Freaky Friday: Ghosts, Gorillaz, and a Pacer With Your Name on It

There’s some weird stuff out there today, but let’s get to the pop culture stuff first.

One of the world’s ugliest and most unappealing cars is going on the auction block by way of Barrett-Jackson next week — and it could fetch a ridiculous price.

Yes, it’s the Wayne’s World car.

The original vehicle used in the 1992 flick, a 1976 AMC Pacer, has been restored as close as possible to “movie condition,” meaning no heater or AC, AutoGuide reports. Why no creature comforts? The camera crew needed a place to mount the cameras, but bidders do get speaker boxes in the rear wheel wells and a hole in the roof to mount a licorice dispenser.

All other bits — body, bumper, wheels, seats, dash and headliner — have been refurbished. Wayne and Garth never had it so good. Like yacht rock and disco, the Pacer is a tacky relic of a tacky time, but it’s part of the American Experience.

In other news, Jaguar Land Rover has chosen Noodle, “member” of the virtual band Gorillaz, as its global ambassador.

Gorillaz, a pretty decent band that peaked in the early-to-mid 2000s (at least in North America), features animated, vaguely simian Brits with awful teeth as its members. Noodle is the girl member, so there’s a fair bit of demographic calculation going on here on JLR’s part.

The automaker hopes to use the appointment of a person who isn’t real to draw attention to the UK’s manufacturing skills gap.

Kids these days — they’re just not interested in British factories anymore.

JLR’s Formula E team, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, plans to do the same. Maybe British Battery will replace British Steel — who knows?

Back in Detroit, Ford is allowing visitors to venture deeper into its historic Piquette Plant than ever before — but there’s a catch. You have to hunt ghosts. Visitors with weak bladders, please, for the sake of fellow guests, head to the big museum in Dearborn instead.

The Detroit Free Press reports that ghost tours will take place on October 23 and 30 in the birthplace of the Model T. Opened in 1904, the plant remains open to the public, but getting your name on one of these tours allows you access to some off-limits areas.

It could be a good opportunity to poke around in a respectful manner, and you’ll get cider and donuts as added perks. With any luck, a nightmarish vision will materialize — the front of a ’58 Edsel, for example?

[Images: imcdb.org; Ronnie Schreiber/The Truth About Cars]