It seems like when it comes to great American guitar makers, foreign manufacturers are faster to sign partnerships than GM, Chrysler or Ford. Remember that Volkswagens can have a Fender audio system nowadays? Well, Gibson and Nissan went one step further...
Behold, the Gibson NV200 (NYC Taxi to you) Mobile Repair & Restoration Van. It "will act as a quick response support vehicle for professional and part-time musicians in need of timely repairs, as well as serving as an educational tool to the public representing the art of guitar building and repair, or luthiery."
Nissan and the guys from Tennessee created something quite clever. I'll let them explain:
"There's a pullout bench that features an array of luthier's tools such as calipers, scale rulers, fret files, fret pullers, different types of sandpaper, super glue, wood glue, tuning forks, a radius planer, various guitar parts (strings, tuning machines, frets, nuts, bridges, knobs, linseed oil, potentiometers, pickups), pliers, screw drivers and a soldering station. Luthiers can either extend this bench to the lip of the NV200 to work on instruments or guide in on its pair of casters to a separate location to perform repair or setup work on guitars. There's also a a custom rack located directly behind the front seat that holds up to four guitars in various stages of repair and disrepair."
Naturally, the interior is not your average Nissan cargo van either, meaning there is mahogany and flamed maple everywhere with special leather-appointed seats. Rock 'n' roll indeed.
Photo credit: Nissan