Spotted: BABE Rally “99 Problems but the Babe Ain’t One” Car

At first my thought was that this was some 24 Hours of LeMons reject, but I saw no roll-bar and signs of any real battle damage. Googling the “99 Problems” sticker on the car revealed a video which showed the vehicle being part of the 2009 BABE Rally.

In 2009 a team that called themselves “99 Problems but the Babe Ain’t One” has entered the rally in a Volvo 245. Below is a video of the Swedish monster in action. Judging by the video, the Volvo has seen better days. We don’t know how the 245 went from being a perfectly good wagon to this pseudo pick-up-truck-convertible-sedan thing. As weird as it may look, it appears to be completely road legal as it has lights, windshield, and license plane. Johnny Law does not require any car to have a roof or doors or a tailgate, so everything on the Volvo is fair game.

My friend Vinny took these pictures of the hacked up 99 Problems Volvo 245. This contraption was parked at The City Place in Edgewater, NJ which a fancy shopping area that rich people go to. Saying that it is odd to see such contraption there is an understatement.

I'm totally digging the song.

The BABE Rally

The Big Apple 2 Big Easy, also known as the BABE Rally, is an annually held rally which goes from New York to New Orleans. The premise is to drive a themed $500 car over the 1500 mile route and complete challenges along the route. Challenges earn your team valuable points, and the team with the most points wins. The BABE is not a race and you don’t get squat for finishing first. The winner gets $1500, second place gets $350 and third gets $150.

Each participating car must pass a state inspection, be deemed generally road-worthy and have basic insurance. Safety is the priority, quickly followed by fun.

The route goes not go over the standard interstate highway but rather takes more rural and more scenic country roads. The journey even goes over the famous Deals Gap which features 311 turns over 11 miles, which should be interesting to conquer in your jalopy.

To learn more about this rally, go to the BABE website.  There is also a whole forum devoted to weird/fun events such as the BABE. For those that like to read, check out streetsafari.com which explains how these rallies have come about.

Sounds Interesting

For some time now I really wanted to participate in the 24 Hours of LeMons. The premise there is to race a $500 car for a 2-day period. That may sound peachy but the fact is that race entry and car preparation will cost a lot more. Safety equipment, which includes wheels, tires, roll-bar, brakes, etc is not included in the $500 and if you really want to be competitive you will invest in those. Altogether your $500 car comes out about $5000. Racing is never cheap, even when it is a $500 car that you’re going with.

I see some promise in the BABE rally. First off, your car just needs to get there some way, any way, even if on the back of a tow truck. The car needs to special safety equipment, no sticky tires. The race entry is only $250. Additional costs are food, fuel and hotels. Another catch is the return home from New Orleans. Yea, nothing is cheap.

The advantage is that you actually get to go a trip, an adventure, as opposed to driving in circles. At the LeMons you spend your time hoping that no one crashes into you and that your jalopy doesn’t blow the transmission.  At BABE you’re actually getting somewhere and you get to travel a bit, and that is more up my alley. Let the Craiglist searches begin, who is going in on this with me?