The recession's hit Michigan particularly hard, forcing even superhero wannabes to improvise. With just $100 and a dream, one Ann Arbor resident turned a wrecked Pontiac Grand Am into the world's worst Batmobile.

Gabe, the hero of our story, purchased this wrecked 1994 Pontiac Grand Am last summer from Dave's Towing in Ann Arbor, Michigan for $100. The vehicle was running but sported a crushed roof, a damaged front end, and an otherwise crunch-and-munched body. Like any reasonable person, Gabe's first thought was to "go all in" and convert the cursed car into a Batmobile.

After a few necessary repairs, work proceeded: Gabe sawed off the crushed roof and built a custom frame for the new roof and windows. Inspired by the Batmanesque charm of his creation, Gabe then rigged up and riveted on fins, reworked the nose, and spray-painted the car matte black. He capped it off with a Batman logo on the roof. The end result is something completely ghettorigged in appearance but also more attractive than a stock '94 Grand Am. It's also street legal.

As you might expect, the car garners its share of attention, including the admiration of the local police. Gabe says that when he was pulled over by police last year, officers told him "We've never pulled over the Batmobile before" and took pictures with the car.

"It's a bit of a legend around here," he says.

The car even features high-tech theft-prevention gadgets the likes of which even Wayne Industries couldn't develop. When thieves tried to steal the car last year, the steering wheel broke off. In the process of trying to hotwire the car, they also fixed the brake lights.

Unfortunately, Gabe has spent too much money on a Taurus SHO and his 1987 Toyota MR2 project car, so he's selling the Batmobile on Craiglist — $600! — to help with rent and a move. It's a hefty charge for a mangled Grand Am but a small price to pay for the world's worst Batmobile.

[Craiglist]