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Spotted is Globe Drive writer Peter Cheney's weekly feature that takes you behind the scenes of his life as a vehicle and engineering journalist. In coming weeks, we'll also highlight the best of your original photos and short video clips (10 seconds or less), which you should send with a short explanation. E-mail pcheney@globeandmail.com, find him on Twitter @cheneydrive (#spotted), or join him on Facebook (no login required). All photos by Peter Cheney unless otherwise noted.

Peter Brock

A Master’s Touch

My friend Peter Brock sent me this picture of his car and trailer – he built and designed them both. Peter isn’t just your average builder– he designed the Daytona Coupe for Carroll Shelby, and worked on the original Corvette Stingray at GM. Peter also founded a race team, and ran a hang glider company called UP (Ultralite Products.) The car you’re looking at here is the Brock Coupe, his custom-designed version of the car he worked on for Carroll Shelby. It’s stunning, and the craftsmanship is impeccable.

Peter Brock

Aerodynamic Instincts

I love Peter’s Aerovault trailer – only a racecar/glider guy would come up with something like this. It’s a frameless, monocoque design – the strength comes from the outer skin and a set of strategically placed bulkheads. The sloped front end reduces drag, and the axle is covered with an aluminum fairing that smooths the airflow below the trailer.

Yolanda van Petten

Smart Trailer

A couple of weeks ago, I ran a picture of a teardrop trailer I spotted on Highway 401. A few days later, Yolanda van Petten sent me this picture of her own teardrop trailer, which she pulls with a Smart Car. The teardrop is a clever design – the front is a sleeping compartment, and the back hinges up to reveal a miniature kitchen. Pretty cool.

Hand Wash Only

This Chrysler minivan art car is a fixture in my Toronto neighbourhood. The owner has spent years covering it with glued-on plastic bugs and figurines. I have no idea how he washes it (or if he does.)

And a Garage to Match

This is the art car guy’s garage. The car never goes in there, since the space is taken up with the tools and materials he uses to create the decorations that cover everything he owns.

Labour Intensive

Here’s a close-up of the garage that shows how the decorations are made. Many consist of pool cues that are sliced into short sections, screwed onto a panel, and varnished. The owner has been doing this for a long time.

Why His Work is Never Done

And here’s the house that goes with the art car and the art garage. A few million more sliced up pool cues, toy soldiers and plastic bugs, and it will all be done.

Speaking of Jeeps

This week, I wrote about the Jeep Rubicon, an awesome off-road vehicle that most owners use for runs to Starbucks. But there’s also a hard core Jeep contingent that love nothing more than hitting the trail. I spotted this modified Jeep down in Chattanooga, TN when my friend Matt took me to a specialty store where he buys Jeep parts. Although I’m a sports car guy at heart, I really like these trail-modified Jeeps.

Clean (For Now)

This is the underside of that modified Jeep. Note the heavy-duty axles, heavy-duty shocks and the limiter straps that stop the suspension from travelling too far. It didn’t stay this clean for long (the owner had just finished building it.)

Flight of the Bumblebee

I spotted this Lotus Esprit in the basement of Gentry Lane, the Toronto dealership where I work on my car. I never really liked yellow cars that much, and this one didn’t change my mind.

Yellow Peril

Unfortunately, the interior matched the exterior. To each his own.

Don’t Worry, I Can Walk From Here

Yes, this car was actually parked like this.

Vespa Fly Trap

If you’re looking for something to do with that Vespa scooter you just crashed, here’s an idea. I spotted this sculpture in Toronto’s Kensington Market this week.

It Probably Sounds Better in German

I noticed this place during my recent drive through Germany. Not sure what you’d make or grow at a Frankenfarm, but it made me think of villagers with torches.