You have to be insane or bored out of your mind to cover an entire van with photo cameras, but Harold Blank thinks of it as art.

It all started one night in 1993, when Harold Blank had a dream where he covered his entire van with cameras. When he woke up he thought his dream was an epiphany so he went straight to the store and bought all the cheap cameras he could afford. Shortly after, the Camera Van was born.

Blank likes to drive around the cities and take photos of people. he believes when passers-by see his creation they are under the impression the cameras are all broken, so they act more loosely. That gives him a chance to take some great shots.

The front of the Camera Van is covered with all types of Polaroid cameras, the driver’s side is a mural made out of Kodak Instamatic cameras, the passenger’s side has 32-inch LCDs that look like negative frames. The back of the van has 2 LCDs of kids waving to passers-by while the word “SMILE” sits atop the car, constructed from Kodak point-and-shoot cameras.

Harold Blank’s official site could be harmful to your computer, according to Google, but you can check it out if you wish. I hear he has been driving his Camera Van through Mexico and South America and hasn’t updated his site in over 2 years.

via Trendhunter

Guy makes wooden replica of a Hummer and posts it for sale on eBay.

Although its owner is advertising it as an off-road vehicle, but seeing as it’s made almost completely out of plywood, I’d think twice before driving it on rough terrain. It is built on the chassis of a 90’s Chevrolet S10 and reaches a top speed of…well I don’t know exactly, but I’m sure it’s not very much.

Someone actually bought the wooden Hummer for the price of $3,350. Congratulations and drive safely!

via Jalopnik

If you’re going to ride ina sidecar why not make it a really cool sidecar?

I bet that’s what Francois Knorreck said to himself when he started working on this unique motorcycle-car, 10 years ago. That’s right it took him 10 years and $20,000 to complete this masterpiece he calls the Snaefell. He used a Laverda motorcycle and put together the car using whatever parts he got his hands on.

Great effort, this crazy project is right up there with the 1967 Mustang Trike.

via Dvice

Having your engine die-out on you can be a real tragedy, but knowing you can turn it into a kick-ass grill can make things a lot better.

Trent Whatley had the idea of an engine grill cooking-up in his head for about two years, but due to lack of time and parts he kept putting it on the back burner. One day he did an internet search on the subject and found cars turned into grills and grills powered by car-engines, but nothing like what he was about to build.

With the help of his neighbor, Terry Bacon, they started turning a small block Chevy V8 engine into a mean grilling machine. Pimped-out with a nice flaming paint-job and killer valve covers, Trent Whatley’s V8 Engine Grill managed to capture the attention of everyone at a local car-show.

And here I was thinking the washing-machine grill or the Death-Star Grill were as cool as grills get. This thing is way out of their league.

via Jalopnik

I don’t know if I like the XR3 or not, Right now all I know is it looks…different.

Robert Q. Riley has been working on the XR3 Trike for a long time now, but it looks like his three-wheeled car is finally ready to go into production. Designed to be as light as possible, the XR3 hybrid allows 200 mpg and 125 mpg when running on its 23 hp diesel engine.

The plans available on Ripley’s website allow car-enthusiasts to implement some of his ingenious designs on their own rides and help them reduce mobility energy. You can find out more about the XR3 plug-in hybrid here.

via Autobloggreen

It’s not very sexy, but it has a lot of other advantages conventional cars don’t.

Invented by Lon Ballard, the Spira-Foam Car is made out of common motorcycle parts, covered by six inches of foam. It’s powered by a 110 cc scooter engine that returns 100 mpg, has a weight of just 320 lbs and reaches a top speed of 70 mph.

Except for weight and fuel-consumption, the Spira-Foam Vehicle‘s specs don’t impress. But what’s most amazing about this strange car is it’s ability to function on both land and water. With the traffic nowadays you can just sail your way to work, if the surroundings allow it. Also, because of its spira-foam exterior, it offers a lot more protection in case of accidents. Sure, the Russian TREKOL did all this things, but I’m sure you’d go broke after a few refills.

Ballard says he can build a Spira-Foam Car using the parts off any bike, and he will soon start mass producing his invention, in Thailand.

I don’t know how expensive this wacky car will be, but if you won’t be able to afford it, you can also build yourself an amphibious bike.

via Jalopnik

Don’t know what you were expecting, but this is not some high-tech, revolutionary vehicle. It’s just an interesting home-made amphibious bicycle.

Li Weiguo is the man who designed and built this floating bicycle, and the girl riding it in the photos is his daughter Li Jin. His amphibious bicycle has eight water buckets that act as pontoons and adjustable vane wheels that provide the driving power. It might not look as good as other custom made bikes, but at least you can ride it on water and land alike, and that’s the whole point.

The amphibious bike was presented on May 30 2009, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

via China.org.cn

The CarGo Concept may not be the best-looking car out there, but with the ever-worsening traffic, it’s just what we needed.

CarGo is a battery-powered vehicle with three different configurations. It can go into Compact Mode, Narrow Mode (reduced width and better maneuverability) and Pick-up Truck Mode, which allows you to transport heavier stuff.

The storage pod, at the back, can be removed to make the vehicle even smaller in size. It’s a brilliant prototype that just might make its way to the market some day. God knows we need something like a 3 in 1 vehicle, during these tough times.

via Yanko Design

I could totally see Fred Flinstone riding one of these things.

Not much is known about this weird multi-angle bicycle, only that it was invented by Guan Baihua, a Chinese man who thought he should give people ‘an alternative to the normal, boring bikes.’ It doesn’t look too fun to ride, with a polygonal wheel at the front and a triangular one at the back, but it must be a great way to lose weight. This is not the first weird  Chinese two-wheeled creation, the home-made chopper is also something you don’t see every day.

If Guan wants some tips about designing an original, yet cool bike, he should have a look at Jason Battersby’s Tequila Sunrise and Eye Candy.

via China.org.cn

The Citroen Karin is one of those “what might have been” old concepts, that never went into production.

Looking back at the car industry of the 1980s, the Citroen Karin, was one of the most revolutionary concepts. Because it didn’t have any new models to present at the 1980 Paris Auto Show, Citroen gave car designer Trevor Fiore the go-ahead to create an original model. The Karin never made it onto the production line, mostly because it was an unpractical vehicle, but the futuristic design inspired other designers to get passed their traditional way of thinking, and opened the way for the beautiful vehicles we see on the streets today.

via Detointernational

With the current economical recession, renting comfortable office space can be really set you back, but the guys at Limousines World have come up with a solution.

If you happen to own a big enough car, like Cadillac Escalade, Mercedes GL, Lincoln Navigator, Infinity QX56, the guys Limousines World can set up you up with a fully equipped office. The standard package comes with comfortable leather seats, flexible office, internet connection, LCD screens, fridge and a whole bunch of other gadgets to make doing-business easier.

Most of us can only dream of having such a mobile office in the back of our cars, but for those who can afford such luxury, this is a great thing to have.

via Born Rich

Russian students showed off a Death-Race style Chevrolet Camaro at the 2009 Moscow Auto-show.

If you’re a fan of films like Death-Race and Mad-Max, you’re gonna love this car. It was created by students of the MHPI design school, painted with matte-grey paint and fitted with armor and serious weaponry. Now this is one cool ride, the guys who created what is arguably the ugliest car ever, could learn a thing a thing or two from this.

via Damn Cool Pics

The longest motorcycle in the world can be found in Russia.

It was built back in December of 2005, by Oleg Rogov, and acknowledged as the world’s longest bike by the Guinness Book of Records. This super-bike can fit 16 people, but the question that has been on everyone’s mind ever since it was first announced, was: can you ride it? It’s hard to believe 16 heavy bikers could move using the world’s longest motorcycle.

The design isn’t the best I,ve ever seen, nowhere near as cool as the Cat1 Uber-bike but definitely better than this Chinese home-made motorcycle.

via Damn Cool Pics

Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project, or P.U.M.A., is a revolutionary vehicle designed by GM and Segway.

The self-balancing P.U.M.A.  reaches a top-speed of 35 mph and has a lithium batery that makes it run for 35 miles, on a single charge. It also features a vehicle to vehicle (V2V) system said that will prevent many accidents from happening. Like the Segway, P.U.M.A. will basically drive itself, allowing the driver and passenger to enjoy the experience more.

It’s not exactly certain whether P.U.M.A. will ever go into production, but don’t expect to see it on the streets anytime before 2012. I have to admit, coming from GM, this is an impressive vehicle.

via Cnet Asia

We’ve had a lot of home-made vehicles featured on OddityCentral, but none as ugly as this one.

Not taking sides or anything, but I’m pretty sure my 70-something grandmother could have done a better job than these guys. I mean, why would you build something like that? You need a cheap ride, get a used piece of junk, don’t waste your time building the ugliest car ever.

I haven’t seen nearly enough cars to dub this the ugliest car in the world, but I’m sure it has a fair chance.