Micro Japanese Custom Vans by Blow Factory

These little custom vans are so cute you just want to grab 'em and snuggle up with them. The detail is impressive, but even more amazing is the perfect scale. They really do look like American vans passed under the shrinking ray. Blow Factory Japan builds American-style custom vans out of Subaru micro cars, designs furniture, and has created the coolest pet carrier I have ever seen.






Thanks all!
Andy sent us to Jalopnik, which sent us to Auto Otaku, which led us to our final destination, Blow Factory

Googly-Eyed Sexpot 1963 Abarth Simca Race Car

This is the sort of car that stirs the soul. Then the moment of realization comes that such folly is beyond your means. So, you slam your fist down on the table, stammer "Forget it! Just forget it!" and then run out of the room - misty-eyed - as if you had just found out that the other kids were making fun of your Sears and Roebuck anorak.

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Free Cadillac Mug with Purchase of New Car

The case could be made that this garage sale found "Have a Happy Day... Cadillac Style" mug is nothing but a cheap piece of swag that denigrates the monumental purchase of a new Caddy. When I bought a new car, all I got was a survey to rate everything from the cleanliness of the washroom to the efficacy of the credit department. Ostensibly, my agreeing to the task of filling out the survey would create a better customer experience for the next buyer, but it just felt like I was being asked to do some work.

Comparitively, if I had received a mug emblazoned with my name, I would have been sure to mention that on the comment card but big companies end up taking themselves way too seriously. If the manufacturers can't lighten up, then the dealers should rock it Cadillac Style.

Funky Kingston Mobile Music Store

(Thanks, Coop)

Smart Car Customized by Catalina Estrada

As a long-time admirer of Catalina Estrada's delicate, rich vector art, I was pleased to see this Smart Car with her illustrations.



Her laptop stickers are great, too.

1953 Alfa Romeo 1900C Superleggera

If you are unmoved by this automobile, then something happened to you on the way to the market. Maybe you fell down an open manhole or were zapped by alien rays and your sense of grandeur was eliminated. Handcrafted from aluminum, this Alfa Romeo delivers.

You will note that there are no seams where the fenders are attached, as the whole car resolves perfectly. Gaps are present only to allow a hood, trunk or door to open. No production car company today could develop something this refined at any cost.

It is possible to imagine a car designer being able to design a grill opening this beautiful. The more amazing aspect is the communication between the craftsman and the designer. Did the metal worker who hammered this sheet of aluminum on an anvil and tree stump faithfully recreate what the designer envisioned? Did he stray a bit and improvise to allow the body to flow? It is impossible to see a car like this and not think about the hammer.

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1968 Goggomobil 250 Coupe

Current high bid is US $7,600.00.

This is a very rare 1968 Goggomobil 250 Coupe. There are probably less than 50 of this model here in the US. They were built from’57 to’69. They were built by Hans Glas GmbH in Dinggolfing, Germany. It is approx 10’ x 4’, weighs approx 925 lbs. It has a 250 cc twin 2-stroke with a 4 speed transmission with reverse. It is considered a micro car, although it will hold 2 adults along with 2 children comfortably. Top speed of 60 mph

I have decided to sell my collection as my MS has progressed. This car was cosmetically restored in Germany before being imported. The engine, tranny and brakes are excellent. The original Owner’s Manual and Shop Manual are included. The original keys, even the original key fob are included. The car has the original black rubber mats with logo and the optional burlap mats, all in excellent condition.

1968 Goggomobil 250 Coupe (via Finkbuilt)

Unstoppable Screw Drive Vehicle

When Kruschev told America "We will bury you," I'll bet he was imaging a vast fleet of these frightening and unstoppable screw drive tanks rumbling though the secretly-built Bering Strait tunnel, and straight down to the United States, boring holes through any barriers in their path.

Charming Lotus Cortina Race Car

Though perfectly charming in every way, the high $59,500 Buy-It-Now price is doing a wonderful job of keeping me from surrendering to the Lotus Cortina's considerable personality.

Link (via Bring A Trailer, which did a very nice write up)

8 Cars on a Spike. Starting Bid: $50,000

D+R emeritus Steve Lodefink found this eBay auction for 8 cars on a spike.

The Spindle is a 50 foot high art sculpture made from 1970’s and early 1980’s era cars skewered on a giant spike located at Cermak Plaza shopping center in Berwyn, Illinois.

The cars on the "Spindle" starting at the top:

1. 1967 VW, red
2. 1976 BMW, silver License Plate reads "DAVE"
3. 1981 Ford Escort, blue
4. 1974 or 1973 Mercury Capri, green
5. 1978 Ford Mustang, white over blue
6. 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix, maroon or burgundy
7. 1980 or 1979 Ford LTD, light yellow
8. 1981 or 1979 Mercury, black

It was created by Dustin Shuler and commissioned by the partnership (Cermak Plaza Associates, LLC) that owns the shopping center.

The sculpture is being sold subject to copyright claims asserted by the artist Dustin Shuler.

The Spindle is probably best known from its appearance in the 1992 film from Paramount titled Wayne’s World. At the same time the movie was released, a companion music video created for the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” by the group Queen was released and received wide play on the cable channel MTV.

The Spindle is an internationally known roadside monument and Chicago area landmark and was even was featured in a State of Illinois tourism campaign.

The buyer will need to pay for removal and relocation. The foundation, guard rails and concrete base are not able to be salvaged. Engineered plans for construction are included.

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Custom Pink Tonka Truck

Todd Lappin of Telstar Logistics has been making customized Tonka Trucks. This Hello Kitty-themed dump truck is for his baby daughter. Link

Speed Racer Inspired Mach 5 Corvette - Surprisingly Cool!

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The Best Truck in Minneapolis

Kindra says this is the "best truck in Minneapolis." I don't live there, but I believe her. Link

Two Lane Blacktop Trailer

A young 'n wiry James Taylor plays a silent-type badass street racer to great effect. Swoon.

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Nash Ambassador

While the Faurecia is elegant and wonderful, the ungainly Nash Ambassador shows how bold design can just as easily fall off the rails and end up in a ditch surrounded by tall grass. The commonalities to the Faurecia motivated me to write about the lowly Nash that recently vacationed at my shop.

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Faurecia Concept Car

Modern cars are not not forged from iron by factories, but are assembled from components sourced from thousands of partners. Not surprisingly, after 100 years of supplying parts, French manufacturer Faurecia has tired of watching car manufacturers muck it up and created the Premium Attitude Concept Car. Though it is likely more a science experiment to show off their capabilities of building dashboards and door panels, it is exciting to see an auto that exhibits traditionally idiosyncratic French design. When was the last time you saw a concept car with black steel wheels and hubcaps?

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Richard Petty STP Decal

From the collection of Mister Jalopy

Cupcake Cars

Dinosaurs and Robots pal Xeni was fortunate enough to drive an electric cupcake around Berkeley. Lucky girl. Having seen the cupcakes at Maker Faire, I can attest to their delicious appeal and straightforward engineering. This is the sort of absurd activism that I like - doing the wrong things for the right reasons.

1934 Art Deco Peugeot Custom Built by Parisian Dentist

There are many examples of over-the-top French art deco automobile design, but this is a particularly stunning streamline example. As there was a fluidity of ideas between 1950's American cars and Googie architecture, there was seemingly no differentiation between decorating an apartment, designing an armchair or crafting a luxury automobile in 1930's Paris. All design was united by the graceful elegance of the art deco movement.

In 1934, using a Peugeot 301 chassis, Parisian dentist Georges Paulin had designed and patented a retractable hard top, the first such fully-retractable, automatic system. Paulin, whose business was crowns and fillings but whose passion was automobiles, did the first one for coachbuilder Marcel Pourtout. Peugeot considered its hydro-mechanical retracting mechanism too complicated, and declined to become involved, so Paulin and Pourtout bought a number of bare chassis and began producing them. The car was extremely well received...

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Kubelwagen replica kit

Retro Thing reports on a Kubelwagen replica kit:

The Intermeccanica Kubelwagen is a Canadian made replica of the WWII military utility vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche and built by Volkswagen. The updated version is built on a tubular steel chassis and one-piece composite body. It includes modern luxuries such as an effective heating system, optional air conditioning, vinyl interior and a choice of 75, 100 and 140 HP VW powerplants. Prices start at $16,450 for a basic kit, expect to pay substantially more for a turnkey vehicle.

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