Cars
Early Solar-Powered Car
A 1912 Baker Electric car that was retrofitted with a solar panel by Charles Escoffery for the International Rectifier Corp. back in 1960. The panel cost $20,000. (I don't know what that would be in present-day money, but it wouldn't be cheap.) With the panel, the Baker could run at 20 mph for three hours. International Rectifier hoped to soon be churning out "noiseless, smogless" solar cars for $5000 each. It's 53 years later now, and we're still waiting. Source: Newsweek (Mar 7, 1960) & M3GA.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 16, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Inventions, 1960s, Cars
Mercedes Benz Commercials
Maybe it's just me, but I find these commercials remarkably creepy, inauthentic, unappealing, ineffective and misguided, given my perceptions anyhow of who buys a Mercedes.
What do you all think?
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 08, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Business, Advertising, Humor, Stereotypes and Cliches, Europe, Cars
SUV Lightning Strike in Russia
In the good old days, a lightning strike would be bad news, but your vehicle might still run.I'm guessing the computer gets fried and the poor schlep behind the wheel gets to sit and think what to do next.
The strike is bright from the outside, so I'm just wondering what the immediate thoughts of the driver were.
Posted By: gdanea - Sat Sep 29, 2012 -
Comments (12)
Category: Cars
World’s Smallest Car
This car won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records -- less than 18 inches tall!!If this car was in the US, a roll-bar would be mandatory, kind of defeating the shortest car attempt!!
Posted By: gdanea - Fri Sep 28, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Cars
Do Giants Live Amongst Us?
As I pondered this ad, which ran in Time magazine (May 1983), I realized that here on WU we've slowly been accumulating evidence that a race of giants lives amongst us, whose existence is occasionally revealed to the world in advertisements. Consider, for the sake of comparison, these two other ads that Paul and I have previously posted:
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 28, 2012 -
Comments (11)
Category: Advertising, Giant People in Ads, Cars
1960 Plymouth XNR Concept
Why aren't the streets of 2012 filled with such vehicles?
This one-of-a-kind car sold recently for nearly one million dollars. More info here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 01, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: 1960s, Cars, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Save the Manuals?
Experts are predicting that within 15 to 20 years manual-transmission cars might be "virtually extinct." This has inspired Eddie Alterman of Car and Driver magazine to launch a 'Save the Manuals' campaign.I drive a stick shift, but for one reason only — because it was the cheapest car on the lot (among the cars I was willing to consider). I concede there are occasional times when driving a stick shift is more fun than an automatic, but when I get stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic jams, which happens frequently in the San Diego area, I hate having a stick shift. So when the time comes that I need to buy a new car, if an automatic is the cheapest option, I'm more than happy to say goodbye to manuals forever.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 03, 2012 -
Comments (17)
Category: Transportation, Cars
Bad Futurism
If a car this light could ever be built, how would it cope with even a windy day?
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 03, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Technology, Dogs, 1940s, Cars, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
This Can Happen To You!
If you frequently drive on rooftops.
The explanation inside:
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 11, 2012 -
Comments (18)
Category: Dreams and Nightmares, Cars
Follies of the Mad Men #167
[Click to enlarge. From Esquire for February 1958.]
1) You are using a childrens' picture-book icon to advertise an adult product. Why not employ the Grinch to sell booze?
2) Even if some parent found this ad to be cute when presented with it in some other forum, you are running it in Esquire, a magazine which, prior to the debut of Playboy, was Swinging Bachelor Hangout #1.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 23, 2011 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Literature, Children, 1950s, Europe, Cars
| Who We Are |
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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 |