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Search for world’s strangest rat rod ends on Knoxville’s Craigslist

What is this I don't even?
What is this I don't even?

Every so often while trawling these internets, we come across something that just makes us shake our heads in wonder. This ad from Knoxville, Tenn., for a $3,000 car that's one part Pontiac Grand Am, one part 1962 International pickup and seven parts rolling -- OK, parked -- testament to Bondo must be seen, and seen widely, to be believed.

My favorite part of this ad is the way the seller never addresses how the cab and hood of a 1962 International came to be grafted onto the body of a Grand Am with the nose clip from a Oldsmobile Alero, or how the thing manages to keep its state title as an International, or any other of the next 10 obvious questions. It supposedly drives, brakes, has working air bags and lights, no engine warning codes and good exhaust; the air conditioning's on the fritz, so caveat emptor there.

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As for the price of $3,000, the seller claims to have twice that amount invested in the vehicle. The reason for selling is the classic car guy refrain of "to (sic) many other projects," which raises the prospect of a few more creations from the automotive Dr. Frankenstein cruising the greater Knoxville area.

We can laugh all we want, but the seller knows his market, as the Knoxville Craigslist cup runneth over with people selling rusted wrecks under the rubric of "rat rods." Real rat rods are meant to stand apart from the crowd of high-gloss hot rods at the local car show, and whatever its mechanical state, when it comes to standing out this Inter-Grand-Alero has no peer.