do not enter
Today I saw a car with a McCain bumper sticker driving the wrong way down a one-way street.
from the comments
Amos:
I believe one possible interpretation could be suave-by-proxy, in much the same way as Ms. Palin is learned in foreign policy via her home states proximity to Russia.
Let’s take the first part of the license plate - SUAVE - which is an unmistakable declaration that something is suave. The second piece of the puzzle reveals what the adjective is modifying - 73, which we could assume, but don’t need to as we are told, is the year the car was made, 1973.
Thus, his license plate could be read as declaring his car is suave, but, and here is the by-proxy piece, a suave car doesn’t drive itself. It takes a suave eye to choose a suave car. He is, in effect, suave himself because of his judicious choice in automobiles.
All this assumes other people realize his car is a 1973 Monte Carlo, as opposed to another year. I’d submit most people would not know the car was made in 1973, or even that it is a Monte Carlo, unless the model is prominently displayed. Assuming it is not prominently displayed, then most people probably see the license plate and think “douche.” The implied message, whatever it may be, is sadly lost in translation.
Of course, if Olly is correct and Michael is just asking for “a friend” then I’d say this license plate speaks highly of the owner. I and my car are suave. It’s a bold choice of plate. As one of the Bibles tells us, “No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.”
dear clusterflock
If a man drives a ‘73 Chevy Monte Carlo with vanity plates that read, “SUAVE73,” is he suave or is the car?
a tribute to rally racer Colin McRae
Thousands of fans of rally racer Colin McCrae gathered to pay homage to their hero. The procession at one point stretched 30 miles and a final tribute included spelling his name with 1086 Subarus.
Deron, it’s cars and typography
Ferrambo
What do you get when you combine a 1960 Nash Rambler Wagon and a Ferrari 360?
Trident Iceni
The Trident Iceni is a biodiesel-powered supercar.
Now powered by a Duramax turbo diesel engine with 550 horsepower at 3800 rpm and a gut-wrenching 950 ft-lbs. of torque at just 1800 rpm, the Iceni is reportedly capable of achieving well over 200 miles per hour. No need to go that fast? That’s alright, the Iceni is quite the quarter mile king too, launching itself to sixty in just 3.7 seconds and surely tripping the lights at an equally astronomical figure. Fuel mileage is about 57 miles per gallon U.S.
Sharpie Lamborghini
The detailing was all done with a sharpie.
car catapult
torn from (last week’s) headlines
A grandmother was arrested for driving with her granddaughter on the roof of her car.
The woman said Thursday she would never let anything hurt her granddaughter. She says she was driving at “snail-speed” and holding the child’s leg.
Perspective Signage
This is my redneck stonehenge
Although it looks like Cadillac Ranch, Utah farmer Rhett Davis declares: “This is my redneck Stonehenge.”
the bentley hummer
Pentagon Ends Tactical Fighter Leasing Program
Ordnance leasing became popular during the military boom years of the Eighties and early Nineties, thanks to turmoil in war-torn regions like Lebanon, Serbia, and Detroit. This strife created an unrealistic demand for capable weapons of mass destruction — a demand that has ultimately led to today’s unsustainably poor depreciation and low used-warhead resale values.
Robert Novak Drives to Top of McCain VP List
Mr. Novak was cited for failing to yield, a charge he angrily dismissed.
“I don’t yield and I never back down,” the syndicated political columnist and cockfighting hobbyist told the reflection in his shaving mirror Thursday. “Unless, of course, I change my mind or come up with a better story. That sort of thing.”
Bob Novak Hit and Run
After intentionally outing an undercover CIA operative, what’s left to do?
Bono said that the pedestrian, who was crossing the street on a “Walk” signal and was in the crosswalk, rolled off the windshield and that Novak then made a right into the service lane of K Street. “This car is speeding away. What’s going through my mind is, you just can’t hit a pedestrian and drive away,” Bono said.
He said he chased Novak half a block down K Street, finally caught up with him and then put his bike in front of the car to block it and called 911. Traffic immediately backed up, horns blaring, until commuters behind Novak backed up so he could pull over.
Bono said that throughout, Novak “keeps trying to get away. He keeps trying to go.” He said he vaguely recognized the longtime political reporter and columnist as a news personality but could not precisely place him.
Finally, Bono said, Novak put his head out the window of his car and motioned him over. Bono said he told him that you can’t hit a pedestrian and just drive away. He quoted Novak as responding: “I didn’t see him there.”
1040hp Hemi-powered Rolls Royce
smart parking in san francisco
San Francisco has outfitted 6,000 parking spots with wireless sensors that determine if a parking space is occupied.
Drivers can access SFPark’s up-to-date information via their cell phone, but to keep everyone safe on the road, the city also plans to install battery-operated street signs that display the number of empty spots available in nearby streets.
Apparently, these 4-inch-by- 4-inch plastic sensors not only determine when vehicles are parked, but also when they depart, and a when a new one replaces it, which has city officials thinking of ways drivers could feed the parking meter without returning to their car.
NASCAR Truck Series
Is it possible drivers in Houston are more aggressive than in Dallas?
itemized speeding tickets
A police department in a north Atlanta suburb noticed it had spent 60% of its fuel budget in the first five months so they built the rising cost of fuel into each speeding ticket.
(via autoblog)
Oil 2.0
LS9, a Silicon Valley company doing energy research, has found a way to modify a nonpathogenic strain of E. coli so that it creates the equivalent of crude oil as a byproduct of eating agricultural waste.
trompe l’oeil speed bumps
Y’all? I sold my car.
Danny and I sold a member of our family for 13 years, the 1995 Ford Escort. We sold it to our friends in Des Moines, who have triplets 16 years old. It’s going to be the boys’ car. They also share a Lumina. “Not a great girl magnet,” was the comment of one of my co-workers. “Still,” I said. “They’re all handsome. And they’re musicians. I don’t think cars will stand in the way of their romantical endeavors.”
Whistle Tips
If you can read this, I’m full of rage
People with bumper stickers, regardless of message, are much more likely to interact aggressively with others on the road than those without. Turns out the stickers represent territoriality.