Both realistic and unrealistic:


The unrealistic:



The realistic:

Why do I find the "unrealistic" one the more appropriate?

Possibly the DIY aesthetic... But, I think, because it's ridiculously camp - and I think that's a very important aspect of gothiness...

This is not the right thread to discuss it, most likely, but the role of 'camp' in goth is interesting, because I don't believe it's universally true.

A lot of Dark Wave music is very serious, straight-up and sombre. with nary a tongue in its cheek.

And then there's 'Alien Sex Fiend'....

Yes, I admit, it's as serious as your post...

By the way - when can we expect to see "The Role of Camp in Goth"?

loved the first one, the second one, though awesome- is not my style.

I have my own gothmoblie in my driveway- all i need is a few more touch-ups and its gothiness will be complete and i will post a picture of my baby.

So far it is black on the out side, with a black and red color sheme inside. We are going to paint the dashboard red and back and dye the carpet and top black. I have an edgar allan quote as a bumper sticker with the word Gothic in rd across mu back window. Not only that- but my car is child friendly!

I love my car.

You HAVE to post a picture of this as SOON as you can!!!

We got a PT Cruiser because it's the car that looks most like a hearse!

It is silver, mind you, but if I ever get the money she's getting the Royal Purple paintjob with a spiderweb design over it.

Still, it is silver and lots of goth accessories are silver, right?

That'll be a good look, too!

Normally PT Cruisers are a little blah-looking, but purple with spider webs would DEFINITELY get my attention!

According to the Goth Bible the PT Cruiser is the most popular car among goths for that very reason.

Myself? I would prefer a Dodge Magnum in flat black with tinted windows.

~spidey

Unfortunately, we couldn't afford one of those at the time we were buying.

I'm not a car wiz, but if it were econ/eco friendly, I'd want a 1988 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham kinda like this one. Except the exterior has to be black (I think this is dark brown).

Whenever I think "gothmobile" I think really old Cadillac.

Real hearses actually aren't that expensive, if you're willing to have a somewhat older car (say 80s-early 90s models). 2-3 grand around here can get a decent daily driver hearse. They aren't good on gas but funeral homes take GREAT care of their cars since everything has to work and look flawless for funerals (it simply is not acceptable to break down on the way to the cemetery, or to show up looking like you've been mudding with the hearse). Since they only go to & from the funeral home, morgue, and cemeteries they're almost always super low mileage cars.

You can get them for less, but usually that means they'll need work. They seem to come up for sale most frequently after Halloween. See what happens is some people buy older hearses, paint them up, and use them for party vehicles around Halloween and then when the novelty wears off they decide to dump them off on someone else. The ones used as party vehicles usually need a paintjob at the least, as well as a good cleaning inside to get rid of all the, um, "debris" left over from whatever has transpired inside them.

What you really want to watch out for is the condition of the vynil roof material. They make conditioners, cleaners, and dyes to maintain the vynil cloth, but once that vynil starts to deteriorate you're looking at a pretty hefty body shop fee to get it redone. Not many body shops have experience with vynil roofs anymore either so finding a shop that knows what they're doing can be tricky.

If the car is intact physically but has been given a tacky "party mobile" paint job (or the paint is just beaten to death by the sun & acid rain), you can always repaint it yourself. I know, sounds hard! But it's not bad once you take the time to learn how to do it DIY. Unless you want a factory-style "gloss" paint job, what you can do is use the old rat rod techniques and give it a flat black or a satin black paint job. Once you know what you're doing from experimenting you can knock out a paintjob in a couple weekends: no airgun, paint booth required.

For interior parts, painting or dying plastic can be tricky. The "best" way to do this is to get a spare interior part from the same car from a junkyard to experiment on, and then try different interior products to see what holds up the best. Why do I say this? Because some of the interior paints & dyes on the market have a nasty habit of bleeding! Take it from me, I found out the hard way. The prep work is also very important. Chances are your interior has been cleaned at some point using something like armroil. To get the paint or dye to adhere right, you need to get all those chemicals off, as well as any oils from your hands. Rubbing alcohol can sometimes take some of this stuff off, but I've run into a few parts on my car that wouldn't stop fisheyeing until I resorted to sanding the parts prior to painting.

I wouldn't bother trying to change the color of the carpeting [unless its a hearse], you can usually go out and buy pre-formed carpeting for most cars. For seats you have two real options, going to a junkyard to find a set in the color you want (can be a hit or miss venture depending on how common your car is), or you could reupholster yourself. For my car I was able to get a full set of leather seats for under $150 by going to junkyards until I could find good ones.

Window tint & velvet window curtains will be subject to local & state laws though. In most states you can bypass the window tint regulations with a doctor's note if you've been diagnosed with light sensitivity or chronic migraines. If you can legally tint your windows, I suggest getting the security film variety since it makes it more difficult for people to break their way into your car. A thief who knows what she's doing will be able to get in without smashing a window, but it should help the car survive addicts looking for stereos. You'd still have to replace the window after the theft attempt as the film won't make it invincible. Even with a note, I don't know of any state that will let you legally tint the windshield. Usually that has to be left factory.

Hmm... I would say THIS
http://www.transportcafe.co.uk/vintage_car_photographs/vintage_chevrolet_ruby_red.jpg

-- Sat Mar 20, 2010 11:55 am --

Hmm... I would say THIS
http://www.transportcafe.co.uk/vintage_car_photographs/vintage_chevrolet_ruby_red.jpg

Take another look at the black Ferrari I posted.

The model is called a 'Spider'.

Look at the wheels: they look liek spider webs! [just noticed that now!]