Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Funkengroovin Wednesday - Cartastrophy

Or When Bad Taste Interferes With The Best Of Intentions

How often have we all seen a car and asked WTF? Here are two examples of car pimping attempts gone awry. Next question (rhetorical): What were they thinking! (Click on the photos for enlarged and detailed views.)



Below- An old Mercedes. The closest auto VB could come up with is the Grosser Mercedes, which appears to be very similar except it has no split window. Maybe a Mercedes fan could help out here.


Below- VB is not sure if the window is original. The owner spoke no English but did indicate that he did not "chop-chop" / "bzzzzzz" (buzz saw) the top off.


Below - No Smoking (The Owner uses a rag as a gas cap.)


Below - The car looks great until you get a close up view of the wood trim - cringe! You see this wood trim on a lot of trucks around town, but on a Mercedes?



Below - A real chop job. This is a VW Type 3 Karmann that had the roof cut off. Go ahead and start screeching! Let's not even bother with the color theme - that's just over the top. Does it make you want to cry? Yeah. VB too.











NEWS:

Collectible Classic: 1966-1973 Volkswagen Squareback - (Lots of photos and more detail at the link.)
"OUR CHOICE
A '68 or later with fuel injection, but we'll forgo the automatic, thanks. Sahara beige or Indian red are the right colors, but for a custom touch, two-toning can be tastefully done."


The Beast of St. Patrick Revisited - Hoboken Parade Day Visitor's Guide
"Wow, is Hoboken so full of raging drunks that it needs to have it's own St. Patrick's Day?"

"There's actually a very sane and sober reason why Hoboken has chosen a date other than March 17 to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. In order to ensure the best bands and optimum turnout, forward-thinking Hobokenites decided against competing with the world-renowned Manhattan parade that takes place on the actual date of the Feast of St. Patrick. Should Hoboken choose to celebrate the event on that day, the Hoboken parade would be nothing but Mayor Roberts riding down the street in a green VW Beetle with the top down and a couple of drunks too wasted to find the PATH train. Various towns throughout New Jersey have taken similar measures, making Hoboken the kick-off for "St. Patrick's season," if you will. "


Sunny weekend brightens fast-food pit stop car show - (Read more and check out the photos at the link.)
"Nearby two Volkswagen Beetle lovers were busy answering questions about their vintage bugs.

Randy Resetar is a Phoenix transplant from Maryland, which, he said, he doesn't miss much except for its fresh seafood. His 1961 Beetle with rubber sunroof has been customized to the point that it can't be driven around except to shows. Its 2300-cc engine develops over 200 horsepower and requires special racing fuel."

Why I love: Beetle-based cars
Author discusses his "favorite Beetle spinoffs: The Bus, The Thing, Porsche 356, The Dune Buggy."

From PC World: Friday Roundup of Weird Stuff
"In my hippie days, the radical seventies, I owned a VW bus. At the start of a road trip, I'd wrap a hamburger in aluminum foil and throw it into the engine compartment. By noon, lunch would be ready. (I tossed wet sneakers there, too, but not while the burgers were cooking.)
Technology has made that technique obsolete; witness the "Exhaustburger Cooks While You Drive" device. (Sure it's probably Photoshopped, but I'll bet it'd work.)"

If that makes you salivate for more, then check out the following articles.
Ask Autoblog: How do you cook with your car engine?
About Cars; Slow Down, Roast's Ready
Meals on wheels
Cooking great meals with your car engine. The heat is on.
An Experiment with Cooking with your Car. "Save time and electricity by recycling some waste heat!"
A little road skill can feed the driver
How To Cook Food on Your Car Engine "As Demonstrated by Me and a Chicken Sausage"
Around Britain With A Paunch: Cooking On A Car Engine
Wikihow: How To Cook Food On Your Car's Engine
Eating, Drinking, Cooking and, Oh Yes, Driving, Too
And, if you have room for dessert: Car-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies, step by step
Lastly don't forget about the barefoot chef, and his advice on how to cook on your exhaust


The three videos VB wanted to post were "Embedding disabled by request".
VB's first pick was Kentucky Headhunters - It's Chitlin Time.
Just go to the link and enjoy.


3 comments:

  1. 'He uses a rag as a gas cap" --- well there is only one place I know that would allow that (come to think of it, maybe I know a few others) LOL I have become far more observant of the oldmobils here because of your blog - see them everywhere now. Its great!

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  2. Thanks for the link to the Paunch. We're planning to do some car engine cooking pretty soon - it's all inspired by a book called Manifold Destiny which explains in detail how to do it.

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  3. lynda: It's amazing how many old cars are here. Someone told me that years back, exporting old cars to Europe was a big trade until the government put an end to it. Within the span of just a few weeks since my return I have found some pretty awesome old cars not just VWs and will be doing a few posts on them. Highly collectible ones. I will add that The Boss Man and I have actually discussed buying a couple of cars to take back with us to the States when we return. Unfortunately, there are so many to choose from!

    browners:You're welcome for the link. Actually I have heard of Manifold Destiny but buying one these days is an expense. I think Amazon has them starting at something like $135.00!

    I hope you post some recipes for us to enjoy. Good luck on your cooking.

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