The Un-Car

Last week, a Toronto artist and his accomplices were vindicated for driving a people powered 1986 Buick Regal down Queen St. W. in Toronto. Michel de Broin’s art piece “Shared Propulsion Car” transformed the aforementioned 1986 Buick Regal into an un-car: the motor, floor, windows and seats were replaced with plastic bucket seats, four sets of pedals and a levered hand-brake system. In September of 2007, during their maiden voyage, the police stopped the vehicle, charged the operator with operating an unsafe vehicle and towed it away. Not only were the Queen-westers able to bring attention to absurdity of driving a vehicle in the city, they also showed how peddle-pushers often get more attention then o-so dangerous gasoline-powered car. By winning their court case, they also opened up the road to Shared Propulsion Cars. See a full account of the event on Spacing Toronto, and watch the video here.