Introduction
Art cars are a unique breed of automobiles that combine the concept of a car as a mode of transport witha personal concept to create a car that doubles upto as a means of transport and as rare piece of art. Making of art cars is also considered more like a way of uniquely expressing your personality and things you value in one’s life.
Step 1
Phone car is unique invention by Datel Communications owner, Howard Davis. He created this unique invention as a way to market his phone company. The phone car was built in 1975 from the chassis of a Volkswagen Beetle. Its body is made of aluminium and its windscreen has been tinted but still allows for the driver to see clearly.
Step 2
The engine, transmission and wheels are from the original car. It resembles a telephone by all aspects only that it has an engine, are from the original catwheels and all other components necessary for a car to move. It even has buttons on it windscreen. The phone car concept has been taken as far as installing a ringer instead of a horn so that it rings instead of honking like your normal car.
Step 3
The phone car has gained popularity causing it to be featured in several motoring magazines including Motor Trends. It also featured in the Weekly World News magazine.
Step 4
It has also joined a prestigious list of art cars earning it a spot at the Beverly Hills Petersen Automotive Museum. The phone car has also featured in a number of films including Automorphosis which released in 2008.
Step 5
The car which took a year to complete was painted red to draw people’s attention. The colours were particularly chosen due to the significance to the telephone. The phone car concept comes from a touch tone desk telephone which as very popular between 1960 and 1970.
Tip 6
Breaking from the norm of other art cars, the phone car is 100% road legal. The car has a plate labelled “PHONES”. After its completion, a super hero costume for the driver – known as teleman was unveiled. The phone car has attracted a lot of hype by making appearances in parades and celebrations across America. People see it and are amused by Howard Davis’s genius marketing idea. Until recently, the car phone did not have a phone. It was until fans asked whether the car has a phone that it was fitted with one and according to the owner, the car is priceless and he could not sell it for any amount.
Conclusion
The phone car was Howard Davis’s idea of a cheap and efficient form of advertising. Considering that he bought the Volkswagen Beetle it is derived from at throw away price of 125 dollars. By being unique, the phone car concept has considerably achieved and even surpassed its intended goal. By driving the unique phone car, Howard Davis has definitely attracted the attention of his intended audience and by the stares and smiles it receives from curious onlooker, it is an outright successful advertising campaign.
