Filed under: Aftermarket, SUV, Etc., Hummer, Specialty, Design/Style

In 1948 American born artist Man Ray wrote, “There is no progress in art, any more than there is progress in making love. There are simply different ways of doing it.” This is nearly 30 years after he glued some spikes to the bottom of an iron and called it art. And you know what? We couldn’t agree more. Meet Jeremy Dean. He’s a New York-based artist that began reading about “Hoover carts” during the recent economic bad times. Turns out that Hoover carts were broken down old cars that horses used to lug around during the Great Depression.

With that in mind, Mr. Dean decided to turn a “perfectly good” Hummer H2 that he purchased for $15,000 into a horse drawn cart. We’ll let the artist explain the why:

At this time of record financial gains, the auto industry began producing ever extravagant cars and these huge American gas guzzlers became a status symbol in society leading to increased demand for oil and fuel prices soared. So with our very American idea of Manifest Destiny, we meddle in any country that has oil and send our men and women into harms way so that we can continue consuming almost 80% of the worlds resources. But how long can that last?

My own satirical prediction of the future: Unless we come up with alternative fuel sources and rethink our reliance on a hyperinflated consumer based economy, we may be left with no other options than to hook our cars up to a horse. As a symbol of this I [will] take either a Cadillac Escalade or HUMMER H2, which have become monuments to America’s consumption, greed and arrogance, and convert it to a horse cart. The cart will maintain all its former glitz and glamour: chrome rims, GPS, working sound system, DVD player, and TV screens. But [it] will be pulled by a horse.

Hey man, horses need jobs, too. As for Jeremy Dean, he has apparently sunk his entire life savings into this project and is hoping to sell it to recoup his costs. We can only wish him good luck and ask one question: Isn’t purchasing art for what we can only assume costs an entire briefcase full of Franklins just as much of a “status symbol” as big, ungainly luxury SUVs? Video of the art making process after the jump.

[Source: Back to the Futurama via The Car Connection]

Continue reading Artist transforming Hummer into horse cart, i.e. why we love modern art [w/video]

Artist transforming Hummer into horse cart, i.e. why we love modern art [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Artist transforming Hummer into horse cart, i.e. why we love modern art [w/video]

Filed under: Car Buying, Marketing/Advertising, Chevrolet, Ford, Hummer, Mazda, Mercury, Saab, Subaru, Toyota

After one of the worst years ever for the auto industry, which automakers do you think came out of 2009 with an unsullied reputation? Consumer Reports just published its 2010 Car Brand Perception Survey and the results are a bit perplexing. Naming the manufacturers that slipped last year would probably be a piece of cake, but try to guess which ones came out ahead of their 2008 rankings.

Before you try to guess, here are the ground rules. According to CR, “The scores reflect how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: Safety, quality, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation, and environmentally friendly/green.” Further, “The scores reflect consumers’ total perception level of a brand across those categories, and not the actual qualities of the brand’s individual vehicles.”

The overall top brands in the rankings were the usual suspects for the most part. Toyota was tops (guess CR readers haven’t heard about that sticky gas pedal thing), followed by America’s sole avoider of bankruptcy, Ford, then Honda. Somewhat surprisingly, Chevrolet placed fourth – bankruptcy be damned. Carmakers improving by the largest percentage over last year were an equally mixed bag. Chevy and Ford improved quite a bit, but the company posting the biggest gain was Subaru, which mirrored the success it had on the showroom floor in 2009.

Perhaps even more interesting were the bottom brands. Not surprisingly in these green-leaning times, Hummer scored the lowest as a brand, followed closely by GM problem-child, Saab. The Swedish firm was actually tied, though, with Ford’s forgotten brand, Mercury, and shockingly, recent Ford divestiture, Mazda. Dropping the most this year were luxury brands like Porsche, Lexus and Lincoln. How Porsche and Lexus dropped so much is a bit of a mystery, but Cadillac droppng 15 points was a real head-scratcher considering the success of the CTS.

The complete survey is an interesting read, as are the full rankings. The top scorers in each category is particularly revealing. Before you click the source link below, though, try to guess where your favorite brands placed. You might be as surprised as we were.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Toyota tops in CR brand perception study, Subaru, Ford, Chevy make gains originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota tops in CR brand perception study, Subaru, Ford, Chevy make gains

Filed under: Work, GM, Hummer, Specialty, Alternative Fuel

Remember the Standard Taxi from the Vehicle Production Group? It’s now called the MV-1, and production is slated to begin next year at the AM General plant in Mishawaka, Indiana. That’s the same assembly location where the Hummer H2 is built, which makes sense since the MV-1 is based on the same GM underpinnings as the behemoth SUV.

According to its makers, the MV-1 is the first purpose-built wheelchair-accessible vehicle in America, and it’s able to accommodate up to six adults or two full-size wheelchairs. An ADA-approved ramp that stows under the vehicle’s floor and a 36-inch wide side opening are designed to make entry and exit a simple affair.

With its body-on-frame construction made with fully boxed rails, the MV-1 should prove to be a durable people mover and its well-known GM drivetrain components should also be easily serviceable. Further, VPG has teamed up with Clean Energy to develop a dedicated compressed natural gas powertrain option that will provide a 250-mile range with significantly reduced emissions.

Styling wise, the MV-1 may not be the prettiest machine on the road, but for those needing to transport wheelchair-bound passengers, this design may just be a thing of beauty. See for yourself in our high-res image gallery below.

[Source: VPG Autos, Detroit Free Press]

AM General to build VPG MV-1 people-mover at Hummer H2 factory originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AM General to build VPG MV-1 people-mover at Hummer H2 factory