The engineers of Volkswagen have created their most compact car yet: the Up!, which is set to be launched in Europe next year. In an effort to promote the upcoming (no pun intended) release of the Up!, VW asked 16 people to pack themselves into one of these vehicles. This innovative promotion was a throwback to the time-honored practice of stuffing people into a VW Beetle. The driver of these tiny cars better have car insurance with all of these passengers!
Since all of these people are smiling, we assume this photo was taken before the affair began. But if you're looking for hard-core, uncensored car-cramming images, then feast your eyes on these half-dozen gems:
Let's begin with a history lesson. Car stuffing used to be quite the popular activity back in the 1960s. Young people would meet up at a location, collaborate with each other, and end up becoming very "close" to each other. Today, all of the same benefits are achieved through social networking.
Many social activities of one generation were often created by the previous generation in response to a specific need (like lumberjack competitions, quilting bees, and home brewing). Car stuffing was one such pastime due to the presence of drive-in movie theatres that charged admission by the vehicle. Naturally, you would try to put as many people into a car as you could to save money - like the above photograph from 1949 of a car with 36 occupants.
Another attribute of college-age students is to imitate the behaviors of their predecessors from forty years earlier and call it "retro." So in an effort to find unique ways of having fun, University of Wisconsin students attempted to squeeze into an old car as part of the school's "Greek Week" festivities. The result was a joyously wild atmosphere, body parts smashed against one another, and countless people trying to get through the door - in other words, just like any other frat party at UW.
VIDEO: http://www.crocofun.com/cars-and-bikes/people-in-citroen/
Ever want to see how sausage is made? Well, okay - maybe not… but this video allows you to see how 22 people managed to cram themselves into a compact Citroen - and then drive around town! The video does not specify the country where this event took place, but we think it happened in Nothingbettertodoistan.
What would you do for (a share of) $73? A few years ago, residents in Nanning, China competed in a contest to see how many people they could stuff into a car in three minutes. The winning team received 500 yuan (about $73), which was the equivalent of two years' pay of a Nike shoe assembly line worker.
For those intrepid individuals who find Volkswagen stuffing too simple and humdrum, the 21st century has brought us Smart Car stuffing. The above attempt featured 13 gymnasts (hey, wait - that's cheating!) contorting their bodies to fit into the two-seater vehicle. Does anybody else see the irony of trying to put 13 people into a "smart" car?
Image credits: eurotuner.com, mortaljourney.com, dailyitem.com, dailyuw.com, crocofun.com, b4tea.com, treehugger.com.
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