Babe Magnet – Tacky Raccoons

The Mom Motel

Hubba hubba! Boys, take your pick. I’m going for Mrs. Jones.

Elie Aghnedes’ Contribution To The World: The 1954 Rhino

Rhino 1954

Rhino 1954 2

Greek-American inventor Elie Aghnides amassed a fortune coming up with clever inventions.

One of his more unusual creations was the “Rhino,” an amphibious four-wheeled vehicle designed to patrol and defend the vast roadless wastes of Alaska and Canada.

Weighing in at five tons, the four-wheel-drive machine could hit speeds of 45 miles per hour on the highway.

Defining features were its massive front wheels, which had six-foot diameters and weighed 1,500 pounds each. Their hollow, hemispherical shape gave the Rhino its unique all-terrain capability. As the vehicle sank into mud, sand, or other soft surfaces, the bearing surface of the ribbed wheels increased, giving it greater traction.

The Rhino’s massive wheels and low center of gravity also meant it could tip 75 degrees to either side without toppling over.

In the water, the hollow wheels provided flotation, while a rear water jet provided propulsion at speeds of about four miles per hour.

The Marmon-Herrington Company of Indianapolis built one prototype of the Rhino for demonstration. The United States military declined to purchase any, reportedly out of concern that the wheels could be punctured by gunfire, sinking the vehicle [via].

Rhino 1954

Not only could it float, it had such a low center of gravity that it was nearly impossible to overturn. Here it is in action:

Elie Aghnides didn’t stop there. He created another prototype amphibious vehicle named “The Cyclops,” but for some reason the prototype construction failed. Aghnides won a $120.5K settlement with The Marmon Group in 1972.

I want one, if only to crash Burning Man without paying.
[Images from here, here and here. Found here.]

Wannabe Dodge Hemi Van Babe Magnet

This one’s been sitting in our What-To-Do-With-This-File for several years now. It’s way past time we set it free.

All we can guess is that the owner of this black pervo-van knew exactly what he was doing after he re-upholstered the interior and dash with tufted blue and white carpet, installed a wet bar, string lights and a sound system with an 8-track player that plays nothing but Barry White’s Greatest Hits. But even that didn’t get the babes, so he took the obvious next step: GO STEALTH.

[Found here. More Babe Magnets here.]

Allis-Chalmers Segway

[Found here.]

Portland Hipsters Can Eat Me.

No, that’s not a photo shop. It’s a real pig being fed a Bunk sandwich. With minimal sleuthing we determined that the hipsters’ porker is standing on the pristine pavement in front of BUNK Sandwiches 2017 NE Alberta Street, Portland Oregon.

This is not their only venue, and they have a Bunk Truck for catering. Why didn’t they tell me? After all, I’ve already got a cool hip logo for lease or rent:

BTW, Google Maps Street View captured this Babe Magnet parked across the street from Bunk’s.

[Top image sent via email. Muchisimas Grassyass, Russ.]

Comfy DIY Mobile Home

Very cool. The link shows solar panels on the roof for electrical, and there appears to be a wood-burning stove sitting on a piece of slate for heat, but the proximity of the unprotected wood surrounding it looks a bit iffy. Cooking range/oven must have a propane tank hidden somewhere, and it looks like they’ve got a decent sound system for roadtrips – two tweeters, two midrange and one bass. Two important things are missing from the photos, but it looks like they’re combined and adjacent to the rear entry. Somewhere there’s a potable water tank.

Due to the weight of the wood framing and all the accoutrements, this vehicle is too heavy and slow to get much gas mileage, but so what. It’s got good food, good tunes, good looks, and it sure as hell beats this and this. Better than a dorm room.

[Found here. Click for larger images.]

Babe Magnet Grafts

THIS should be entirely awesome once the grafts heal. Jack it up, flare the fenders, give it some oversize wheels with custom baby moons and paint it flat black; then tint the windows, toss in some neon and a sound system that plays nothing but R&B and funk instrumentals, and the pavement will rock.

[Found here.]

[UPDATE! Here’s another view!]

Rat Rod Moped

Kickstand is awesome.

[Found in here. More Rat Rods here.]

YAY! Bumpercars! YAY!

[via email from 1389AD]
We’ve featured Rat Rods before, but now it’s time for some street legal mobiles that would make Ralph Nader crawl into a freshly dug grave just to roll over.

Yes, you read that right; these little beasties are street legal.

They run on either Kawasaki or Honda motorcycle engines and co-opt vintage bumper car bodies into the most awesome form of mini-car we’ve seen in too long. There are seven of these little monsters floating around California and they’re all the creation of one man, Tom Wright, a builder in the outskirts of San Diego who figured the leftovers of the Long Beach Pike amusement park needed a more dignified end than the trash heap.

They were originally powered by two cylinder Harley Davidson Motorcycle engines but they rattled like heck because of the two cylinder vibration and Tom replaces them with four cylinder Honda or Kawasaki 750’s and a couple have been measured as capable of 160 MPH, which is terrifyingly fast in machines with such a short wheelbase.

Are these true Babe Magnets? For sure, and they’re Unsafe At Any Speed, which is just how we like it on Tacky Raccoons.