I do a lot of cakes for the people here at work and it seems like every time I bringe one in, I have some sort of little disaster For example, my purse cake's handle fell off multiple times. Granted, it was my first time working with gumpaste, and I now realize that it should have been much firmer and then I could have stuck toothpicks in it. Today's cake was a ducky cake that had a "party hat" (decorated ice cream cone) on his head, which fell off as I was bringing it in to the building. I think the vibrations from transporting it in the car loosen this stuff up, because it is absolutely fine and secure before I leave my house. I have gotten more wise and started taking baggies of icing for patching this stuff, but it's embarassing when I have to do that in front of the customer!

Any suggestions on how to transport the cakes and get them there in one piece?

Dowels, toothpicks and skewers are my best friends.
Even if I'm confident that something is going to stay put, I dowel or skewer it anyway. I transport everything on non skid matting, no matter how small.

Before I leave my kitchen, I do a hazard analysis of sorts and try to think of what will be the most likely casualty if the ride is too hard so that I'm prepared.I always carry an emergency kit. I'd rather someone see me repair on the spot than say "oh, well".

In the grand scheme of the world, it is only cake and we defy gravity and perform miracles moving it sometimes, but stuff happens. I've found that people are fascinated when something bad does happen and I'm able to fix it with little effort.

My trunk is lined with 2 layers of foam (1" thick each).... I bought it at WalMart in the fabric section. It comes in a roll.... I cut it to the shape of my trunk then I lined the entire top of the foam with non-skid shelf liner... I had my other car, to which I totaled in a wreck done the exact same way... whenever I transport the cakes, I have a basket of auto supplies (oil, brake fluid, antifreeze, etc.) that I remove and put on the back seat of my car... in other words, there is nothing in the trunk but the cake .. when I had that wreck, the cake made it through without any damage whatsoever... I was completely amazed and so was the police officer .. all he wanted to do was eat the cake so pad and line your trunk... it worked for me

I agree with dowels, toothpicks and skewers. And, if you can impale the points into the cake board, all the better! I also like to glue things together with chocolate. Seems to hold pretty well.

Also, be aware of where you are placing the cakes in your vehicle. The center is the least bumpy, with the back being the most. Remember sitting in the back of the bus? If you have to put the cake in your trunk, push it as far in as you possibly can. And make sure you have non-skid mat underneath.

Interesting with the foam lined trunk! Does the cake wobble on top of the foam? I do use the non-skid liner and it does help tremendously, but it still jiggles. Skewers are a good idea too. I'm going to arm myself for the next cake disaster!

One word - CHILL! (your cakes, that is) This will set up all the icing and will hold all the decorations (especially if you use butter). Allow it to warm up a bit for consumption once it is at it's final resting place.

I'm certainly no expert but I've been lining my trunk (and sometimes even the cake box) with non-skid drawer liner from our local dollar store. It can be cut to match the shape of the box, the cake or just rolled out across the trunk. This was a lesson learned after volleyball cake rolled around the back of my SUV on the way to deliver it. Uggh.