Tattoos that honor your devotion to cars

Tattoos that honor your devotion to cars
Jul 07, 2010
USA Today

After a decade of the tattoo craze, there probably aren't many designs that never got inked. But Drive On was surprised to see the number and variety of tattoos related to cars bouncing around the Internet.

Sometimes it's logos, like Cadillac's script on the side of Travis Barker, drummer for the band Blink 182, above. Sometimes it's whole cars, like a dragster barreling down your forearm.

Apparently tattoo devotees have come to realize that relationships with other people are fleeting, but memory of a beloved car lasts a lifetime. So if that means emblazoning your belly with a '64 Chevy Impala low rider, so be it. You can take that "tat" to the grave, even if the actual car ends up in the scrap heap.

LET US SEE: Send us a photo of your car tattoo. Include your name, hometown and why you got the tattoo. We'll print the best.

This site offers a pretty rich array of car-related tattoos. Some are as simple as the galloping pony symbolizing Ford Mustang, or the Dodge Charger script. One guy has the Chevrolet "bowtie" logo tattooed on his scalp. If General Motors had killed that brand, we bet he would have let his hair grow out. Hot rods are a big theme, sized just right for arms. Or tributes, like the guy in the photo, above right, who turned his back over to the memory of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.

We got to thinking about car tattoos because of a story we wrote in today's USA TODAY about how automakers are putting smaller wraps on cars and calling them tattoos. If a car can be tattooed, often with an image of a person, why can't a person be tattooed with a car. Answer: Many are.