1963 Airstream Bambi in Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has acquired a 1963 Airstream Bambi travel trailer for the Museum's collection. [MOMA release in pdf]

"On The Road: Airstream Bambi Travel Trailer" will be on view to the public in the main lobby of The Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St., New York, NY on March 7 through November 12, 2007.

[Automotive]

Perhaps the DoD should hire the Christopher Deam firm to design the interiors of military vehicles.

ACE is finally getting around to reactivating his. See continuation if interested.

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Owners' love of Airstreams nears cult worship. They wouldn't consider any other brand. A 15APR2007 article in the NY Times talks features Airstreams. A Wall Street Journal article mentions VP Cheney took a larger Airstream with him on his surprise visit to Iraq, on a military cargo plane. Wonder if it was armored?

The Bambi is a marvel of efficient design.  It's only 16' tongue to rear bumber, and weighs under 2K lbs. (1800 originally), but has a sofa, pull-out bed, kitchen, toilet, shower, and electric and propane utilites inside, and doesn't feel crowded for two people who get along with each other. The light weight, low tongue weight and low wind resistance make it popular with those who need to pull campers with larger  cars and smaller SUVs and pickups.

Only 498 original Bambis were produced from 1961 to 1963. Airstream has offered similar trailers 19 ft. and under off and on since, and Thor now offers four models of Bambis with options at a base MSRP prices ranging from $23K to $60.7K (as of this posting). The Basecamp ("springboard for outdoor adventures") is the latest adaptation, and the cheapest, but has no bathroom. Christopher C. Deam was, and still is, the design genius for the interior.

ACE inherited a '63 Bambi (the 103rd produced in Ohio that year) from his Dad in 1980. After sitting up for 27 years, the 44-year-old trailer (which is nowhere near as shiny as the one in the MOMA) was "un-mothballed" yesterday, but the skin is intact and there are no signs of dry rot in the floor. A good scrubbing improved its appearance dramatically, and compounding and  buffing can bring back the shine. New rims and tires are on order. The interior needs a good cleaning and sprucing up. The utilities will be brought back gradually as a project. The 6L Denali pickup should barely break a sweat pulling it. Dad, who never had an AC in his house, could do without one; but ACE, being from a wimpier age, will want to add one (either in the front or on the roof) eventually.

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Ford has unveiled its Airstream concept at the Detroit motor show.

The OEM teamed up with Airstream, which manufactures recreational vehicles and small buses, to develop the new vehicle. The concept's development was also partially funded by the US Department of Energy.

The concept is powered by a plug-in hydrogen hybrid fuel cell drivetrain - called HySeries Drive - which operates under electric power at all times. Ford claims that the system has the capability to operate even in harsh winters and is half the weight and cost of current fuel cells.

The concept's bold, futuristic front-end encapsulates the single-surface grille and headlamps into the same graphic, while each of the vehicle's orange-trimmed window outlines is a unique shape.

The asymmetric doors are expected to allow for easy loading of passengers and cargo: the passenger side features a power clamshell door which runs two-thirds the length of the vehicle, while there is a large tailgate at the rear.

Inside, there is a 'floating' instrument panel with flush-mounted, touch-sensitive controls. All primary information is displayed on one multi-function gauge.

A Sharp dual-view screen centrally mounted on the instrument panel provides a camera view and secondary driver-oriented information. It also allows the front-seat passenger to view DVDs and post mobile blogs.

[Automotive World] [photos at Paddock Talk]