Seems you can't drive past an auto-repair shop without your eyes being assaulted by the usual silly sculpture sprung from the impulse: "Hey, let's stick a few extra pipes on a muffler and stand it up so it looks kinda human! Hyuk!" But the impulse of AAA Muffler's Wayne Barbee led to the full-blown, full-color statue of a superhero-costumed angel (called "Austin, Texas") holding a muffler over its concrete head. Designed by Barbee, built by his friend Larry Kemp, this mechanic's icon greets all who enter or leave the city by U.S. 290.
