photo out of context
Chevy Rips-Off Dear Photograph
Not too many seem to be watching the Rangers – Cardinals World series, so maybe this has gone unnoticed, but Chevrolet seems to have done a pretty thorough job of ripping off Dear Photograph.
I ain’t a cyclo-facist
but Bikesnob nails it:
It’s fascinating how readily we’ve come accept this notion that we must have respect for a car’s “power,” as though it’s some force of nature beyond all human control. Sure, someone who goes into the wilderness, starts poking grizzlys with a stick, and then gets eaten should maybe have a little more respect for the power of the bear, but that’s a different scenario. Oddly though, if a bear is just doing its bear thing and kills somebody we’ll go out of our way to destroy the bear. Yet if a human being kills somebody with a car we just charge them $42 and blame the victim.
How do I feel about this car?
1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trapardoux Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout
The world’s oldest running car sold at auction last Friday for $4.62 million.
The Runabout had been in the same family for 81 years prior to the sale, and is one of six De Dion tricycles known to still exist. A total of 20 of the three-wheelers were built. When new, the trike had a top speed of 38 mph and a range of 20 miles on one tank of water. The vehicle that sold last night was the only car to show up for the world’s first auto race, where it averaged 16 mph over a 20-mile course.
The Star Wars Celica
In 1977 Toyota and Twentieth Century Fox teamed up to offer a Star Wars Celica sweepstakes. Since the promotion, it’s gone missing.
The Star Wars Celica was designed by Delphi Auto Design in Costa Mesa, California, and awarded sometime after the end of 1977, probably in January 1978. While the sweepstakes were a joint venture hosted by Toyota and Twentieth Century Fox, the awarding dealership remains a mystery, as does the identity of the winner and the vehicle’s VIN number.
The Official Star Wars Blog wants your help finding it, old Jedi.
dear clusterflock
Opinions on center-mounted dashboard gauges in cars?
How do I feel about this car?
cars I’d buy, classic, vol. 1.2
BMW 2002
If BMW were to make the 2002 today it would be a thousand pounds heavier, feature Chris Bangle flame surfacing, and depending on which angle you looked at it from, strike you as cute, fat, or angry. In short, it wouldn’t be done. Also, I think that is a photograph of a die-cast model.
Kevin Sampsell in Conversation with Gary Lutz
The Rumpus did a short interview with Gary Lutz about his new collection Divorcer:
Kevin: Do you drive? What kinds of cars do you like?
Gary: I hate all cars, but I drive a black Chevrolet Cavalier filled with trash. The driver’s side of the body has been keyed so intricately, so all-over-ishly (though perhaps keying isn’t quite the word; there might have been ice picks and chisels involved as well), that the vandal (should she ever get caught) might benefit as much from a gallerist as from a social worker.
(thanks, Derek)
cars I’d buy, classic, vol 1.1
1972 Chevy C-10
Michael’s post reminded me I forgot the 1972 Chevy C-10. My ex-brother-in-law’s step father had a couple of these — one blue and cream, one orange and cream — nicely restored, and although I’ve always been more a Ford man, once I opened my eyes, I had to set that aside. Chevy got the second generation C/Ks right. (Of course, I want mine with classic wheels, but this was the best picture I could find.)
Ford Evos Concept
1960 Plymouth XNR Concept
For a person who’s been interviewing people for the last seventy-five years, Jay Leno is a really poor interviewer, but the 1960 Plymouth XNR Concept is such an interesting looking car, and the renovation job is so good, it’s worth checking out.
Edsel Ford’s 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster
Inspired by a visit to Europe in 1932 and penned by none other than E.T. Gregorie, Ford chief designer at the time, the Roadster began life as a 1934 Model 40 frame before going under the knife for substantial revisions. Stretched a full inch over factory dimensions and saddled substantially lower to the ground, the vehicle boasts a rear-pitched cockpit, long nose and custom aluminum bodywork. A classic Ford Flathead V8 powers the rear wheels.
There’s a video at the link of the restored car’s unveiling that gives perspective on Edsel Ford’s influence on the move away from the functionality of the Ford Model A to more elegantly designed vehicles.
Dear Clusterflock
Post the most accurate picture and/or link to your first car?
cars I’d buy, classic, vol. 1
Aston Martin DB5
Not much to say about James Bond’s Aston Martin. It’s perfect. Squat, fat, ugly. Shapely, aggressive, beautiful. It’s the embodiment of what classic car lust should be.
on reading The Atrocity Exhibition in Brighton
«There are one or two other bits and pieces, but together the inventory is an adequate picture of a woman, who could easily be reconstituted from it. In fact, such a list may well be more stimulating than the real thing. Now that sex is becoming more and more a conceptual act, an intellectualization divorced from affect and physiology alike, one has to bear in mind the positive merits of the sexual perversions.»—JG Ballard
More musings on Brighton, Ballard, Quadrophenia, Joy Division, presidential pubic hair, Beachy Head, mods, rockers, cars, crashes, 911, partying, sex & suicide.
Cadillac Ciel Concept
How do you feel about this car?
Is this something?
Software or (solar-powered) hardware modifications for hybrid/electric cars that offer the purchaser a selection of motor and/or muffler noises appropriately synchronized with accelerator use.
How do I feel about this damage to my car?
Pissed off.
I know it’s nothing that I did. I’m curious, though. Any ideas as to how?
How do I feel about this car?
In Florida, Pedestrians are Cyclists
As any pedestrian in Florida knows, walking in this car-obsessed state can be as tranquil as golfing in a lightning storm. Sidewalks are viewed as perks, not necessities. Crosswalks are disliked and dishonored. And many drivers maniacally speed up when they see someone crossing the street.
Then there are the long, ever widening arterial roads — those major thoroughfares lined with strip malls built to move cars in and out of sprawling suburbs.
It is no wonder that four Florida metropolitan areas, led by the Orlando region, ranked as the most dangerous places to walk in the country, according to a recent survey by Transportation for America, a nonprofit safety advocacy organization.
cars I’d buy, contemporary, vol. 1.1
Ford Transit SportVan
I can’t believe I forgot this one. It’s only available in the UK, but if souped-up panel vans are your cup of tea, this might be the one for you. I know it’d be the one for me.
cars I’d buy, contemporary, vol. 1
BMW M3
This iteration of the BMW M3 has a high revving V8 that, while it isn’t as throaty as you’ll hear from a Mercedes AMG V8, can be wound up and pushed like a Ferrari. I like the low-slung quality of the front end of the car, and while I would of course prefer it in black, this was the best photo I could find of it’s crouching-tigerness.
Chris Burden, Metropolis II
You may recall the kinetic sculpture Metropolis II by Chris Burden. The work, which took four years to complete, features 1,500 Hot Wheels diecast cars and a host of electric trains all bustling around a matrix of steel and plastic. If that sounds like a snapshot of your morning commute, you’re not alone.
Burden recently sat down with directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman for a quick chat on what’s behind Metropolis II and what it means to the artist. Those of you in Southern California may be able to see the exhibit in person at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the fall of 2011.
Jason’s been tracking Chris Burden projects for a while now.
