[1]Despite the global economy being in the tank, it has hardly slowed the parade of blinged-out automobiles constantly coming out of the Middle East. Perhaps nowhere is the excesses of the Arab world more evident than the United Arab Emirates. The UAE, of which Dubai and Abu Dhabi are a part, will commemorate its independence from Britain on December 1st.
To celebrate, a Pakistani man began gluing UAE coins to his son’s 1998 Chevy Camaro last year. 33,000 coins and over 20 pounds of glue later, the Camaro is ready to be donated to the UAE people, reports the Gulf News [2].
Tarek Javid undertook the project in October of last year, naming the car “Pride of the Emirates.” It took him more than 12 months to glue each of the 33,000 UAE Dirhams (their national currency) to the ‘98 Camaro. The total cost of the coins was about 21,000 Dirham… about $5,700 U.S., which the Gulf News proudly asserts is “probably more than the value of the 1998 Chevy Camaro.”
While we’re not quite so sure of that, one has to admire Javid’s dedication to the car. He applied each coin himself, and even went so far as to make a map of the UAE on the roof. He is going to donate the Camaro, to be put on public display forever after its unveiling at the 40th anniversary of the UAE’s independence.
Ok, so even we have to admit, for all the excessive, stupid, ridiculous blinged-out automobiles that come out of the Middle East… this project is pretty cool. It is something pretty much anybody with the time and inclination could do, and at the same time, a unique project celebrating a nation’s independence. And we just can’t hate on that.