Thousands of apologies if this space has become too Batman-centric lately for its own good, but I just couldn't resist sharing these news items involving Batmobiles, past and present. Goofball news first...

A number of car enthusiasts blogs jumped on a posting from Hemmings Auto Blogs about the shabby showing of a promotional Batmobile used to promote Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever that was recently up for auction in Florida. Although auctioneers pegged the pre-sale value of BF Batmobile at somewhere close at $800,000, all they could muster was a measley $297,000. True, the movie was a knife in the gut to most Batfans after Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns, but a Batmobile -- attached to a craptastic movie or not -- still is a Batmobile, right?

Not if buying one prevents its owner from driving it out on public... And, that's just one of seven rather restrictive conditions spelled out in the purchase agreement from DC Comics and Warner Bros. (Scroll down the page of cars recently up for auction from RM Auctions to #863 to read the entire list of restrictions.)

Now, for something completely better...

You'll have a smile on your face after watching this short video interview with car empresario George Barris, who built the classic 60s Batmobile along with a slew of cool rides for other gone-but-not-forgotten TV series, such as The Munsters, Beverly Hillbillies and Green Hornet. Ever wondered how the back end of the Batmobile rocketed through the streets of Gotham with its tail on fire? Watch the video to learn the answer...

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