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Blake Anderson drives an over-the-top patriotic Jeep

Comedian Blake Anderson is seeing growing success as one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central show Workaholics. Not surprisingly, when you get your own TV show, there's a deep desire to celebrate with a big purchase, a car perhaps. Anderson did just that, but as opposed to plunking his money down on a Porsche or Mercedes-Benz, he took a much more patriotic route. Anderson described his ride as "an American Jeep" in an interview with Conan O'Brien, and he didn't mean that it was from the AMC years of the off-road brand's ownership. Instead, this one is as patriotic as they come thanks to a beautifully regal bald eagle covering the hood with the nation's flag as the background running up at least to the windshield. Hear Anderson's entire story of buying this red, white and blue off-roader in the video above.

Massachusetts man charged $48,000 for a tow [w/video]

Tow truck operators are right up there with landlords and IRS auditors on the list of professionals you don't want to deal with. A man in Massachusetts has all the more reason to avoid a tow after he was hit with a $48,000 bill, Fox 25 reports. Joel Ramer and his girlfriend were off-roading in Walpole, MA last week when they wandered were they shouldn't have. They landed in a mud pit on private property. Ramer said it took Assured Collision towing company 12 hours to free his vehicle from the muck. But when he got the bill for the tow, he thought the accounting department must have been off by a decimal. "When I went to pick up the vehicle from Assured Collision, he'd informed me there was some damage done to the vehicle, but didn't get into details. He also informed me the bill was $48,000," Ramer told Fox. "I thought they made a mistake." The phrase 'some damage' was putting it lightly. Ramer says Assured Collision totaled his Jeep. "Frame is broken, leaf spring is broken, drive shaft is broken," Ramer said. The itemized bill showed Ramer exactly what he was paying for. Assured Collision charged him $16,000 for an on-scene supervisor. That's $1,250 an hour. The Statewide Towing Association told Fox 25 that the actual industry standard is $175-$325 an hour. The company also claimed that power lines put them at risk, calling it a "hazmat situation." That allowed them to tack on another $5,000 fee for dangerous condition liability insurance. Finally, there was an extra $10,000 fee for an off-road recovery incident response unit. Insurance won't help with the cost of the tow, so Ramer's broke Jeep is in Assured Collision's hands. On top of the enormous bill and busted Jeep, Ramer was arrested and cited for trespassing on land owned by a utility company and disturbing the peace. Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

Jeep dealer buries WWII Willys GP in showroom floor

The Willys MB Jeep earned icon status during World War II thanks to its ruggedness, simplicity and go-anywhere ability. Following the war, it didn't take long for the handy vehicles to be scooped up by the public, and a brand slowly grew around the vehicles that has continued to thrive. Fast-forward to present day, where it's not uncommon for auto dealers to try to grab some of the magic of yesteryear by displaying classic models to connect customers with their brands' proud histories. Now, a Canadian Chrysler Group dealer is taking that notion to the extreme by actually making a vintage WWII Jeep part of its foundation.
Bay King Chrysler in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, recently completed its new showroom, and the franchise really wanted to show its dedication to the Jeep brand. As dealer principal Jamie Richter tells Autoblog, the inspiration for the Jeep installation came from his brother, who became fascinated with a home that had a glass floor looking down into its wine cellar. The company already had the 1943 Willys MB to display, but it had originally planned to build a jungle gym around it for customers' kids. Now, the classic is literally in the floor as customers enter. Richter tells Autoblog that customer reaction so far has been "fantastic."
It's certainly a novel way to bring people into the showroom, and seemingly a nice nod not only to Jeep, but to the men and women who served in the war. If you want to see more about how the Jeep was actually installed and what it looks like, check out this video.