The Car Built For Homer.
June 29, 2013 8:54 AM Subscribe
"All my life, I have searched for a car that feels a certain way ... powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball ... now at last I have found it." -- 22 years later, "The Homer" is now a reality.
BONUS: Can't afford $82,000? Then here's the next best thing: Let's Play The Simpsons: Road Rage -- The Car Built For Homer
BONUS: Can't afford $82,000? Then here's the next best thing: Let's Play The Simpsons: Road Rage -- The Car Built For Homer
With three horns! You can never find a horn when you need one!
posted by Navelgazer at 9:00 AM on June 29, 2013
posted by Navelgazer at 9:00 AM on June 29, 2013
Could use a few speed holes. They make the car go fast.
posted by fishmasta at 9:03 AM on June 29, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by fishmasta at 9:03 AM on June 29, 2013 [5 favorites]
Buy now and get a year's supply of Nuts and Gum!
posted by usonian at 9:09 AM on June 29, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by usonian at 9:09 AM on June 29, 2013 [4 favorites]
This should be a permentant installation at the new Simpsons theme park.
posted by The Whelk at 9:13 AM on June 29, 2013
posted by The Whelk at 9:13 AM on June 29, 2013
BORT license plate confirmed.
posted by Gin and Comics at 9:17 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Gin and Comics at 9:17 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
BONUS: Can't afford $82,000?
A little over the spending limit for 24 Hours of LeMons, isn't it?
posted by kenko at 9:28 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
A little over the spending limit for 24 Hours of LeMons, isn't it?
posted by kenko at 9:28 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
Bart and Lisa don't look too well secured, hope they have an ejector seat.
posted by arcticseal at 9:41 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by arcticseal at 9:41 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
Now let's talk rust-proofing. These Homers'll rust up on ya' like that, er ... shut up, Gil. Close the deal ... close the deal!
posted by entropicamericana at 9:56 AM on June 29, 2013 [11 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 9:56 AM on June 29, 2013 [11 favorites]
"Really interested parties can even track the car live as it races this weekend."
posted by whyareyouatriangle at 10:01 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by whyareyouatriangle at 10:01 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's no match for my Canyonero.
What's the deal with phonebooks?
posted by DU at 10:58 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
What's the deal with phonebooks?
posted by DU at 10:58 AM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
This should be a permentant installation at the new Simpsons theme park.
While I can sympathize with the Indiana Jones "It belongs in a museum" idea, for me, automobile museums and displays are great for about a minute and a half, then I am struck by a feeling that bothers me, a kind of dissonance within the situation, I guess. These machines were designed to go - to fire up those engines, each piece operating according to it's purpose, and be in their 'natural' state - in motion. To keep them locked in static, environmentally controlled displays just feels wrong, as if one is betraying their true purpose.
That kinda sounds a bit grandiose, but I think this feeling comes from when I was a kid. I had this friend who had plenty of cool Star Wars and GI Joe toys, but they were all on shelves, immaculate, and he never really got a chance to feel comfortable actually playing with them. While taking care of your toys is a good thing in general, and probably something I could have been better at back then, when I look at an old box of my toys, with missing pieces, broken parts, some with epic scratches and melted plastic "battle damage", I realize that while they have no possibility of ever being sold as 'vintage', I played the hell out of those toys, and that was worth way more than some eBay auction ever would be. I kind felt bad for the kid, even back then, on what he was missing out on. I suppose it's the 8-year old's version of "For sale: baby shoes, never worn" in the form of "eBay Item: Star Wars collection, 100% mint, never used"
In any case, that feeling comes back when I see cars on display, but if I know that somebody out there actually drives them around now and then, it's a lot more enjoyable.
In this particular case, if it were ever to go on display at the Simpsons park as you suggest, if they showed it at the park during they day, and then cruised around town at night, maybe even with some lucky visitor to the park as a passenger as a promotional thing, that would be just perfect by me.
posted by chambers at 11:15 AM on June 29, 2013 [13 favorites]
While I can sympathize with the Indiana Jones "It belongs in a museum" idea, for me, automobile museums and displays are great for about a minute and a half, then I am struck by a feeling that bothers me, a kind of dissonance within the situation, I guess. These machines were designed to go - to fire up those engines, each piece operating according to it's purpose, and be in their 'natural' state - in motion. To keep them locked in static, environmentally controlled displays just feels wrong, as if one is betraying their true purpose.
That kinda sounds a bit grandiose, but I think this feeling comes from when I was a kid. I had this friend who had plenty of cool Star Wars and GI Joe toys, but they were all on shelves, immaculate, and he never really got a chance to feel comfortable actually playing with them. While taking care of your toys is a good thing in general, and probably something I could have been better at back then, when I look at an old box of my toys, with missing pieces, broken parts, some with epic scratches and melted plastic "battle damage", I realize that while they have no possibility of ever being sold as 'vintage', I played the hell out of those toys, and that was worth way more than some eBay auction ever would be. I kind felt bad for the kid, even back then, on what he was missing out on. I suppose it's the 8-year old's version of "For sale: baby shoes, never worn" in the form of "eBay Item: Star Wars collection, 100% mint, never used"
In any case, that feeling comes back when I see cars on display, but if I know that somebody out there actually drives them around now and then, it's a lot more enjoyable.
In this particular case, if it were ever to go on display at the Simpsons park as you suggest, if they showed it at the park during they day, and then cruised around town at night, maybe even with some lucky visitor to the park as a passenger as a promotional thing, that would be just perfect by me.
posted by chambers at 11:15 AM on June 29, 2013 [13 favorites]
> but if I know that somebody out there actually drives them around now and then, it's a lot more enjoyable.
You have to visit the WAAAM. Its a giant hanger that smells like a garage, and you notice that almost every one of the vehicles has a drip tray underneath it collecting oil and fluids, because almost everything in the museum can be driven, and they drive them regularly. In fact, a lot of cars (and planes) there are on loan from their owners.
posted by mrzarquon at 12:03 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
You have to visit the WAAAM. Its a giant hanger that smells like a garage, and you notice that almost every one of the vehicles has a drip tray underneath it collecting oil and fluids, because almost everything in the museum can be driven, and they drive them regularly. In fact, a lot of cars (and planes) there are on loan from their owners.
posted by mrzarquon at 12:03 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
To keep them locked in static, environmentally controlled displays just feels wrong, as if one is betraying their true purpose.
So, you don't want to see any of the Space Shuttle exhibits?
posted by ShutterBun at 12:07 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
So, you don't want to see any of the Space Shuttle exhibits?
posted by ShutterBun at 12:07 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
To keep them locked in static, environmentally controlled displays just feels wrong, as if one is betraying their true purpose.
That's genuinely with the problem with most museums, isn't it? I mean, that mummy corpse is supposed to be in pyramid tomb. That Buddha head is supposed be on top of a body, in a jungle temple. That Gate of Ishtar is supposed to be in Babylon.
I also remember reading an article about how putting works of art in a museum strips the social context that they were made in. Like it becomes a piece to be revered in a different way rather than a piece of art hanging over a foyer or a statue for a fountain.
posted by FJT at 12:20 PM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
That's genuinely with the problem with most museums, isn't it? I mean, that mummy corpse is supposed to be in pyramid tomb. That Buddha head is supposed be on top of a body, in a jungle temple. That Gate of Ishtar is supposed to be in Babylon.
I also remember reading an article about how putting works of art in a museum strips the social context that they were made in. Like it becomes a piece to be revered in a different way rather than a piece of art hanging over a foyer or a statue for a fountain.
posted by FJT at 12:20 PM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
...if I know that somebody out there actually drives them around now and then, it's a lot more enjoyable
You are not the only one who feels that way. Via
posted by TedW at 12:27 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
You are not the only one who feels that way. Via
posted by TedW at 12:27 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
That's genuinely with the problem with most museums, isn't it? I mean, that mummy corpse is supposed to be in pyramid tomb. That Buddha head is supposed be on top of a body, in a jungle temple. That Gate of Ishtar is supposed to be in Babylon.
Even that painting is supposed to be in someone's home.
posted by kenko at 12:39 PM on June 29, 2013
Even that painting is supposed to be in someone's home.
posted by kenko at 12:39 PM on June 29, 2013
IT BELONG'S IN A CHATEAU!!!
posted by FJT at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by FJT at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
whyareyouatriangle: ""Really interested parties can even track the car live as it races this weekend.""
THE FUTURE PEOPLE! WE LIVE IN THE FUTURE!!!
I mean seriously. I'm watching live telemetry of a 24 hours of Lemons car built like The Homer?
My brain is melting down.
posted by Big_B at 1:27 PM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
THE FUTURE PEOPLE! WE LIVE IN THE FUTURE!!!
I mean seriously. I'm watching live telemetry of a 24 hours of Lemons car built like The Homer?
My brain is melting down.
posted by Big_B at 1:27 PM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's no Wagon Queen Family Truckster.
You think you hate it now, but wait til you drive it!
posted by Spatch at 1:41 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
You think you hate it now, but wait til you drive it!
posted by Spatch at 1:41 PM on June 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
Excellent
posted by alias_unknown at 2:03 PM on June 29, 2013
posted by alias_unknown at 2:03 PM on June 29, 2013
I mean the zoo was fun, but
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 2:03 PM on June 29, 2013
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 2:03 PM on June 29, 2013
Not close enough. No glass bubble for the front compartment? Not even a sunroof?
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:05 PM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:05 PM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
Not close enough. No glass bubble for the front compartment? Not even a sunroof?
I'll field this one.
Let me ask *you* a question. Why would a man whose shirt says "Genius at Work" spend all of his time watching a cartoon?
posted by FJT at 2:30 PM on June 29, 2013 [10 favorites]
I'll field this one.
Let me ask *you* a question. Why would a man whose shirt says "Genius at Work" spend all of his time watching a cartoon?
posted by FJT at 2:30 PM on June 29, 2013 [10 favorites]
Shutterbun: So, you don't want to see any of the Space Shuttle exhibits?
Nah. It would be more depressing than interesting for me, in a "remember when we used to do amazing things?" kind of way. I kinda felt the same way when I saw the Saturn V the same day I saw Columbia prepare for a launch when I was a kid. (I was a precocious, oddly opinionated 8-year old at the time, and was a little unhappy about the compromises made from the original shuttle design goals) I think once we have the new manned spacecraft up and running, it'll be much easier to see the old shuttles.
FJT: I also remember reading an article about how putting works of art in a museum strips the social context that they were made in. Like it becomes a piece to be revered in a different way rather than a piece of art hanging over a foyer or a statue for a fountain.
I totally agree. I used to love museums of all kinds, and by my mid-teens, it was less and less enjoyable each time, and I was never sure why. It just turned into a big room with stuff in glass boxes, presented in more and more silly presentation gimmicks that were harder to really relate to - even with topics and objects that I was actually really interested in. That all changed a few years ago when I went to the museum at Bath - it felt like I was a kid again! I could have spent days there, wandering among the ruins and exhibits, and it was fantastic. It was done so well, and in such a correct context for me, that my mind was just spinning at all the possibilities to explore on my own.
But in a practical sense, we need the regular museums as much as we need the 'real thing' - kids have to to start somewhere.
posted by chambers at 4:53 PM on June 29, 2013 [4 favorites]
Nah. It would be more depressing than interesting for me, in a "remember when we used to do amazing things?" kind of way. I kinda felt the same way when I saw the Saturn V the same day I saw Columbia prepare for a launch when I was a kid. (I was a precocious, oddly opinionated 8-year old at the time, and was a little unhappy about the compromises made from the original shuttle design goals) I think once we have the new manned spacecraft up and running, it'll be much easier to see the old shuttles.
FJT: I also remember reading an article about how putting works of art in a museum strips the social context that they were made in. Like it becomes a piece to be revered in a different way rather than a piece of art hanging over a foyer or a statue for a fountain.
I totally agree. I used to love museums of all kinds, and by my mid-teens, it was less and less enjoyable each time, and I was never sure why. It just turned into a big room with stuff in glass boxes, presented in more and more silly presentation gimmicks that were harder to really relate to - even with topics and objects that I was actually really interested in. That all changed a few years ago when I went to the museum at Bath - it felt like I was a kid again! I could have spent days there, wandering among the ruins and exhibits, and it was fantastic. It was done so well, and in such a correct context for me, that my mind was just spinning at all the possibilities to explore on my own.
But in a practical sense, we need the regular museums as much as we need the 'real thing' - kids have to to start somewhere.
posted by chambers at 4:53 PM on June 29, 2013 [4 favorites]
I misread the whole intro to this post with cat where it says car. I came in here and was very disappointed. I want a cat that is "powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball", but I don't want to pay $82,000 for it.
posted by lollusc at 9:45 PM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by lollusc at 9:45 PM on June 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by The Whelk at 9:00 AM on June 29, 2013 [8 favorites]