Oldest Art Car Still on the playa

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:03 am

I don't know. Which one has been around longest? I don't recognize any of the ones from the old pre-"mutant vehicle" days.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:35 am

I've seen some out there.
Some of the older ones aren't driven, just parked.

misfit · Post by **misfit** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:45 pm

Cheshire Cat

Bounce530 · Post by **Bounce530** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:04 pm

misfit wrote:Cheshire Cat

I didn't see the CC out there this year, plus I recall a topic on this board about the owners of it not being able to make out this year and were selling the Cheshire Cat.

Post by **Sham** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:16 pm

This cream puff has been on the road for over 25 years. It's been to the playa every year for the past 15 years, with the exception of this year. It still runs and looks as great as ever!

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:33 pm

That's the Grand-daddy of all art cars, to whom all praise.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 2:33 pm

Mine has been on playa since 2001... just sayin'.

It has always changed , except this year it didn't change much.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:19 pm

I believe OMG has been around since 1995. I had assumed that it was gone.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:38 pm

`it hasn't met the standards to be a registered MV for 5+years

Post by **Sham** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:39 pm

Ugly Dougly wrote:I believe OMG has been around since 1995. I had assumed that it was gone.

It's vacationing in Douglas AZ for a short time. It would have been back for 2009 except for logistics of having to tow a trailer instead of the art car. That car is more reliable than your average Buick on the road.

This year we had a guest appearance of Shank, the famous art car from Seattle. This is an extremely old art car, saved from the crusher more than once. It is not really considered a playa car, but it is one of the older art cars.

Post by **Sham** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:44 pm

oneeyeddick wrote:`it hasn't met the standards to be a registered MV for 5+years

I have driven OMG over the last 5 years on the playa and it had the day/night stickers on it's bumper. They are trying to get run of the mill art cars off the playa, but the grandfathered thing is keeping it registered.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:15 pm

I didn't say it didn't get a sticker, just saying it didn't meet the standards.

I have one year in there where I was not given sticker by DMV also, but there are ways around them........

it's kind of a wierd concept, that greandfathering of artcars.
If all it takes is to be around before they had stickers avail, then mine should get in too, but it doesn't.

Post by **Sham** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:48 pm

Yes, you are right about the problems there. Things are getting sticky and a lot of long time burners are getting pissed.
This is a picture of one of the long time art cars on the playa and as of three years ago, they were not allowed. I have trouble understanding some of the logic that is going on there at the DMV.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:59 pm

Shambala wrote:Yes, you are right about the problems there. Things are getting sticky and a lot of long time burners are getting pissed.
This is a picture of one of the long time art cars on the playa and as of three years ago, they were not allowed. I have trouble understanding some of the logic that is going on there at the DMV.

The BLM would like few to no cars driving on the playa. By making "mutation" hard (as opposed to just painting soemthing and gluing things on it) and the standard we have a way of limiting the cars. If you have a better way of accommodating all parties, maybe you should join the DMV and work from within.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:57 pm

I didn't see the CC out there this year, plus I recall a topic on this board about the owners of it not being able to make out this year and were selling the Cheshire Cat.

He was trying to sell it, but I know he's taking it to LA decom this weekend, so I'm not sure what happened.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 8:55 am

It's very hard to simply decorate an existing car or truck and make a decent mutant vehicle... the best example of a great one was the CatBus, made from a Chevy van.
"Mutant Vehicle" isn't supposed to be a car with junk glued all over it and ultra-shitty finger painting all over it, like that Gawd-awful Bug of Harrod Blank's.
The giant solar-powered and blacklight-lit trike, Tub-a-Hurl's tub, LeChat's Contraption... those are scratch-built art vehicles, not old cars that drove through a flea market with a fresh layer of glue.
The more stoned you were when you built it, the closer to old-style art car it probably is.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 9:03 am

Well, I am sort of relieved that a truck with a platform built on the back of it for partyers is not called an "Art Car".

Not that there's anything wrong with partying or MVs.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:37 pm

Ugly Dougly wrote:Well, I am sort of relieved that a truck with a platform built on the back of it for partyers is not called an "Art Car".

While those aren't "mutant vehicles", they're similar to busses in the way they accommodate a lot of people. I hope people keep bringing them!

Anyone remember the Dave Train? That was fun!

Post by **Sham** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:42 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:
"Mutant Vehicle" isn't supposed to be a car with junk glued all over it and ultra-shitty finger painting all over it, like that Gawd-awful Bug of Harrod Blank's.
The giant solar-powered and blacklight-lit trike, Tub-a-Hurl's tub, LeChat's Contraption... those are scratch-built art vehicles, not old cars that drove through a flea market with a fresh layer of glue.

I think that this is where a problem is coming in. Art cars are usually street legal vehicles decorated as elaborate as the driver (artist?) feels it should be. Many of the older "art cars" are the decorated ones you speak of. Some of them are really amazing with "Mad Max" type things bolted onto them, and other are the Pez dispenser type cars. Mutant vehicles are usually completely redone so you could never be able to tell what kind of vehicle it was to start with.

Many of the very early attendees of BM drove art cars as their daily driver and brought them to BM as their way of getting there. As the event evolves, they are now being told to leave the cars home or bring them but don't drive on the playa. Harrod's OMG was his daily driver for years and was brought from the Bay area as his way of getting to BM.

I can understand BMorg's point as people were painting flowers on thier cars and calling them "art" and expecting to to get a permit to drive.

This is not an easy situation, but I think there should some consideration for old timers who have been bringing their art cars for years.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 5:56 pm

"What is an Art Car?" is as easy a question to answer as "What is Art?"

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:52 pm

The X-Men drive mutant vehicles.

Post by **Sham** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:56 pm

Ugly Dougly wrote:"What is an Art Car?" is as easy a question to answer as "What is Art?"

You hit the nail on the head. All this is subjective and that's why everyone has their panties in knots. Before my first time to BM, I had the bizarre notion that I could decorate my rent-a-car and drive it around.

There is no easy answer to the art car vs. mutant vehicle issue, but I guess if you make the vehicle way over the top, then you most likely will get permitted.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 8:40 pm

I kinda think a real mutant vehicle should be scratch-built. It takes some skills and effort, but - if you can't build a vehicle in the first place, how the hell can you expect to do it well enough to call it art?

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 10:28 pm

That's the art part.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 10:36 pm

DMV hottie says, "I don't care if your name is Art " !!!