Motor Vehicles
Saint Mary of the Highways
‘Saint Mary of the Highways’ I & II are names of two trailer chapels operated by the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. Designed by George F. Chaplain, one was built in 1938 and the second in 1948. They were dedicated by Bishop Ireton. Purchased by the donations of the people at the cost of $10,000 each, they contain church equipment, public address system and living accommodations for two priests. During the summer, programs of Scripture, music, prayer, question answering, sermons, movies and literature are presented daily. You are invited to visit the Chapel on the road, or at our home in Richmond.
Postcard source.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 26, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Religion, 1930s, 1940s
The Filling Station Ballet
Wikipedia entry here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 09, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Motor Vehicles, 1930s, Dance
George Barris’s Bob Hope Golf Cart
Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 23, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Motor Vehicles, Sports, Golf, Outsider Art, Surrealism, 1960s, Head
Miss Geico
Am I alone in this, or does Miss Geico appear to be one of the hideous sea-folk who live off the coast of Lovecraft's Innsmouth, and conspire to interbreed with humans, producing hybrid abominations?
Home page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 04, 2018 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Business, Advertising, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, Horror, Motor Vehicles, Fictional Monsters
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
Charles Coffin, the Maine Hermit
Info here.
And more here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 03, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Motor Vehicles, Regionalism, Twentieth Century
Home on Wheels
Dora Bryan was certainly somewhat homely for a famous actress, with a female assistant prettier than herself. And surely anyone who names their parakeet "Cecil Gibson" must've been a few caravans shy of a trailer park.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 19, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: Motor Vehicles, 1950s, Actors
Joe Bailon, RIP
The inventor of "candy apple red."
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 29, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Pop Art, Obituaries
The Love Machine
Created in the late 1960s by Hollywood auto customizer George Barris, who's best known as the designer of the original Batmobile.The Love Machine featured velvet upholstery, a revolving circular bed, psychedelic lights, entertainment console, mirrored ceiling, and a crystal chandelier. It did the rounds at auto shows until the mid-1970s, where it was promoted as the "world's first x-rated car."
via lastgasp.com
Hillsdale Daily News - Mar 17, 1972
In the late '70s, the Love Machine was rebranded and it went on to have a career in Hollywood. From Hemmings Daily:
Nor would SuperVan be the van’s only screen appearance. It also showed up in the 1986 made-for-TV movie Condor, repainted gold and black; then in 1989’s Back to the Future II as a Hill Valley Transit bus, painted green; in the 1990 movie Solar Crisis, painted white; and then on an episode of the 1990s TV show SeaQuest DSV, still painted white. Then, in about 2003, the Guild of Automotive Restorers began a restoration on the van that brought it back to its Super Van configuration.
via vanning.com
You can check out more of Barris's creations in the recent book King of the Kustomizers: The Art of George Barris.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 26, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Bus, 1970s
Zippo Car
The Zippo Manufacturing Co. built the Zippo car in 1947 by adapting a Chrysler Saratoga. However, the weight of the lighters kept causing the tires to blow out. So in 1952 the car was sent to a Pittsburgh garage for repairs and re-adaptation. It was never seen again. To this day, no one knows what happened to the Zippo car.It reminds me of the tale of the lost Star Wars Celica GT.
In 1998, a replica Zippo car was built — fitted with modern tires that could handle the weight.
More info: post-gazette.com, NY Daily News, Zippo.
Thanks to hotsauce269 for the photo!
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 04, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Cars, 1940s
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |