Recent Rental Cars – Hot American Iron: Hertz Ford Mustang Shelby GT-H

Preparing for some travel recently, I recalled reading a snippet of information somewhere that Hertz was bringing back their famed Mustang Shelby GT-H (called the Mustang GT350H in the 1960’s). Carrol Shelby’s Shelby Automobiles modified 500 Ford Mustangs [Shelby GT-H] and shipped them off to Hertz where they can be rented through the end of the year.

Following are photos and notes from a recent rental:

The journey began at the Hertz rental center where a “manager” must review the car and complete an extensive checklist with the prospective renter. The vehicle check includes the engine seal, placed to make sure that there are no repeats of the 1960’s practice of renting a GT350H and swapping engines (removing the powerful Shelby engine and replacing it with a lesser standard Ford motor). A nearby young father with babies in tow genuflected repeatedly as the manager checked over the 350 GT-H for me.

That the ‘stang is shipped with no transmission options [a slushbox (5 speed automatic transmission) is standard] is perhaps one of it’s only failures.

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Kinetic Sculpture

John Nack:

Dutch artist/engineer Theo Jansen makes unbelievable kinetic sculptures; it’s as if da Vinci had access to PVC. This video (a BMW ad, as it happens) shows off some of his walking machines in motion on the beach. Wired covers the genesis and evolution of Jansen’s work, and you can see his two-ton Animaris Rhinoceros Transport on the move in this video. Many more photos are on his site. [Via] [For more on kinetic scuplture, see previous entry.]