I’ve never been a fan of bumper cars, and I’m skeptical about the safety of Smart Cars (or anything that small, having to contend with monstrous SUVs on the road)…yet I think these retro style bumper car vehicles are pretty neat.

I found these images here, but decided to search a little further for info. I found the origins in this article (along with some “action shots”).

Created by California-based builder Tom Wright, the original set of modified bumper cars came from the Long Beach Pike amusement park’s discards. Instead of watching them join the trash heap, he took out the Harley motors, replaced it with 750cc Honda and Kawasaki boxes, and redesigned them to pass city driving standards. His fleet now consists of eight crazy-looking street bumper cars (culled from different amusement parks), all licensed to give your hottest ride a run for its money.

These cars are actually legal to drive.

There is also a Flickr page with more photos.