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Here is an art car with a giant photo of Nancy Reagan on a van totally protected from towing, wheel booting and vandalism. Its in San Francisco so I guess it needs all that, but I am not sure the purpose of it all.

The Internet would not be complete without the the 12 days of Art Cars song to commemorate this Christmas Eve. So here is my attempt at creative art car song writing.

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

A Truck with Christmas Lights.

2 Santa's Cruising

3 Volvo's Glowing

4 NASCARS Racing

5 Snowy Hills
6 Jeeps a Glowing


7 Bugs-a-Crawling

8 Trucks-a-Hauling

9 Bikers Bicking

10 Cycles-a-Rolling

11 Leaping Reindeer's

12 Mercedes Wreaths

Sorry that was painful, but Merry Christmas

Here is an art car from one of my facebook friend named Leah Stella called Stellabelle a 99 Toyota with Almost 200,000 miles on it. The outside depicts worms, lights and Dr. Suess style things and was painted using exterior house paint. Stella is a videographer, composer, graphic artist and Youtube director with a very interesting video of the making of her art car and if you like this there is plenty of it where that came from on her YouTube channel.

Dickens44 and Girlfriend with Bascom Art Car

This mosaic Ford Falcon art car was created by artist and former curator for the Unknown Museum Dickens 44 Bascom on facebook a mystery worth investigating.

At first all I found was that Bascom 44 was born on the 44th day of 1944 at 44 minutes past 4:00 am. I am guessing that's were the "44" part of his name came from.

With the help of my friend Amanda who did some more digging I found out that he was part of a growing movement called the "gluers" spearheaded by a group called the Moligator Manufacturing Company, the Northern Frog Works. They met and exchanged gluable materials like costume jewelry, rubber mice, teeth, baby heads, tennis balls, bottle caps, plastic salt shakers and beyond. Dickens Bascom, a noted northern California gluer, looked forward to the day when he could join other gluers and purchase a large office building and decorate it in their fashion. "I'm determined to do it," he says. "I think it's something people need."

Larry Fuente who knew him said he was always raiding people’s basements for ‘art supplies’ and hanging stained glass windows from their trees, engaging neighbors in making art and “an expert at getting people, whole families, to do art together.”

Dickens 44 is still painting and gluing objects after all these years and has managed to produce a very large and wonderful body of art found on his site. The art car itself is pretty amazing and deserves its place here on art car central. Mystery somewhat solved.

The Volkswagen Beetle with its long association with Mexico, has been used in a unique project initiated by the Museo de Arte Popular (MAP), and turned into a colorful art car represented with the art of the indigenous Huichol. “Vochol” (from the slang word for the car – Vocho – and the word “Huichol”) was created by two indigenous families over a period of seven months.

This VW art car is covered with over 2 million beads on the body, dashboard, and steering wheel and is intended to highlight the art of the region. The designs on the vw art car were created by master craftsman Francisco Bautista, that depict traditional imagery. Serpents resting on clouds on the front of the art car, sun and four eagles on the roof, and a shaman in a boat on the trunk.

The Vochol will be on display at the MAP in Mexico City and will go on tour in Europe and America, and finally, it will be put up for auction that will hopefully go for about half a million pesos. The proceeds will go to the Association of Friends of the Museo de Arte Popular (AAMAP).

Comic by Bizarro

Anyone who has ever had an Art Car for sale will tell you that convincing someone to look past all the paint and glued objects can be tough. This Bizarro comic depicting a father attempting to get the buyer to look past all the barbies glued on his daughters 2001 Mercedes S430 sedan says it all.

This weird commercial of a hairy car driven by a bald man was sent in by Martin just now. Not sure what the commercial is all about but it is pretty funny seeing a car completely covered in human hair blowing in the wind. It could be a hair club for men commercial who knows, anyone? Rogaine for cars maybe?

Tesla Art Car - (Credit: Tesla Motors)

Tesla Motors finally got in the art car game by commissioning their very own Tesla Roadster art car created by digital media pioneer Laurence Gartel, whose commercial work includes glossy magazine advertisements for Absolut vodka.

The car is for sale for only $109,000, but because it features a vinyl car wrap, the buyer will have to pony up a few more bucks for the art work which by the way has a shelf life of about 5 years. via cnet.

Tesla Art Car - (Credit: Tesla Motors)

Tesla Art Car - (Credit: Tesla Motors)

This is exactly what you do with all those McDonald's toys that are now banned in San Fransisco. You glue them all over your Mazda art car and then you go for a joy ride through San Fransisco, for spite. No happy meal for you, I guess they are call them sad meals in SF.

Its been a while but this Crochet Doily Art Car was found Prague and its an old Skoda Octavia Combi was well worth the wait.
via

I received this wonderful Indian Bollywood Taxi Art Car made from an Amby car, one of India Iconic cars from Valay the other day. Not only is it painted on the outside but its also got a great festive disco feel on the inside with plenty of red plush material and few Indian disco balls.. This is the Indian version of the Ultimate Taxi from Aspen Colorado.

Basanti is Julian Parr's brain child.
It's hand painted in Bollywood poster art style with Bollywood's most iconic movies and their songs from the past. Exteriors designed by Valay Gada and Satinder and the interiors done by Julian himself...

An ex regional director of Oxfam GB Julian needed to have fun after a day long of 'saving the world' and Basanti the ambassador does just that....It's kitsch, mad and brings a smile to even the urchins who for a second join the escape Bollywood movies provides to the masses from their tough days and keeps them going....

Don't know what or who these people are but its all about the attitude. This dude and his monster retro stash posing on his crazy home made tricycle in front of row the bodacious tricycle babes is all about attitude and they have it going on. Know as La Bala Humana.

This Sticker Art car was sent in by Murray McKenzie from Whangamata, a beach town in New Zealand. The art car is a 1995 Ford Telstar hatchback covered in free stickers from a local surf shop that took about 6 months to complete. I think this sticker art car might be contagious by the looks of the developing sticker rash on car parked next to it.
I believe now might the time to put Whangamata under quarantine until this thing sticker infection passes.

This floating Mobile Phone Box is probably a photoshop job but it sure is funny looking. via

 This Pirate ship called the Lost Ship, seeing here cruising the hi desert seas of Burning Man is modern marvel of art and engineering. For more details I would suggest going to their blog so you can see a more detailed view of how they put it all together.

Captain Andy started dreaming of a pirate ship with a huge mechanized wheel during his first visit to Burning Man in 2004. As a structural engineer and experienced metal sculptor, Andy has a head full of design know-how, a knack for aesthetics, and a drive to creatively reuse and salvage metals that are otherwise bound for the recycle bin. The prospect of creating an “art car” from scratch gave him an opportunity to combine these three gifts on a grand scale. Six years later the Pirate ship made its maiden voyage to this years Burning Man. via

This Crochet-Covered Morris Minor is for Sale on eBay , is a salvage from a New York City art exhibition. Probably created by insomniac grandma with not enough grand kids to keep her busy knitting sweaters. Any ways the current bid 1,525.00 so its not too late to get this cozy Morris Minor Art Car in time for the winter storm.

Chicken Coup Art Car - After

Michael Thompson is the creator of this Chicken Coupe Art Car made from a beat up old 1971 Morris Traveler in the heart of Norfolk Broads.

He went looking for something a little more unusual to make into a hen house and asked a friend of his who owned a body-repair shop to keep his eyes peeled for an interesting vehicle that he could use.
Weeks went by when one day this beat up old Morris showed up on its way to the scrap yard and Michael took about thirty seconds to decide that this was what he was looking for in chicken coupe art car. 100 quid (bucks) later and a pint of beer it was delivered to Michael's House.

The front end was a total loss so he chopped it up and used the back end that went on to become this really cool chicken coupe art car for Michael's four hens complete with ramp and bumper sticker.

His final words on the matter were... "Re-use, Recycle... one planet - to the max!" via

Chicken Coupe Art Car - Before

This Australian Aborginal Toyota Art Car Basket was created using Tjanpi Grass by the Tjanpi Weavers Group headed by Artis Kantjupayi Benson using a lesser-known Aboriginal weaving art practice.

The Grass Toyota art car ended up being 16ft long by 13 feet wide and 5m long, and 8.2 ft high and was was commissioned by the World Expo in Hanover Germany.

While Kantjupayi sat on a chair leaning on her long walking stick, she oversaw the younger women drawing the shape of the vehicle with chalk on the concrete floor of the Blackstone hall. Minyerri grass, a wiry grass found in the sandy country approximately 20kms from Blackstone, was used in the construction. The grass was fashioned into coils and attached with jute twine and wire to welded steel framed panels covered with chicken mesh. The steel frames were made by Perth sculptor Claire Bailey, adhering to the women’s designs. All in all there were twenty artists involved over a month long period to realise the work and there was much celebration, hilarity and joy on its completion.
via

Meineke Muffler Mobile Art Car

I run into this muffler art car on Jalopnik last night and where there is one muffler car there is another.

This "Muffler mobile" was created by Joe, Scott, and Steve Minghelli, family owners of two Meineke muffler shops in Southern New Jersey. They started out by creating art from used mufflers laying around like muffler men, muffler dogs, muffler waffle irons and then one day got serious and made the Muffler mobile. They started out with a Datsun truck and stripped it down to its frame. Then they rebuilt the frame from exhaust tubing welded to the Datsun and then covered it with sixteen gauge steel panels to create the distinctive muffler shape. I guess if a muffler shop is serious enough about their muffler business to build a muffler art car, then they might be a good shop get your muffler replaced.

So here is the complete set of muffler shops around the country you might want to check out next time your car needs a new muffler. I wonder if these cars need to get smogged every hear?

Kelly's Pimp My Muffler Art Car via

Muffler Hut Pink Muffler Mobile via

Steve's Muffler Mobile via

Keith's Muffler Shop Art Car via

Seeburg Muffler Art Car via

Muffler Art Car via

5 Star Mosaic Muffler Art Car via

Here is a restored 1994 Dodge Caravan and made to look like the The Ninja Turtle Van. The Ninja Turtles had a vw but this guy choose a Caravan because it was easy to find parts easy to work on, comfortable for him to drive.

The Turtles played a huge role in his childhood, growing up with all his cousins, playing Ninja Turtles while his Uncle Harry (Uncle Shredder) chased them around doing an exact voice of The Shredder. He used to drive them around in his Caravan, and now every time he sees one it reminds him of the Turtles Van. Cowabunga Dude!!!.

According to JestReport.com the latest  immigration threat to the border of Arizona this Pontiac Bonneville clown art car was pulled over transporting illegal immigrants dressed as clowns. They reported that as many as 100 illegals were seeing exiting this car when pulled over by border patrol in Arizona. Its a serious situation and steps were taken to combat this influx of illegal clowns by outfitting border patrol vehicles with pies, squirt flowers, foam clubs and nerf shot guns. Border patrol were also given all terrain clown shoes and canisters of silly string.