1939 Pontiac Ghost Car commands $308,000 at auction

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:58:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Auctions, Pontiac, Specialty

For the 1939 World's Fair, Pontiac built a Deluxe Six bodied in Plexiglass. Part of the Previews of Progress pavilion in which General Motors' Futurama showed off what was to come in the world of autos, the 'invisible' Pontiac is credited as the first transparent car in America. And there were no shortcuts taken with its body: the Plexiglass form was fabricated by the company that brought the material to market in 1933, Rohm & Haas.

The see-through sedan was sold at RM Auctions' St. John's auction in Michigan on July 30, fetching $308,000. Not bad appreciation for a domestic oddity that cost $25,000 to build when new. You can check out the high-res gallery of its innards, including copper and chrome metalwork and white moldings and wheels, and get the exhaustive details on it after the jump.

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1939 Pontiac Ghost Car commands $308,000 at auction originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Subaru Outback wears its boxer diesel engine on the outside

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:02:00 EST

Filed under: Wagon, Green, Marketing/Advertising, Subaru, UK

Click on the image to see high-res shots of the "see-through" Subaru

While automakers spend huge amounts of money paying marketing firms to come up with memorable advertising campaigns, sometimes something relatively simple does the job just as well. Take this Subaru Outback. Dreamed up by Stan Palmer Sales of Carlisle, a Subaru dealership in the U.K., this particular Outback appears to be see-through and was developed to promote the marque's new diesel boxer engine, the first such engine in the world. An image in a Subaru brochure was snapped with an eight megapixel camera, blown up and plastered onto the full-sized car.

Though the whole project took just one day, the effort has drummed up plenty of interest. According to Dealer Principal Ian Armstrong, "The reaction has been fantastic, with people almost tripping up as they walk past." Considering that the Outback isn't exactly a fresh model, the added interest has caught the attention of Lawrence Good, Managing Director of Subaru Limited in the U.K, who said: "This car has become quite a talking point back here in head office and is a fantastic and cost-effective advertising initiative. It should inspire other dealers to either copy the idea or come up with their own innovative campaigns." Sounds like they love it.

Gallery: See-through Subaru Outback

[Source: Subaru]

Continue reading Subaru Outback wears its boxer diesel engine on the outside

Subaru Outback wears its boxer diesel engine on the outside originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 May 2008 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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