Real" snakes.

(snake car that Kevin mentioned in his email to me)

Snake Art Car - Truck actually "hand" painted.

Photo by Eli the Bearded

Snake Van - Printed Vinal Wrap

Photo by Akbar Simonse