After seeing a midnight showing of Ghostbusters in early October of 2005, a couple of friends hatched a plan. The self-described "nerdy near-adults with interests in "science fiction, computers, technology, and filmmaking" decided that with Halloween just around the corner, they might as well dress as Ghostbusters. Kevin and his friend Will wanted to build homemade backpacks and uniforms, then go into a local hotel on Halloween to prank them. "Essentially we would run out with smoking ghost traps, handing the hotel manager a bill for $5000, and then run away. Then it hit me. 'Will... I'll make you a deal. You build the packs, and I'll build the car.' A few months later Will moved to New York and the plans were shelved."

The following spring, Kevin and his roommate, Austin, got the project started. They started with Kevin's white 1998 Subaru Outback and went to town, adding lightbars, tubes, packs, decals and a lot of hours to make the car into the Ecto-1K. But just days before Halloween, the Ecto was rear-ended by a semi and written off. A replacement 2003 Outback was located, and with insurance money and donations in hand, they rebuilt the Ecto-1K in just a few weeks. The car has made quite a splash in and around Fort Collins. Car shows, comic conventions, parades, and the like. You can read the whole story and see lots of pics by following the Read link. Funny anecdotes abound. We especially liked the idea of just driving it through town at random on weeknights, making those who caught a glimpse of it wonder if they had perhaps been seeing things. Or using it to help snow-stranded motorists get unstuck. Always nice to see someone with an appreciation for fine art, a great sense of humor, and a Subaru putting it all together for the betterment of mankind.

[Source: NASIOC via DieselStation]