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Hemmings Motor News has been around since 1954. We're proud of our heritage, but we're also more than the Hemmings full of classifieds that your father subscribed to. Aside from new editorial content every month in Hemmings, we have three monthly magazines: Hemmings Muscle Machines, Hemmings Classic Car and Hemmings Sports and Exotic Car.

While our editors traverse the country to find the best content for those magazines, we find other oddities related to the old-car hobby that we really had no place for - until now. With this blog, we're giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what we see and what we do during the course of putting out some of the finest automotive magazines you'll ever read.

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Cool Cars: The Sharkmobile

Posted April 14, 2011 8:30 AM by dstrohl

Where George Barris can point to the Batmobile as his chef d'oeuvre, his contemporary, Frank DeRosa, can claim this 1960 Cadillac as his own masterpiece. In fact, Pittsburg, California based DeRosa, who has since been inducted into the Oakland Roadsters Hall of Fame, has said that this car was specifically built as his answer to the Batmobile.

Starting with an Eldorado convertible, DeRosa stretched the car to more than 20 feet in length and added a roof from a Buick Riviera, along with a 1953 De Soto grille, 1956 Packard taillamps, the interior from a 1963 Thunderbird, custom lakes pipes and his signature padded vinyl top. The culmination of four years of work, DeRosa originally called it Vendetta, but it has since been nicknamed the Sharkmobile and the Land Shark.

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#1

Re: Cool Cars: The Sharkmobile

04/14/2011 8:57 AM

Gahh, I see some commenters on Hemmings' site are saying this is ugly, but I could not disagree more. Obviously I am biased because of my affinity for shark-related things, but I would LOVE to joy ride around town in this thing!

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#2
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Re: Cool Cars: The Sharkmobile

04/14/2011 9:39 AM

Sharkles, your comment only reinforces my project.

I have been on a somewhat Quixotic quest to convert a 1988 Ford Econoline van into a 'Chick Magnet'. You have given me hope it may actually succeed! I assume that the lake pipes are the true 'Cherry' on this car. I've got to get some.

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#3
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Re: Cool Cars: The Sharkmobile

04/14/2011 11:41 AM

Excellent. I googled the vehicle and it seems like there is a lot of potential for turning one into something really eye-catching and fun! I agree that the lake pipes do add something special to the sharkmobile. It seems like a small touch, but can give just an extra bit of sleekness.

I hope you'll post some pictures of your own project!

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#4
In reply to #3

Re: Cool Cars: The Sharkmobile

04/14/2011 2:14 PM

The project is coming along. Just the other day I snagged some cool wheels:

These wheels REALLY dress it up!

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Re: Cool Cars: The Sharkmobile

04/15/2011 9:03 AM

LOL, your chick magnet is certainly on its way with those.

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