Network
For many Ronald Reagan was a president that symbolized every great American ideal. Known by a number of nicknames including the Gipper and The Old Man, Reagan was steadfast in his views on freedom, liberty, and the American way. We recently came across this piece of artwork by Jason Heuser (aka Sharp Writer) that seems to symbolize many of the things that Reagan stood for, and comedically displays The Gipper’s attitude while saying much about his time in office as well.
Aside from the obvious that the 40th president is running off-road piloting what appears to be a patriotically adorned, blown ’67 Mustang, possibly a nod to his time as governor of California (1967-1975), while firing a revolver out of a hole in the windshield, there’s several other nuances that make this artwork great.
First let’s look at what’s powering the car, there’s not one but two big blowers jutting out of the hood. Atop the breather we see a 429 V8 emblem. No way to know if this is a BOSS 429, an FE, or other variant. We’ll go with BOSS because after all he’s the president.
There are other superb details adorning the entire car as well. There’s the obvious RR badge on the grille, and on the driver side of the grille a red, white and blue badge that just says “Murica.” Take a closer look at the badges and bumper stickers adorning the car. First the side stripe says 1776HP Liberator. Notice the license plate says “LIBERTY,” it’s obviously from Michigan, and the tag is dated November 1985. This would seem to us a hint at Reagan’s reelection for his second term in November 1984, he’s recently been renewed and is out to kick some ass.
Of course, there are plenty of jokes in the bumper stickers as well. The “I Love Star Wars” is a great one on the driver side, although we can’t make out the one above it. We also noticed a “DARE” bumper sticker which were so prominent during the 80s. There’s also one that says “My Other Ride Is a Velociraptor,” also seemingly fitting for this image.
Regardless of your politics, this image is great fun, we’d like to think of it as Reagan charging across the front-line, wreaking havoc on his “Commie” enemies, and spreading freedom everywhere.
