When Jacqueline Suzanne wrote her best selling novel, "The Love Machine" she had something in mind beside cars, but custom car engineer George Barris of North Hollywood, California, has come up with a little item that may shake up the automotive world as much as suzanne's novel shook the literary scene and for much the same reason.
Hardly bigger than a normal car, Barris's luxurious "Dream Machine" is outfitted with conveniences that would make a millionaire envious. The most striking facet of what Barris has created in cooperation with General Motors is a six foot, circular and revolving velvet sofa that may well be the most popular item in this love buggy.
With its tufted top and the shag rug on its perimeter, the sofa seems to have been taken from an old C.B. DeMille film, and like the old DeMille flicks, will probably be the witness and willing partner of many an orgy.
The car has what Dodge calls a "cocktail servateria". Basically it's a bar, with two cut-glass decanters. Four glasses accompany, the decater, in case you have triplets beside you on the couch.
For more mundane entertainment, there is a color television set. Or, if you want a little mood music, flip on the a.m. or f.m. radio. Or, in case you're the type who likes to program his own, there is a conventional stereo tape set-up. You can play or record what you like. If you don't have any long-play tapes suitable to the occassion, and still don't want the radio on, there is also a cassette tape deck.
There is nothing dull about this dream machine. The sides of this mobile bachelor pad are glass, covered with charcoal colored polaroid sheeting which will keep out sunlight, moonlight, and probably spotlights.
The sides can be raised for enjoyment of the great outdoors, and the lower half can be dropped to provide easy access to whatever you need from inside.
Technically, the dream machine is quite a car. It is built on a standart Dodge 108 Sportsman Van chassis, with heavy duty shock absorbers. It is hardly longer, and no taller than a conventional car, and can go practically anywhere. The recessed headlamps and taillights are protected by a series of metal bars.
The paintjob has a high lustre, the result of forty hand-rubbed coats described as "burnt orange sunset pearls of essence, blended with a bright sunray yellow candy lacquer".
The rest of the creation is just as fantastic as the paint job, all the result of many hours of hard work and the creative mind of George Barris. From bumper to bumper and from bedroom to driver's seat, this sex palace on wheels is a truely creative example of the infinite variety of man's mind.
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