(AeroCar 600: a 1959 BMW 600 turned airplane, by Dave Major)

I had way too much fun this week learning about the wild and wacky world of art cars while putting together a slide-show on the topic for msnbc.com: Folk art on four wheels: art car celebrations around the country.

One of my favorites was this the AeroCar 600 (above) created by cartist, yes – that’s what they call car artists – Dave Major.  Part airplane, part car, the Aerocar 600 “has a handmade propeller turned by a 12 volt electric motor, a tail from a real airplane and tires from a Beech Jet 400A”  The dash has a working altimeter, airspeed indicator and aircraft compass as well.

There art car celebrations around the country and many of the most outrageous cars cruise the circuit, so you may see Rex Rosenberg’s Chewbaru (below) at the Houston Car Parade on May 8th, at Art Tougeau in Lawrence, Kansas on May 22nd, or at any of the festivals listed on the Art Car Calendar.

(The Chewbaru: a 1995 Subaru covered with partials, dentures, toothbrushes and hundreds of other dentistry-related items. Courtesy Rex Rosenberg)

Here are a few more of my favorites, including a few images that didn’t make it into my msnbc.com slide show about art cars, starting with this one from Houston: Our Lady of Transportation.

(Photo by Magda Gomez)

(courtesy Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts)

See more folk art on four wheels in my art car slide-show on msnbc.com.

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