Gearhead Tuesday

The Fort Lauderdale Daily Photo Staff Limousine -
 A Custom-built Yugo

The Fort Lauderdale Daily Photo Staff Limousine
"B-Squared", founder, editor, CEO and HMFWIC of the late Fort Lauderdale Daily Photo wanted his staff to be transported in style in a unique, one-off, custom limousine. A lying car salesman lured "B-Squared" into selecting the Yugo by promising him that the comely pink-clad model in a Yugo ad would be at his beck and call if he chose a Yugo as the basis for the limousine he planned to have created to transport his staff on their reporting assignments.

The car salesman lied: the pink clad model never arrived at the executive suite of the Fort Lauderdale Daily Photo blog.

Expecting the imminent arrival of the model , "B-Squared" purchased the Yugo and had it towed from the showroom to the local Walmart where he hired two redneck mechanics who were loitering in the parking lot, sipping on Budweisers disguised in 64 oz Slurpee cups. Their task was to convert the showroom stock Yugo into the FtLDP Staff Limo. The Yugo had to be towed because there has never been a reported instance of one actually being driven from the showroom.

Showroom stock: the FtLDP Staff Limo before conversion

The Yugo was towed from the showroom to the local Walmart.

Bubba and Billy Bob, the two mechanics hired to convert the Yugo

They had previously created this masterpiece

Bubba and Billy Bob cut the Yugo in half. They extended the wheelbase by using two eight foot long 4x4s, bolting each end of the 4x4s to the front and rear sections of the car on both sides. "B-Squared" wanted the staff to be able to enjoy the Florida sun but didn't want them to get sunburned because of an open sun roof. Bubba and Billy Bob solved the problem by using a section of corrugated fiberglass in the roof.

A section of translucent corrugated fiberglass was patched into the roof

The Yugo limo is towed around Fort Lauderdale by a Hummer H2. This drives the local Tolrunt Libruls nuts, all the more so because it has a Romney sticker on it.

The finished limousine gets excellent fuel economy because the engine rarely starts. Thus the Staff Limo usually rides on a trailer towed by the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth's favorite vehicle, a Hummer H2. "B-Squared" considered the rear engine model (photo below), but decided that mode of propulsion was not ideal for the limousine.

The Yugo reminds «Louis» of "Beep Beep"!