August 18, 2011
Gearhead Shirts touts themselves as creators and purveyors of "graphic tees for grease monkeys." Not content to merely drive a vehicle, gearheads are a special breed. They have to know how it works, how to fix it, and why. Makes us think about how much we both love and fear our auto mechanic: Really glad he's into figuring out where that funny squeaky noise is coming from—but hoping his desire for perfection won't end up in a complete overhaul of the powertrain.
Ever since Nikolaus Otto perfected the internal-combustion engine, modern gearheadism has flourished. And from that, a marriage of philosophy and mechanics, as evidenced by books like Shop Class as Soul Craft and the ever-popular Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Lovers of the stick shift, unite!