The Cars (not the band)
July 8th, 2009
For those that like to know these things, the band name “Million Miles From Nowhere” has some significance to my past, but don’t worry about it too much. The real point here is that we have the thrust of our storyline kicking off. My biggest downfall in writing this story is that I’m going to have to figure out how to draw cars. I’ve never been able to do it.
I do feel somewhat bad for Sandy here, although she said something mean, I doubt she meant it as hurtful. I’ve been dismissive before and said things I just shouldn’t have, and I always feel bad about it. Luckily, tragedy and comedy are hard to tell apart.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:01 am
You’re fine with angular things (like furniture), and smoothly curvy things (like Sandy). Why not give her something like a classic “Stingray” Corvette or that’s all flats or single plane curves like a Nissan Cube?
July 8th, 2009 at 6:45 am
Those are great ideas! The ‘vette would just be awesome, and the Cube is odd and memorable. Honestly, though I am working a little bit ahead on these, I’m not so far ahead that I have made a definite decision about the car yet, an you’ve brought up some great points!
July 8th, 2009 at 7:02 am
Those are good ideas. Another idea, if you’re going to go flats and planes, is a 1971-1976 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Or maybe even a mid to late 70’s Ford Thunderbird. A lot of the non-muscle cars from the 70’s were basically just big, long, rectangles with another box on top. That’s more what I would picture Ray driving.
July 8th, 2009 at 8:37 am
1960 Cadillac or 1969 Ranchero, so they can’t fit in any parking spaces or make any U-turns, but they look cool not doing it.
July 8th, 2009 at 8:43 am
I always had a special place in my heart for the old Trans Am’s, with those big phoenix birds on the hood. Pretty awesome. Although I’m not sure how Ray at her age would come across a car like that, unless she inherited it. Sounds like the strip needs to turn into a muscle-car strip, like Dukes of Hazard, or Knight Rider, where the story is more about the cars than the people… (oh yeah, except that I can’t draw cars, and know almost nothing about them)
July 8th, 2009 at 8:44 am
@Cas going back to the 60’s eh? I LOVE those fins on the back!
July 8th, 2009 at 8:51 am
She can just have a cool uncle who welds and builds his own cars, like my friend Will does. You don’t have much back story on her, GO NUTS.
July 8th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Definitely an old Beetle. So anti-establishment she has to reject the new Beetles as establishment.
July 8th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Or a VW micro-bus.
July 8th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Great suggestions, guys! I love the idea of her being so anti-establishment that she rejects things that the mainstream world sees as anti-establishment.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Except that the bug has been used so much as “anti-establishment”, that it has become it’s own establishment. Trust me, real rock chicks drive big land-yachts from the 60’s and 70’s.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I will yield to your expertise, sir!
July 10th, 2009 at 1:57 am
I didn’t think so much about the “anti-establishment” angle, and concentrated on picking up on the idea of her being an arts and design student, and picked a couple of design icons that are the sorts of shapes that we already know Mike can draw. Just saying; I think the “so anti-est…anti-establishment” idea is great too.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I love this conversation… but now I’m trying real hard to think of things that would surprise everyone… including myself…
July 10th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I can see that you’re probably going to go with something “different” and that a land yacht is probably not what you’re looking for. (I feel like a used car salesman all of a sudden…) Here are some specific suggestions for “other” cars:
How about a Citroen DS Pallas? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1974_Citroen_DS23_Pallas.jpg
Or a Datsun B210?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Datsun210RedSunnyCalifornia.jpg
Or, the pièce de résistance, the Reliant Robin!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Reliant_Robin_Saloon_England.jpg
July 13th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Or combine the size of the land yacht with the Gallic style of the DS, and go for a Citroen SM (but please go for a dodgy import with the European spec 6 rectangular headlights under a glass cowl, not the American spec 4 rounds set into cowls to fill the Euro-size gaps in the front.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:32 am
WOAH — my brain just car-exploded.
Carsploded.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:45 am
“Carsploded!” I love it! I’m using that sometime…soon…in correct context.
I think Ken O might be on to something with the SM. At one point, it was an illegal car in the U.S. I could see her being interested in driving a formerly banned vehicle.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:34 am
That would definitely fit her profile!