Like how we cover our cars. We don’t cover the tops; our magical healing rains not only prevent rust, but actually reverse the aging process. No, we cover the bottoms. Why? You really need to ask?
Well, I don’t know, actually; I should have knocked on the door and asked. But we could speculate. Maybe it’s an anti-gravity tarp, to prevent the tires from flat-spotting. Or it’s…help me out here; I’m already running out of ideas. I guess I’m not a true Eugenian yet. I’m sure the answer is utterly obvious and logical, like everything else here.
keeps the mice out maybe?
Rising damp.
+1
Well, it certainly is not protecting those important bumper stickers….
Now, regarding the Nissan. I owned a 1996 version…with 1.6 L and 5sp. It was a remarkably reliable car, and returned 37mpg consistently on my commute to work. That great economy was without any hybrid tech–just light weight and good design. It was a
also one of those cars that seemed happiest being revved hard. My best fuel economy run was 40 mph–which was achieved by driving at 80 mph with the air conditioning blowing. Go figger.
I think they’re hugely underrated, actually. Nissans engines were always some of the best in the business in those years, too.
Clearly they’re blocking the bottom so that they can float it across the river.
Yep. Early stages of “Caulk the wagon and float it across”
Try not to lose any oxen.
You have died of dysentery.
Ha
http://www.clockworkhare.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/oregon-trail.jpg
Great times playing that as a kid.
to keep the wheels clean??? lol
sure makes getting inside difficult and handling a bit tricky!
Oh come on, people! Eugene is the environmentalist capital of the free world, so I’m surprised you don’t recognize a big car diaper when you see one. With all of the environmentally damaging fluids ready to seep out of every orifice (of the car, I mean), some automotive-grade Huggies are just the thing. Not only are they absorbent, but they are so comfy, too.
That was my first thought too. Keep the oil and coolant out of the groundwater.
If I just moved to a new area, I’d want to fit in, not stand out. I would need to accellerate the corrosion process.
It looks like a means to prevent oil from leaking from the car onto the driveway, and into the storm drains. Kind of like a diaper for the car.
If that’s the case, they put it on the wrong vehicle!
Did they?
I’m sure a VW bus leaks alot more then a B14 Sentra.
Could it have anything to do with all the moss I see growing on the pavement in many of the photos on CC?
For all we know the driver just ran over someone and is covering up the damage. Ok, too morbid, but maybe it is to keep Goats From trying to climb Mount Nissan. I think car diaper is the most logical answer though. Sure looks dry in Eugene.
Love the Kombie and all the stickers; whoooo Grateful Dead! Even the Escort is starting to catch my eye. Maybe it will replace Falcon’s as the hipster car of choice some decade
I remember lots of westerners covering the tires on their RVs, etc. while in (home) storage–presumably to cut down sun damage. But is Eugene all that sunny?
Yes, it is very sunny in the summer time. Winter is not, and fall and spring can go either way.
Because of the corrosive actions of dog urine. Can rot tires badly if they become the default choice of site. Of course Eugene dogs may be different. Very different.
Maybe they have a problem with cats climbing into the engine bay and or wheel wells? And they don’t want them to get injured? Mice and such would eat right thru a tarp like that/
Ooookkkkaaayyyyy….
Maybe the wrap job is half done. I lost winter storage for my motorcycle one year and wrapped it with two heavy tarps. Placed one tarp on the ground and rolled the bike onto it and wrapped up. Then placed another tarp on top. Worked great… no rust or moister come spring.
To keep dogs from urinating on the tires.
I remember in the neighbourhood of my parents house [until the street hadn’t been asphalted] after a carwash the whole car was covered by the dust again. If the rain started it slams the car with mud, especially the undercarriage and the wheels… Anyway this pic gave an interesting idea of how to protect a car from beneath. It could be blanketed from the top too so the eventual rain could not be able to congregate in the below placed cover. Maybe its a useful idea when a car is waiting for an underbody protection to avoid further corrosion. Maybe…
To keep the sun from damaging the tires?
Stop the brake discs from going rusty ?
Obviously. the owner just moved to Eugene from somewhere in the southern hemisphere. They wanted to protect the car from the rain, but they were confused about what direction the rain might come from.
What is odd is the Pacific NW is so “green”, yet many aging hippies drive all these old cars with old/no emission controls. A ’68 VW driven to Woodstock belches more CO2 then a bunch of new cars sitting in Chicago traffic.
I’m being sarcastic, but still, what do they think emits from these old beaters tailpipes, insense and peppermints?
While I share your sentiment, many of these rigs have been retrofitted with bio-diesel and other green-minded propulsion sources.
There’s a big difference between CO2 and other smog-forming emissions. CO2 output is directly (and only) related to how much fuel is burned, regardless how cleanly. So your example doesn’t hold up.
But yes, pre-smog emission controlled cars do emit smog-forming emissions (CO, NOx, HC), and that’s a somewhat more relevant point. FWIW, we are blessed with clean air here (except on rare winter inversion days), which is why we don’t need smog checks.
The other issue is that many of these older cars aren’t driven much, which largely explains why there’s so many around. Folks who drive a lot generally prefer newer cars.
But yes, old VW buses are hardly efficient. Might explain why Toyota vans have largely replaced them in daily use.
I think it has to be to protect from rodents. I’ve never been to Eugene but from the pics it strikes me as a place similar to San Luis Obispo, on the outskirts of town. Areas like that in Calif. have a huge problem with squirrels. I know if a house is left vacant it can be overrun with field mice in a matter of days so why not a car.
The bait that is effective in killing rodents is hard to get these days and very expensive. I learned this from my animal-loving, hard-core environmentalist friend Sally who knew of the shortage because she couldn’t get any.
Seems the most plausible explanation. I would imagine that once someone has experienced the damage vermin can do to a vehicle stored in the elements for any length of time, they’d take just such a seemingly unorthodox measure to prevent it from happening again.
Anti theft device.
If this were Texas instead of Oregon, and given the car’s color, I’d say it was just another Aggie. Just replace the Obama sticker with one of these…..
Harness eating marmots!
Maybe it’s for the “splash up” from heavy rain. I have to park my Jeep on a mostly dirt patch beside our paved driveway. After a heavy rain, especially if it’s been a while and the ground can’t can’t absorb it fast enough, the wheels and lower portions of my truck are covered in mud from the rain splashing the soil upward.
Maybe that’s the case here. Or maybe it’s protection from the mole people.
Maybe it’s for the “splash up” from heavy rain.
Plenty of good theories here, but as it’s parked on dirt, “spash up” would be my suspicion as well….but why protect that Nissan but not that Escort wagon? I think the owner has his priorities backward, or the Escort has a different owner.
But then, it’s light colored dirt. Maybe it doesn’t show on the white Escort, but does show on the red Nissan.
Is the owner of this car walking around wearing a shirt as pants and pants on his head?
I’d bet there’s another tarp/car cover that goes over the top. Either they hadn’t put it on yet when the photo was taken, or the wind got ahold of it and blew it off. If I was going to store a car long term parked on dirt, that’s how I’d do it. Roll the car onto a tarp and tie it up, then put another over the top and tie it down, overlapping the bottom one. Keeps out varmints and helps with rising damp.
I’d be more concerned with protecting that cool old VW than a ’90s Nissan, though.
My 66 Bus with a single port 1600, although it was a heavier Sundial Camper, only got 19 MPG. My brother 56 Bus, it was a delivery model without side windows and a junkyard 25 HP engine (believe it was a 54 Bug engine), actually got mid 20’s around town and almost 30 on the hwy. But I guess with less weight and 1/2 the hp that makes sense. A bad fluid leak may be the reason for the tarp. Or, being Eugene perhaps it is to deflect the negative energy rising up from Hell.
I should show this to a few of my friends who partake in certain ‘natural herbs’…..might be fun watching the reaction!
Strangeness on the edge of town. Also, have heard that sometimes a multitude of bumper stickers on a car is used to hold the vehicle together. The VW, that is.
This is exactly what happens when you try to use laundry soap instead of a proper car wash product!? (Soak overnight!)
The owner is merely trying to replicate East Coast rust by ansuring that the floors are eaten away by the moisture trapped by the tarpaulin.
So just why are your miraculous healing rains so harmless to old metal? Rust never sleeps, except when it’s always wet?