AutoMinded » Reader Sightings

Romero Britto Porsche is a mall attraction

autominded — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:00:57 +0000

In what we’ll describe as possibly one of the strangest mergers of art and commerce around, a reader has sent us shots of a Romero Britto panted Porsche 911 being displayed at a mall in Florida. It seems the Aventura Mall in the posh suburb of Miami ropes off a one-of-a-kind piece of pop art like your mall displays Fiats and Chevys.

Britto is known for applying his Miami Vice in a blender style to everything from Volvos to Bentleys. His latest piece was originally developed for the last Art Basel Festival, but now that the event is long gone, Champion Porsche has parked it in a much more open gallery. Allowing the general public to get this close means the Porsche is running the risk of obtaining a few Orange Julius stains — but then again, would anyone notice?

Love it or hate it, someone will pay well over the $107k sticker price of this mildly-optioned 2013 Porsche 911 Cabriolet. It will likely be the same person who tried to buy the half of the VW Beetle when the Gadzooks shut down.

Thanks to Mike W for the pics!

Sexy Lexus?

autominded — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:00:16 +0000

Some drivers are deservedly passionate about their cars. Wranglers, Mustangs, Corvettes, and other unique lifestyle machines have so many die hard fans there are events across the country for them. But one of our readers spotted a driver who is likely alone in his/her enthusiasm for one of the least lustful cars out there.

Sure the 330 has the largest engine available for this generation ES, but when we think of anyone calling this Camry-based leisure cruiser sexy, there’s only one voice running through our minds:

A big thanks to Bill for sharing!

Our kind of Pinto driver

autominded — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:05:18 +0000

Driving a Pinto hatchback requires a good sense of humor, and we’d like to buy beer for the owner of this pristine tangerine-colored example.

For those who don’t know, the Ford Pinto went down in flames for bursting into flames. Some cost cutting around the gas tank in the hatchbacks caused the potential for a fire during a rear end collision. Ford then set fire to its reputation when it revealed that it did not recall the cars because a cost/benefit analysis said it would be cheaper to settle the resulting death and injury cases.

Ford would eventually recall the affected cars, but by then the image damage already turned the Pinto name into ashes. Time heals some wounds, and today there are die hard fans of cars with less than stellar reputations. Just like the DeLorean or the Yugo, there are a few Pinto lovers out there, and this one definitely knows how to have a good laugh.

Of course, this also reminds us of one of the funniest scenes from the Val Kilmer flick Top Secret!

Thanks to Mike H. for the pic!