One Lap of the Web: Miniature mania, police-trimmed BMW Isetta and tweeting at automakers

-- Michael Paul Smith doesn't have a fancy camera. What he does have is a fuzzy beard, a lot of time on his hands, and the ability to create amazingly realistic scenes using scale-model cars and a handful of tiny model buildings. Smith's secret to bringing his nostalgic visions to life? Using forced perspective to combine his scale tableaux with real backdrops. Learn more about his craft at Fstoppers; that his images mostly still hold up after a peek behind the curtain says a lot about how good the effect is.

-- It is a truth universally acknowledged that old police cars are cool -- even this 1957 BMW Isetta in German "Landespolizei" trim. That green-and-tan color combination looks great, though the blue flasher on top does seem sort of tacked on. We're sure "license and registration, please" sounds incredibly intimidating in German, so it's probably a good thing that the Isetta's 298 cc isn't worth much for a high-speed chase.

-- We all know that, like The Jazz and the automobile itself, Twitter is just a fad. But until it goes the way of the Charleston, it's a somewhat useful tool for communication with friends, celebrities (or the PR firms that run their Twitter accounts) and yes, even automakers. At Jalopnik, Satish Kondapavul reviews the basics of 140-character communication with your favorite automaker. Hint: to avoid disappointment, don't expect a speedy response. Or any response.

By Graham Kozak