(Photo: Zippo)
During World War II, American soldiers commonly carried Zippo lighters in their pockets. After the war, Zippo company founder George G. Blaisdell wanted to spread the brand name across the country. To help with that endeavor, he commissioned the creation of a customized 1947 Chrysler Saratoga.
The Zippo Car had two massive steel fake lighters built into the body. It traveled through all 48 states as a rolling commercial for the lighters. The trips were carefully planned because low overpasses could tear off the tall lighters. Even then there were problems: the weight of the lighters often blew out the tires.
Sometime during the 1950s, the car was put into storage and subsequently lost. In 1996, Zippo commissioned a duplicate of the original. Joe Griffin of Custom Upholstery of Memphis, Tennessee took the job, working from another 1947 Chrysler Saratoga. Pictured above is that car.