For years this titanic rust bucket has been parked around the corner from where I live, in West Town.
You'd think I'd get used to it, but I always crack up when I see it, because it's parked in front of the neatest little pin of a condo building, and I can imagine the neighbors cursing and plotting and lobbying the alderman, whose hands are tied on this one.
I'm no snob, myself. I'm the proud owner of a dog-eared 1964 International Harvester Scout. One afternoon a couple of years ago, the owner of this Edmond Fitzgerald-on-wheels and I happened to be at the local Marathon, each pumping good gas after bad. I gave him a little nod and a brotherly grin.
His contemptuous return stare said, "As if."
This fellow must think he has the ugliest rig in Chicago.
And maybe he does. But this is a big town, and that's a proud title. Let's make him earn it.
Let's have a contest, for Ugliest Car in Chicago. In the comments below, post a link to a photo of your favorite Chicago or suburban neighborhood beast, and we'll put it up for a democratic HuffPo Chicago vote.
The winner gets the intrinsic satisfaction of knowing he or she has identified--or, even owns--the very Ugliest Car in Chicago.
And the poor fastidious condo owners will get to say, "You think this is ugly . . .."