The Mobilized 5  

Who are the Mobilized 5? And just why are they Mobilized? That question has been asked a few times, and this page is dedicated to the answer:

The Mobilized 5 are a group of CarDomain addicts and car enthusiasts that met while in competition in a contest sponsored by Mobil 1 Synthetic oil and CarDomain. Called the "Mobil-ize Your Ride Page" contest, these 5 participants (myself and four others) were in competition for the monthly prizes, but built a friendship and offered shared support both privately and publicly in the contest forum. The best part? The friendship continues well after the contest has ended!

And, we're all Mobil 1 users!

Besides myself, the other four members of the Mobilized 5 are:

 

Russ Carstens FrdBrnk408 1993 Ford Bronco "The Money Pit"

Don Hartwick LedZeppelin 2002 Saturn SL 1 "Stitch"

Rob Hanson MoparRob07 2007 Dodge Charger R/T "The Mobil MoPar"

Troy Kimball Tekwatch 2004 Mazda 3 "DARKWATCH"

Three members of the Mobilized 5, FrdBrnk408 , me, and LedZeppelin , each  earned $1,000 for our contest efforts for the months of June, July and December, respectively. Sadly, neither MoparRob07   or Tekwatch   were picked, but it wasn't that they didn't deserve it or from a lack of trying!

Finally, the Grand Prize winner of the Mobil-ize Your Ride Page contest was chosen for an all-expense paid trip to the 2009 Daytona 500, and it was one of the Mobilized 5!! I offer my congratulations...

Before the Grand Prize winner was chosen and the trip to the 2009 Daytona 500 was still up for grabs I thought, "Why just send one winner when Mobil 1 can build a marketing juggernaut by sending a whole group of Mobil 1 users??"

Well, the idea didn't fly, but you can't fault me for trying!

Then, of course, there were the images I created on behalf of my Mobilized compadres...

 

Here's a little leftover... after winning the July portion of the contest, I thought that a video was in order to keep me in the running for the Grand Prize...

It didn't hurt that it was time to change the Galaxie's oil anyway... 

I apologize in advance for the long load time of the video, and the fact you have to see and hear me. It was loaded onto YouTube in "High Quality" (uh, that references the quality of the video, not the quality of the guy in the video), and might load faster off of their site if you choose that format. Special thanks to fellow CarDomain-er Led Zeppelin for his work on this!

 

 

 

 

The R.O.R.M.I. and Dreams of Daytona

THE REPOSITORY of RETIRED MOBIL-IZED IMAGES (R.O.R.M.I.)!!

My personal collection of images created by me for the Mobil-ize Your Ride Page promotion.

The contest is now over and a Grand Prize winner selected. Congratulations, Russ (FrdBrnk408)!!  

Still, I was 1 of 9 monthly winners of $1,000 , which put me in contention for the Grand Prize! The contest was fun, and served as a foundation for some great friendships built here on this website. I'm still a Mobil 1 user, but I'll now clean up my pages and share the many images I created on this page. It would be a shame to just forget them.

(Note: I have removed Mobil images obtained from other sites and, unless otherwise noted, feature only my creations here.)

First, there was the requisite avatar...    

Followed by images demonstrating my participation.

The administrators of the Mobil-ize Your Ride Page contest offered up some basic product images, but I had to customize them to my tastes.

This one is one of my favorites, but the judges deemed it a little controversial. Oddly, the now-famous Mobil 1 condoms that graced a number of other pages was not...

 

Then I decided that I needed some Mobil 1 "upgrades" to the Fireball Roberts Galaxie...

 

I even ventured that we needed to include the original Fireball in an ad reminiscent of the era.

I offered up a toast (see page 2)... I even offered up the really good stuff!

 

That was all fine and dandy, but I apparently needed a "hook". Something unique that would hopefully draw the attention of the judges and site visitors alike... and then it came to me...

Cats!!

 

Lots and lots of Cats...

 

So, what was with all the damn cats?

It seems (at least to me) that every major consumer product has some sort of Mascot. You know; auto insurance companies that feature cavemen or lizards, health insurance companies with ducks, beer companies with frogs and horses, cereal companies with tigers and roosters, shock absorber manufacturers that use squirrels, fast food joints with chihuahuas, meat snacks that feature Sasquatch... the list goes on and on. So, I thought that I'd give Mobil 1 ... cats.

Okay... so I had a little help there...

So, even MORE Mobil 1 cats came to be...

 

Then when that alone didn't seem to get the attention of the Mobil-ized judges, I brought out the big guns...

 

Literally.

 

And that's when the trouble started... seemed I had to answer for my feline-felonies. So, I offered the F.A.Q.s to stave off the onslaught of angry cat-lovers...

 

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.s)

Here I'll try to provide answers for past questions asked and in anticipation of the same questions being asked again.

Q: What's with all of the Mobil 1 stuff?
A: Apparently you need to re-read a couple of the prior pages and try again. I'm participating in a Mobil 1 promotion .

Q: What's with the damn cats?
A: Apparently you need to re-read a couple of the above paragraphs and try again. The cats are also, by default, participating in a Mobil 1 promotion .

Q: Why hasn't the ASPCA taken you to task for your abuse of the cats?
A: What abuse? They're being well fed as compensation.

Q: No, I mean "abuse", as in putting a kitten in a blender, or holding one at gunpoint?
A: I promise them extra kibbles. They're fine. Really.

Q: Don't you think that you are causing these animals irreparable psychological damage?
A: What are you, a PETA lawyer? The kitties are fine... they're not all being turned into cute and furry psycho-killers.

Well... mostly not.

   

Q: What are you going to do with the cats when this promotion is over?
A: Release them back into the wild I guess

Q: And just what are you going to do with them if you win the Daytona 500 trip Grand Prize? How will you reward them for all of your shameless exploitation?
A: Oh, hell... I don't know. Pack them all with me and drop them off at Disney World in Orlando where they can become the basis for a new Aristocats-themed ride? Would you be happy then?

 

Even the cats began to revolt. Finally, things quieted down, then lo and behold, I was chosen the Mobil-ized monthly winner for July!!!

 

The cat, once threatened at gunpoint, was saved by the Mobil 1 people!!!

Still, for those of you who might have dropped by my site in the past and think me a cat hater, I'd like to introduce my pal Bucky Katt, the best damn cat in the world. On the left he's taking a little cat-nap and thinking of all the treats he might receive if and when I would be chosen to be a monthly Mobil-ized winner. And on the right, his response once I was chosen the winner for July...

Uh, did someone say, DAYTONA??

Being a Mobil-ized winner gave me a shot at the Grand Prize, a trip to the 2009 Daytona 500. Needless to say, a lot of effort went into catching the attention of the judges!

It could have happened! After all, even my buddy Bucky Katt was pulling for me...

And I was getting a little intense about the whole thing... maybe a little too intense...

I started a major campaign in the hopes of furthering my chances... 

 

 

	And there's nothing like a celebrity spokesperson...

 

It even included a little old-school documentation of the anticipated trip...

Fellow Mobil-izer LedZeppelin created the packaging, too...

 

Admittedly, it was all for naught as another fellow Mobil-izer walked (drove?) away with the grand prize... Still, would you like to buy a vowel??