J.W. Burleson photo / Boquillas del Carmen, Coah.

PHB

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Brooklin, Maine, United States
We own a 1975 GMC Sierra Grande 15 in Maine and a 1986 Chevrolet Custom Deluxe 10 in West Texas. Also a pair of 1997 Volvo 850 wagons. Average age in the fleet is 28 years--we're recycling. I've published 3 novels: THE LAW OF DREAMS (2006), THE O'BRIENS (2012), and CARRY ME (2016). Also 2 short story collections: NIGHT DRIVING(1987) and TRAVELLING LIGHT (2013). More of my literary life is at www.peterbehrens.org I was a Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study for 2012-13. I'm an adjunct professor at Colorado College and in the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. In 2015-16 I was a Fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The Autoliterate office is in Car Talk Plaza in Harvard Square, 2 floors above Dewey Cheatem & Howe. SUBSCRIBE TO THE AUTOLITERATE DAILY EMAIL by hitting the button to the right.

Monday, September 7, 2020

24 Hours of Lemons


"Start with a $500 car. Cheaper is fine, but no higher. Then decorate it outrageously. Maybe with a giant rubber ducky, or a flying pig. Now put it on a racetrack with scores of other half-broken art-cars — and drive it fast as hell for 14 and a half hours.

"That’s the formula for 24 Hours of Lemons, a grass-roots race-carnival held since 2006. What’s the grand prize for completing the most laps? A rusted trophy. Sometimes, you get a big bag of nickels.

"Jay Lamm, the ringleader of this circus, hatched the idea during a weekly lunch with car buddies at a Chinese restaurant in Berkeley, Calif. Nearly 15 years later, Lemons is a multimillion-dollar franchise held in dozens of cities across the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

"It’s a real race, but winning is mostly irrelevant. What is actually tested (and celebrated) is the ability of resourceful hobbyists — armed with only basic tools and their wits — to revive a worn-out vehicle for a weekend of low-rent, high-speed high jinks.




"In arguably his most masterful act of provocation so far, a year ago Mr. Lamm changed the sacrosanct laws of Lemons. He put up $50,000 to create a prize for the first pure electric car to win any 24 Hours of Lemons race. To up the ante, electric cars are exempt from the $500 limit. (For all cars, that $500 mark does not include safety gear.)

"Mr. Lamm said the electric vehicle prize would be paid exclusively in nickels, delivered to the winner’s driveway by a dump trunk..."
                                                             ----from Bradley Berman's piece in NYT Sept 6 2020

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