Burning Man 2011, Black Rock Desert, Nevada, United States

Mutant vehicles
Mutant Vehicles, often motorized, are purpose-built or creatively altered cars and trucks. Participants who wish to bring motorized mutant vehicles must submit their designs in advance to the event's own DMV or "Department of Mutant Vehicles” for approval and for physical inspection at the time of the event. Not all designs and proposals are accepted. The event organizers, and in turn the DMV, have set the bar higher for what it deems an acceptable MV each year, in effect capping the number of Mutant Vehicles. This is in response to constraints imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which grants permits to hold the event on federal property, and to participants who want to maintain a pedestrian-friendly environment. Vehicles that are minimally altered, and/or whose primary function is to transport participants, are discouraged or rejected. One of the criteria the DMV employs to determine whether an application for a proposed Mutant Vehicle is approved is "can you recognize the base vehicle". In other words, if your 1967 VW van can still be recognized as a VW van (underneath all that glitter, those glued on dolls heads and attached old cooking utensils) it is considered to be "decorated not mutated" and is less likely to be approved. This criterion led to the exclusion of some "Art Cars", which historically have been a staple of the event. Some particularly interesting vehicles include: giant motorized muffins, an 8 legged mechanical spider, a Beatles style Yellow Submarine, and The Soul Train (based on the cartoon train featured on the TV show Soul Train.)