YSaC, Vol CXCII

2009 January 26

Somebody offer something for this car (far out)


Rat Rod

The place where this listing comes from is apparently referred to as the “Athens of the West”. This person seems to have decided to honor the statuary of the original Athens by …. encasing a car in concrete? I have absolutely no idea what I’m looking at here. I want to believe it’s a car under a cover, but it looks a little too rigid for that. (Besides, if it is a car under a cover, wouldn’t you take the cover OFF to photograph the car to sell it?)

So maybe it’s a concrete sculpture of a car. If so, how is someone going to move it? And why on earth would someone WANT it?

Wait, I know. Maybe it’s a modern art installation, and is a post-ironic expression of stereotypes of neighborhoods where there are more cars in the driveways that are on blocks than are on wheels. Perhaps the permanence of the sculpture of what is clearly a sports car is a reflection of the futility of the class struggle and is attempting to represent the weight of the tropes that keep us from true social mobility. The spare tire represents man’s inhumanity to man.

Googling for “rat rod” reveals that the term generally refers to cars that “appears unfinished or is built simply to be driven.” (Thanks, Uncle Wikipedia!) I like my interpretation better.

Sent in by Cheryl — thanks!

38 Responses leave one →
  1. 2009 January 26
    Jackie permalink

    “The spare tire represents man’s inhumanity to man.”

    That cracked me up. Something always has to represent man’s inhumanity to man. Ask me sometime about my existential interpretation of “The Farmer in the Dell”. 😉

    Adores: 3
  2. 2009 January 26
    oaks permalink

    I think it is a fiberglass shell for a car

    Adores: 2
  3. 2009 January 26

    No wonder kid’s love the stuff.

    Adores: 0
  4. 2009 January 26
    Anonymous permalink

    Rat Rod: \ˈratˈräd\noun-
    a: vehicle for Stuart Little
    b: getaway car for a low-life
    1:auto-modification project undertaken by those with nothing better to do
    2:when left unfinished and posted on craigslist.com, see

    Adores: 0
  5. 2009 January 27
    rae permalink

    I love the “far out” in brackets in the title of the listing… really helps to explain things…

    Adores: 1
  6. 2009 January 27
    Random Person permalink

    …and the grounded, stone-like structure of the work counterpoints the surrealism of the underlying metaphor… can you come to terms with the fundamental dichotomies of the other?

    (Not my joke.)

    Adores: 3
  7. 2009 January 27
    drmk permalink

    Hooray for Hitchhiker’s references!

    Adores: 2
  8. 2009 June 6
    Sal Paradise permalink

    I do believe this is someone’s attempt at making a Batmobile like the one in the Tim Burton movies: http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/batmobile-440×330.jpg

    This might be a fibreglass shell, but is more likely to be Bondo.

    Adores: 0
    • 2012 January 7
      CapnMac permalink

      [corey]
      As noted above, this is very probably a fibreglass shell.
      It appears to be a shell made by someone with a poor understanding of just how to make FG car body shells.* Which may or may not have been accentuated by spraying a faux stone/granite finish over it (or, the top coat is just that horrible).

      Even worse for our sparky vendor, such car body shells are inextricably associated with a specific car chassis. This union is as explicit as egg-chicken-egg; duck-egg-duck; egg-goose-egg–one is the one, and it is not the other. Not specifying the chassis is as likely to cause problems as selling eggs without differentiating between quail, emu, or even alligator eggs.

      Sigh.
      _______________________________________________
      *When an exterior finish is most important, one makes the fibreglass from the outside to the inside. You start with a smooth mould, and apply the final, i.e., “gel” coat first. To that coat you then laminate more resin and fabric, until the needed thickness of shell is built up. After which, the finished shell can be removed from the mould and used.
      It is possible to operate in reverse, but, one is faced with a great deal of sanding and grinding hardened epoxy resin (a product chosen for its resistance to just that sort of thing) progressively finer and finer until a smooth surface is achieved.
      Alternately, one might use “soft” epoxy putty–one namebrand is Bondo–and build that up in layers until a smooth finish is achieved. Doing that before silicosis sets into one’s lungs being why most make a “female” mould instead.

      [/corey]

      Adores: 2
  9. 2012 January 7

    That car would be a hard on to drive.

    Adores: 8
    • 2012 January 7

      I’ll granite you that one, Hammy, but the corner is calling.

      Adores: 2
      • 2012 January 7

        I think you are a little stoned.

        Adores: 2
        • 2012 January 7
          funky "eMonkey" monkey permalink

          And now the statue of limitations has been met for this joke. Thanks everybody and remember to tip your waitresses!

          Adores: 3
        • 2012 January 7

          Monkey, rocks!

          Adores: 1
    • 2012 January 7
      Irregular Fractal permalink

      I’ll say this much, it must definitely have a manual transmission.

      Adores: 3
  10. 2012 January 7
    valarie permalink

    The top left picture makes me think all stone car wants is a good belly rub. Ooooh! If I rub it, will a djinn pop out and grant me 3 wishes?

    Adores: 3
    • 2012 January 7
      funky "eMonkey" monkey permalink

      Nope. ‘Cause, you know, djinnas.

      Adores: 7
      • 2012 January 7
        Irregular Fractal permalink

        Djinninjas is the name of my Kajagoogoo cover band.

        Adores: 4
        • 2012 January 7

          If I drink enough djinn, I definitely start not seeing ninjas.

          Adores: 5
  11. 2012 January 7

    I’d love to see you get that thing inspected and tagged.

    Oh, I get it now. The lack of license plates represents the anonymity of the individual in modern society, and the lack of an inspection sticker represents impotent rage.

    Adores: 3
    • 2012 January 7

      And the lack of actual mobility represents Sparkie’s direction in life: He’s going nowhere.

      Adores: 2
      • 2012 January 7
        Windrose permalink

        Yes, but he’s getting there at speed!

        Adores: 0
  12. 2012 January 7
    kelli permalink

    A long time ago, I bred rodents for fun and profit. I tried to make sure they got a proper amount of exercise. This rat rod is a terrible idea. Soon rodents will stop scurrying here and there; choosing to just hop in the rat rod instead. They’ll become lazy and obese. Getting health insurance will become nearly impossible. Plus they’ll probably take up smoking to look cool while they’re driving and then they’ll end up with COPD and they’ll have to carry around tiny little oxygen tanks. This rat rod will be the end of all rodent civilization!

    Adores: 8
    • 2012 January 7
      funky "eMonkey" monkey permalink

      But Kelli! Car = backseat = more warm fuzzy time for teenage dating rats = boom in rat birth rates! Come on! This is just COVERED in dollar signs for you!

      Adores: 4
      • 2012 January 7
        funky "eMonkey" monkey permalink

        And, after looking at the ad and pics again, I realized this particular model o’ rat rod doesn’t HAVE a backseat.

        Yup, Kelli’s right: This is the end of rat civilization. Sigh.

        Adores: 2
        • 2012 January 7

          Nooooooo!

          🙁

          Adores: 7
        • 2012 January 7
          Windrose permalink

          RW, time to build the space ship and send a colony to Mars.

          Adores: 1
        • 2012 January 7

          But…what colors hats shall they wear?

          Adores: 1
        • 2012 January 7

          They’re supposed to be green.

          Adores: 0
  13. 2012 January 7
    Windrose permalink

    This project is between a rock and a hard rod. . . okay, okay, corner. Can we get breakfast with our coffee slices today?

    Adores: 2
  14. 2012 January 7
    Windrose permalink

    It’s Ladies’ Day in the Box! What? I’m already in the corner! Sheesh.

    Also, I wonder if the adores were working correctly. I thought some of the comments deserved more attention.

    Adores: 1
    • 2012 January 7

      *settles down in the box* It’s been a little while… Sven, bring me a Mai Tai and get the palm frond fan. We’re setting up camp.

      Adores: 1
  15. 2012 January 7
    CapnMac permalink

    [random kit-car trivia]
    The reason most “kit” cars have no doors is due to an obscure bit of U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) legislation.
    It turns out that the only regulated car door part is the interior handle on the door.

    This part needs must be submitted for exhaustive and destructive testing in the USDoT labs. Those testing facilities can then mandate engineering changes to the appliance, without regard as to how those changes “fit” with the rest of the design.

    If a person is meaning to build 10,000 of a given car type, that overhead expense is minor. If a person was planning to make 100, 200, even 250 kit car shells, then the testing and approval overhead can be a tad onerous.

    There is an “exception” for “gull-wing doors” as long as they do not extend more than half-way down the body “tub”–USDoT treats those as operable “windows,” not doors.

    [/trivia]

    Adores: 1
  16. 2012 January 7
    LimeLolly permalink

    Modern day Flintstone car!

    It requires 5 people to run with it, though. It’ll sure bring back carpooling.

    “I’m sorry, Tim. My doctor won’t let me ride with you anymore. He says I’ve got a herniated disc from that quick trip to the liquor store.”

    Adores: 1
  17. 2012 January 7
    Digitalaxis permalink

    Here we see the common nesting Batmobile, in its natural habitat, in early January. Now, the Batmobile is a monotreme, which means “lays eggs in water but only gets 5 miles to the gallon”. What you see here is the carcoon, made its larval form, the Toyota Tercel; in just a few short months with low low financing, it will emerge transformed and, judging by previous incidents, immediately launch itself into a fatal dive into Sparky’s kiddy pool.

    Adores: 4
  18. 2012 January 8

    That reminds me of my Uncle Tony. He made some powerful enemies of the wrong kind and found himself driving a cement Buick. Poor Uncle Tony.

    Adores: 4
  19. 2012 January 8
    Windrose permalink

    Ladies, please line up: Archie, CJ, Sis: Punchity Punch Punch!

    Good Morning, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth!

    Adores: 0
  20. 2020 July 23
    bianchisound permalink

    In case anyone ever checks. I just saw this ad and missed everyone here.

    Enjoy!

    https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/pho/d/nellis-afb-womans-feet/7164431024.html

    Adores: 0

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