And there were sighs of joy and whatnot.  But it’s been approved by the necessary government agencies and there are probably plenty of empty car dealerships they can take over quickly.

If ever there was a vehicle that goes “nurdle, nurdle” instead of “vroom, vroom” it’s the Tuk Tuk.  There’s even a twelve passenger model, a dump truck, and a garbage truck all of which look like they may have taken their inspiration from Matchbox.

The marketing video playing on the homepage of Tuk Tuk USA is worth the visit to the site – while the soundtrack plays Evanesence’s Surrender (There’s no escaping me, my love) the slide show features various Tuk Tuks gazing out to sea under romantic palm trees or proceeding in formation.

Look for Tuk Tuks to start showing up on American roads this summer.

You can’t get much more nurdly than a model T, not to mention 55 of them as they commemorate the 1909 race that was part of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition.  Wherever possible they’ll use the exact route and layover schedule as the original race.  So on July 12 the winner should be arriving at the University of Washington’s Drumheller Fountain. I’m not sure how much of a race it is when the destination date is known, but what the heck, it’s model T’s!  There is an official race website with pictures.

The buzz doesn’t seem to have caught on with the press however.  Aside from one contestant with a blog, who may or may not post on the race, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere yet to get roadside updates.  If you know of any, please add info!