Yes, it is legal. No, it’s not his daughter’s. Most importantly, yes, it runs on only 36 cents worth of gas.
Ellenwood resident Mali Hightower has been getting a lot of questions about his new ride. When you see a 5′6″ man shoved inside a Barbie camper on the interstate, you can’t help but be curious.
Hightower, who goes by Sota online, decided to put his interest in modifying kids cars to use when gas prices began to rise, driving the Barbie camper to his day job as a contractor. A full tank in the camper can take him 20 miles, and $3.50 to fill up, a reprieve from the pricey premium gas he needs for his other vehicles.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
He grew up in Atlanta loving cars, which shifted to an interest into building and driving go-karts.
“When I finally got of age to start building and modifying my own cars, that’s where I guess my love got stronger,” Hightower said. “I got my adult money and then it just went on from there.”
Hightower started modifying children’s cars in 2024 after seeing a discarded kids’ Jeep on the side of the road. When he put his go-kart and the minicar side by side, he thought he could “chop it up” and merge them together. Turns out, they fit perfectly.
Several of the first minicars he built were stolen, which he said motivated him to create as many as he could. The Barbie camper is the eighth in a collection and cost around $300 dollars to create.
“The Barbie one specifically was the hardest one, because it’s so big,” Hightower said of the camper, which operates with a pull cord rather than a turn key. “My friend had to weld extra bars for it to be sturdy and work, so this one probably took about three months.”
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
The Barbie camper can hold its own on the road, going up to 55 mph, and follows regulations similar to a moped.
“I’ve been talked to about it (by the police), but it’s just pretty much just know where you’re riding,” Hightower said.
Since the car went viral on social media, it has been featured on CNN and other national news outlets, and in music videos, including a cameo in Nemzzz’s and Lil Yachty’s “Geekin.”
“It always got a funny response from just seeing a guy driving a little minicar around when I was doing them, but I never would have expected it to go this far,” Hightower said.
The attention Hightower is getting does not shock his fiancee, Jenee Ewen. The two met while working together at a previous job, and now three years and two children later, she has seen Hightower’s creativity only grow.
“Mali has a very, very intelligent mind, and he’s innovative, so I’ve been seeing him create art in many different forms,” Ewen said. “He always has a major idea that he’s either strategizing or bringing it to fruition physically.”
Hightower said his hometown played a large part in making him feel he could express himself creatively.
“I‘m born and raised here, and I know how to maneuver around my city,” he said. “I don’t think people realize the type of major city we are, with the influence we have here, and the culture, and everything here. You’re not gonna get that anywhere else. Atlanta is definitely a different place.”
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
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