What began as a challenge to clad an AeroPod in wood has turned out to be one of the best Pods yet. Inspired in part by the 1968 movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", with its magical flying car and nutty inventor, Professor Potts (played by Dick Van Dyke), AeroPod #23 attempts to capture some of that magic in a joyful and unexpected way.

The first order of business in this three-year project was to re-shape the pod into a boat tail, then clad it with steam-bent mahogany. Like the car in the movie, contrasting wood and brass rivets were used for a rich, nautical effect. The hand-shaped brass "radiator" door was formed with a mallet and English wheel, the same way it would have been made back in 1910 when this type of car was made. Under the hood is the engine; a hand-made wooden rolling ball machine, with the sound of the steel balls falling on the wooden tracks giving this one of a kind AeroPod a life of its own.

An assembly of lifters and gears carry the balls to the top where an automatic selector sends them down one of four tracks to the bottom in a mesmerizing cacophony of sound and motion. Carefully placed lights illuminate the arcade-like interior and a pulsing blue led inside the "oiler" acts as the beating heart.

Unlike previous "functional" AeroPods, the sole purpose of "JoyRide" is to entertain and bring a smile to people's faces. As such it represents yet another turning point in the AeroPod evolution.