Cave News

The forgettable 2001 Toyota Pod concept car

What was Toyota thinking?

The unique 1936 Arrowhead Spring Water teardrop car

The Arrowhead Water Company of San Bernardino, California, commissioned car designer W. E. Miller to create a rolling advertisement for their spring water.

Miller designed a teardrop shape, based on a drop of water, that was round and wide in the front and that tapered to a point in the rear, making a very strong visual connection to Arrowhead’s product.

This unique 3-wheel vehicle was constructed by the Advance Body Company in Los Angeles.

The rear-mounted flathead Ford V-8 engine was mounted backwards, transferring power to the front wheels via a standard transmission mated to a standard torque tube, axle and differential. The car was steered through the single rear wheel, and was similar in layout to Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion car.

Only one was ever built at a reported cost of $8,000. In 1936 you could buy 20 new Ford cars for that amount.

VW Beetle rat rod

Speaking of VW Beetle rat rods...

This VW Beetle rat rod has a highly customized body.

The three Beetles below are technically not rat rods but they are unique VW Beetles that will turn heads.

A rat rod is a statement made of rust. They are sometimes called rusty restomods.

1934 Avions Voisin French luxury automobile

1934 Voisin C25 Aerodyne

Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin in 1919 which traded until 1939.

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1950 Mercedes Benz racecar transporter

Mercedes-Benz built this extremely-cab-forward flatbed to haul its 1950 Formula 1 racers.

In this extreme cab-forward vehicle the entire cab is forward of the steer axle.

Yaris Verso by Toyota

This little MPV was introduced by Toyota in 2000 and was built until 2004.

If you can convince your wife to set foot in this little ugly you’d better hope she isn’t overweight or the Verso could list to starboard and stress out on an uphill grade with the 1.3 liter engine in full grunt mode.

A look at the BMW i3 all electric car

The BMW i3 isn’t cheap at $52,550 before rebates.

Never mind that the BMW i3 is the dorkiest-looking thing on four wheels since the Smart ForTwo. In a market where many electric cars are mere conversions of gas-powered models, the i3’s purpose-built, clean-sheet design stands out.

If you’re a tree hugger with deep enough pockets to afford the luxury of pretentiousness this could be just the car for you.

If you don’t live near charging stations you could spend from $500 to $3,000, plus installation costs, for a home charging station. And then there is the cost of charging that will be added to your monthly home electric bill.

After all that, you really just have an urban car that should be left home in the garage when going on a road trip of any distance.

Jeep wrangler with International LoneStar Truck grille - revisited

This International LoneStar Truck and 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited ‘mashup’ was reportedly seen in Morocco.

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Isuzu VehiCROSS - ugly car of the week

Isuzu unveiled their short-lived compact SUV VehiCROSS in 1999. The brand only lasted until 2001.

The three-door VehiCROSS was so ugly it seemed almost cute in a weird sort of way.

...license plate art by Caveman

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