LOS ANGELES – Nearly four years ago, I came across a most unusual car while walking to work. I spotted the Bentley Continental GT from a block away. Even in car-obsessed LA it was hard not to. The model was brand new to the US at the time, and for some reason this particular model was on my radar. As I got closer, though, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Was that a Hyundai logo on the rear deck? What the? And look at the license plate frame! HYUNDAI OF BEL AIR – SUNSET BL @ STONE CANYON RD. I looked around for the cameras which I was sure were watching me. Come on out, Ashton. Keep in mind that the current list price for the Conti’ GT is $179,200. Probably a little less back then, but not much. That’s like ten Detroit houses. And it had HYUNDAI insignia! Further inspection revealed the H for Hyundai logos on the wheel centers. Wow, this jokester had gone all out. Up front, there was another H logo atop the grill, and another license plate frame. A BENTDAI? HYUNTLEY?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera with me. I knew that my friend and co-worker, Darin (who was a car designer before turning to television graphics), would be very interested in this car. I rushed up to my office, found Darin, and said, “You have to follow me. Now.” He knew something peculiar was up (from the giggly schoolgirl tone of my voice) and followed me obediently. “You are not going to believe this.” When we got back downstairs, the car was gone. It had been parked in front of the S.A.G. building, in the Miracle Mile district.

I did a Google search at the time, but found nothing. Then, just the other day, something came up that reminded me of this car. I tried Google again, and viola! There it was! Sightings all over town, from Redondo to Hollywood. The automotive technorati are all twittery. The story came to a head in the summer of 2007, but I thought that with the recent economic situation, talks of synergistic partnerships, etc., it might be a good time to revisit it. Hyundai partners with Bentley. Hmm. I even sent my Man From B.L.O.G. avatar, as my cybernaut, into Google maps to see what I could see. As you can see from this Google maps (street view) screenshot, no such dealership exists at the corner of Sunset and Stone Canyon Rd. It’s strictly mansion-ville, man. Oh well. Maybe I’ll grab a cyber taco from the Roach Coach for my trip back to reality. Damn you, jokester! I’ll find you yet.