If you live in a funky enough town, you may occasionally spot an “art car.” Often an old beater with little resale value, its owner will have decided to, say, paint a mural on the hood, make a mosaic out of glued-on coins, or affix little plastic dolls all over the front and rear bumpers. Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ ’til you’ve gone for a ride with Harrod Blank. The son of legendary documentary filmmaker Les Blank, Harrod has tracked down as many of these misfit exhibitionists as possible and documented the effort in books and movies. With his second film, Automorphosis, getting ready for booking into arthouse theaters, it’s a great time to catch up with his work, which is available at Blank’s online store as well as at better retailers. Blank’s 1992 film Wild Wheels ($29.95 on DVD), my first introduction to this phenomenon, has plenty of colorful interviews with the folks who make these cars and demonstrates that, yes, even the kookiest of them are capable of moving down the road. Two books, Wild Wheels ($18.95) and Art Cars (two editions, $18.95 and $19.95), offer mini profiles of each car’s builder along with the expected photos. The second book has sharper and more varied photos, but newcomers should definitely check out the movie, which has an enthusiasm for the art-car movement that’s hard to resist. And check out the virtual tour of Blank’s own Camera Van (pictured). Yes, it’s studded with cameras and its license plate is “CAMRA VN.”

The makers of Mercedes (DaimlerChrysler) are bringing a whole new breed of tiny cars to America in early 2008. A branch of the carmaker - called Smart USA - will distribute the Smartfortwo, a 5-foot-wide, 8.8-foot-long two-seater already popular in Europe (in a diesel version). The itty-bitty vehicle will sell for about $12,000 to $17,000. They are targeted for urban drivers, for whom parking is a premium. A story in Business Week says Roger Penske’s United Auto Group will be the distributors, but the Smart USA website doesn’t say where the cars will be sold. You can make a reservation for one online, however. The magazine says Smart has already taken in 20,000 orders but predictions are that demand will skyrocket. The car (with 71 horsepower, a 3-cylinder engine that can go up to 90 mph) is still on a 50-city tour of the U.S. (currently on the East Coast through early November). Thinking about gas prices? The 8.7 gallon tank is supposed to achieve more than 40 miles per gallon. Thinking about how much stuff you can pack into the back? The company says about 8 cubic feet.