Shrine for the repose of the souls of people killed by Toyota cars

Built in 1970 at a cost of $445,000 (which, I'm sure, is a lot more in today's money). It was located in the Japanese mountain resort of Tateshina. I assume it's still there, though I haven't been able to find any recent references to it online.

Murfreesboro Daily News-Journal - Aug 3, 1970

Update: A more recent photo of it, via Tripadvisor. It's called the Tateshinayamashoko-ji Temple.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 15, 2018 - Comments (12)
Category: Death, Religion, 1970s, Cars

Hot Rod Hop

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 10, 2018 - Comments (2)
Category: Music, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1950s, Cars

Miss Terraplane

Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 30, 2018 - Comments (3)
Category: Contests, Races and Other Competitions, 1930s, Cars

Follies of the Madmen #352

Put the noisy little brats in the unsafe cargo area, why not?


Source of ad.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 19, 2018 - Comments (12)
Category: Business, Advertising, Family, Children, Parents, 1980s, Cars

The Trippel SG6

A German entry in the amphibious car sweepstakes.

It's the final car in the video parade below.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 21, 2018 - Comments (1)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, Europe, Cars

Drive-Thru Funeral Home

In 1968, Herschel Thornton of Atlanta, Georgia opened the world's first drive-thru funeral home. He called it a "mortatorium." The press dubbed it the "remains to be seen" funeral home.

It featured five windows in which bodies could be viewed from the comfort of one's car. Thornton noted, "Folks will be able just to drive by and view the last remains of their loved ones, and then keep going."

The Thornton Mortuary is still around. Herschel died in 1995, so the mortuary is now run by his son and grandchildren. Their website has a page about the "historic drive-thru viewing window." But based on the Google street view image of the mortuary, it looks like the drive-thru option is no longer available.

Jet - Mar 28, 1968

image source: professionalcarsociety.org

image source: Thornton mortuary

The Greenville News - Mar 14, 1968

However, other funeral homes eventually followed in the path blazed by Thornton. Quartz magazine reports that Japan debuted its first drive-thru funeral home in 2017. And below is an AP news report about a drive-thru mortuary that opened in Michigan in 2014.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 11, 2018 - Comments (3)
Category: Death, 1960s, Cars

Hairnets for hippies

Logically their concerns should have extended to all long-haired drivers, whether hippies or not. But evidently the Automobile Legal Association simply didn't like hippies.

Belvedere Daily Republican - Dec 11, 1968

Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 24, 2017 - Comments (4)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Cars, 1960s

The Hoffmann

Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 23, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Design and Designers, 1950s, Cars

Follies of the Madmen #332

Wait a minute--this is my own tire on my own car that is being represented as a hideous criminal killer! And since I, the driver, am responsible for my own tires, I must be a hideous criminal killer too!

Way to make your customers feel good about themselves!

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 29, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Business, Advertising, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, Products, 1930s, Cars

More stolen lampposts

Phideaux draws our attention to yet another attempt at stealing lampposts by strapping them to the roof of a car. In Florida, this time. A month ago it was the Netherlands.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 14, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Crime, Cars