I missed the actual procession on Saturday afternoon, but some early arrivals for the Third Annual Art Car Parade displayed their vehicular visions along 6th street the preceding night. The biggest draw seemed to be the all-wooden pick-up truck, whose owner was holding court with remote-controlled amentities that transfixed more than a few drunk passers-by. Despite its lack of electronic wizardry, my personal favorite was the giant muppet-on-acid mobile. I’ll never look at Dr. Teeth the same way again.

You gotta love these art car freaks, because they are truly kings of the road. The average Joe never blesses their car with anything more creative than a goofy bumper sticker, which passes for high comedy and/or social activism these days. You could opt for eye-melting bling or a NOS-injected econobox to stand out from the crowd, but ultimately your stab at individuality would just blur into the same old collection of bolt-ons and body panels that everyone else has. Art cars, however, are the ultimate evolution of personal expression on wheels.

The coolest thing about art cars isn’t necessarily the art, although there’s something subversively satisfying about transforming an American Icon into a palette for social commentary. The beauty of this custom craze is that, unlike trendy choppers or Pimp My Ride transformations, it’s more about creativity than bucks. You don’t have to be loaded to paint some wack-ass scene across your Corolla and call it art