Meet the guy driving that vinyl-wrapped red-camo Infiniti

You’re driving down the road in your beige sedan, just another mundane motorist in a sea of white, black and silver cars … and all of a sudden this giant cupcake whizzes by.

Then a bigger-than-life bikini-clad woman winks at you from your rearview window.

And ahead of you, the 3-D image on the back of the box truck is so realistic it’s like looking through the door of your dream kitchen.

What’s up with that?

Vinyl.

Clingy zingy full-body vinyl wraps.

Advertising at its ingenious adhesive finest.

Businesses use vinyl wraps to turn their vehicles into billboards on wheels to promote products and services. The graphics are amazing. The fit is as sleek as skinny jeans on a supermodel.

So why not pimp your personal ride with a flashy vinyl skin?

That’s what 19-year-old college student Harman Hothi did.

A vinyl wrap transformed his big sister’s hand-me-down car into a dude mobile. The 2008 Infiniti G37’s original grayish-blue finish is concealed under a red camo print enhanced from a swatch Hothi snatched from Google images.

“I get a lot of stares and head-nods,” said Hothi, a 2014 Kamiak graduate. “And thumbs-up on the highways. People will slow down. Their faces are like ‘Whoa!’ The faces are priceless. People take pictures, videos. People touch it. They feel if it’s paint or not.”

Vinyl wraps are used to snazzy up boats and motorcycles, but its use extends to the home and body. Customize a fridge or a wall with a wrap from a digital image. Prosthetic limbs? No problem.

Hothi paid more than $2,000, and his parents matched the amount, to have the car wrap professionally done (don’t try this at home). “My dad liked it,” he said. “My mom said, ‘What did you do to this car?’”

He said the revamp even took him by surprise at first.

“I was about to do a simple color, like matte orange,” Hothi said. A cousin visiting from England convinced him to go for gusto. “He said, ‘Do this,’ and I said, ‘OK.’”

Then the cousin went back to England, leaving Hothi with a car that means giving up anonymity. You have to be wildly confident about your driving skills to have a car like this.

“It’s an easy eye catcher for the police,” he said. “I haven’t been pulled over. I follow the rules.”

When he’s at the Mukilteo Y or beach or Cascadia College campus, everybody knows. Even people he doesn’t know.

“I go to the mall. They say, ‘Yo, I’ve seen this car like everywhere,’” he said.

He added custom rims and a personalized plate that says “Mr. Hothi.”

It’s pronounced Ho Tee.

But he gets called Hot Hi. Or Hottie.

His friends have cars in regular colors.

“Mine is pretty old. It wouldn’t look good,” said his friend Manveer Singh, owner of a white car. “It fits him. He is pretty unique. He likes to stand out.”

The wrap requires TLC. “I have to hand wash it. You can’t let dirt sit on it for a long time. I use a microfiber cloth.”

The vinyl wrap lasts about five years and shouldn’t affect the paint when removed. Then what … could Hothi ever go back to a naked car?

“Probably not,” he said.

Send What’s Up With That? suggestions to Andrea Brown at 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown. Read more What’s Up With That? at www.heraldnet.com/whatsup.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.