"His ethic was much different from our current throw-away society. He took care of things and kept cars for years. Out of respect for him, I've tried to maintain it exactly as he would have wanted. I know he's looking down with joy because I haven't parted with it," he said.

Because the Batmobile was engineered at a time when fuel contained tetraethyl lead to prevent engine knock, the good doctor has to give it a little prescription every time he fills the tank with today's unleaded gasoline. The only major repair it has ever needed was after an extended period of disuse when the fuel system had to be totally cleaned out. Although the Batmobile's systems have no computer control, this one really does have Intel inside. After a neighbor foiled an attempted theft, Dr. Stanaszek installed hidden microprocessor chips in the Batmobile so its location can be determined electronically.

Dr. Stanaszek is an intelligent man, but one who occasionally throws caution to the wind. He was the first Dig My Ride owner to encourage me to drive his vehicle. The Batmobile drove like a dream, with the nimble handling of a much smaller car. As we rolled down Berry Road, the B-52s "Loveshack" lyric, "I got me a Chrysler/ it's as big as a whale and it's about to set sail/ woooo...," went through my mind. But best of all, Dr. S. gave me an "A" for driving skills when we glided gracefully into his driveway, safe and sound. "It's the professor in me, I still grade everything," he said.

Have you seen a cool car around Norman? Writer Doug Hill's always on the lookout for future Dig My Ride columns. E-mail him at Hillreviews@hotmail.com.