Wondrous Wheels
These unique vehicles scattered across town spark wide eyes and double takes wherever they go
Story and photos by Sean Lynch
Spotting a stray pink shoe in the grass next to an abandoned three-fourths-eaten bowl of rotting cereal was the dazzling highlight of my last visit to Western Washington University’s C Lot.
The lowlights stay consistent across much of Bellingham’s parking lots. The sheer annoyance of finding a parking spot on a bustling weekday. Having to thread the needle between parked and moving cars in the tight drive aisles. The parking kiosk I put two or four bucks into takes a comically long time to print my receipt — and especially longer when I’m running late.
But sometimes, amid the banal and inconvenient, a car catches my eye. Not because it looks particularly expensive, but because its design is bold, eccentric or endearingly weird.
These are the cars that breathe life into the monotony of Bellingham’s lots and streets.
A Wild Ride
A raccoon casting a magic spell over a cauldron of mosquitoes, a flying cow that’s found its way to the moon and a cheeky alien peeking over a door handle are just some of the fantastical details adorning this ecosystem on wheels.
The flourishing Nissan Cube was painted by its driver, Western student Adelle Latour, along with her father, Brad Latour, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. With time and paint on their hands, they turned this once beaten-up ride into a rolling canvas of wildlife and wonder.
“The car had dents all across it and the entire passenger side was scratched from end to end,” Brad said. “I had been wanting to make an art car for several years, and when the opportunity came to buy this car, I was like ‘Yes, this is going to be the art car!’”
The duo got cranking with the general theme of the Pacific Northwest in mind, resulting in a celebration of the region's natural beauty with a surreal twist. They said the process took about 200 hours total over the course of a year, with painting sessions mostly taking place after their work and school days, adding new creatures and flora where they saw fit.
“There’s always more I want to add,” Adelle said. “Sometimes people hit it and then the paint chips off, so that’s also why it’s a work in progress since I always have to paint over that.”
While enjoying the excited reactions she receives driving around — especially from googly-eyed children — Adelle sometimes struggles with having a car that catches attention wherever she goes.
“Sometimes it sucks when I’m not in a good mood and I don’t want to talk to people, but everyone wants to talk to me,” Adelle said, whipping out a pair of wide-eyed sunglasses. “I like to cry in my car, and I have to put these big glasses on so no one can see, since everyone’s always looking.”
Shrunken and Striking
When I pull up to the Civic Stadium parking lot to meet Simon King, the owner of this mini but mighty 1997 Daihatsu Midget II, a passerby is already chatting with him, awestruck by the car’s dimensional charm. While its compact size makes it difficult to immediately call it a ‘truck,’ this vehicle is a true Kei-truck, a popular Japanese utility vehicle. Put it next to a standard pickup, and it’s about half the size.
King describes the vehicle as a “neck snapper and brain breaker” due to the stunned second glances it consistently provokes. Observing these reactions, he notes a clear generational divide in emotional responses.
“Boomers almost are annoyed; they probably don’t think it should be legal,” King said. “But the majority of reactions I get, especially from Gen Z, are ‘Oh that’s cool!’ So I see people pointing, shaking their heads, smiling… Anything you can think of.”
King acquired the car about two years ago when he and his son became interested in Japanese import cars. As a lover of tiny cars, King opted for the Daihatsu because of its quirky look and potential for fun behind the wheel.
Although this particular model was produced in Japan between 1996 and 2001, the car continues to stay popular not only for its peculiar design, but also for its ability to navigate tight spaces.
“The biggest draw were people who owned bars. They would use it to transport kegs in the alleyways, and the kegs fit perfectly in the back,” King said.
Despite driving such a compact vehicle, King has no anxieties about his safety on the road. He has only one concern: “I’m just worried someone’s gonna pick her up and take her away.”
The Serene Slug Bug
The classic game of Slug Bug calls for punching your friend on the arm after spotting a Volkswagen Beetle, but this 1973 model, owned by David Wight and usually parked in front of his glass studio, will catch your eye for reasons beyond the game. The car, fully adorned with colorful, ethereal imagery, might just convince you to hold back your fist entirely.
Written in white paint on either side of a brass-toned mermaid ornament, the back of the Beetle delivers its message succinctly: “Make Art” on one side, “Not War” on the other. Wight said the car was painted by eight different artists in Maui, Hawaii, a task spearheaded by Jim Freeborne, the owner of the “Enchantress Gallery” in Maui that features some of Wight's glass sculptures.
“I was doing a show with him there in 2018. He got this classic Super Beetle and painted the base coat on every panel, then gave other artists in his realm the opportunity to paint whatever they wanted anywhere on the car. It was a total collaborative project,” Wight said.
Despite the endless creative freedom each artist had, the car looks far from cluttered — instead, it feels like a harmonious, unified project centered around peace. Some of the many details include a tranquil Buddha, a cyclops-heart with angel wings and a depiction of Ganesha, a Hindu deity known as the “Lord of Beginnings.”
“Jim let me race it around the parking lot, and it was such a fun car to drive,” Wight said. “Right when I got in it, I was taken back to when I was 4-years-old when my parents had the exact same year of car. It had the same smell as that vintage VW interior that made me so happy — it reminded me of the childlike perspective of seeing the joy and beauty in life.”
That nostalgic sniff, combined with a love for its paint job, led Wight to one thought: “I gotta have this car.” He was able to eventually collect the car from Freeborne before the Lahaina fires hit Maui in 2023.
“Everywhere I go now, I see people smile. Sometimes I forget I’m driving the car, and I just think they’re happy to see me,” Wight laughs.