Movie Cars That Might Not Otherwise Be Famous
There’s a solid argument that, in some films and shows, a particular vehicle is as much a character as the human actors themselves. Witness machines like the Bullitt Mustang, the Impala in Supernatural, and the Testarossa in Miami Vice. Car casting can be as important a part of creating a successful show as selecting the cast and location.
With the weekend coming up - and a longer Christmas season waiting in the wings - there’s a very good chance a lot of gearheads will be kicking back and watching a movie. That’s why we’re reprising this post from about six months ago. What follows are a few vehicles which took starring roles and are forever linked with the movies or shows in which they appeared. However, unlike the cars mentioned above, their commercial success is arguably tied to their time on the big (or small) screen.
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DMC DeLorean
This is the most obvious entrant on the list. Absent appearing in every copy of Back to the Future, there’s a solid chance the DeLorean would have faded into obscurity just like similar efforts such as the Bricklin. There’s a story in Hollywood that someone from Ford offered the services of a Mustang.
DMC DeLorean
And, allegedly, to which the film runners allegedly replied “Doc Brown does not drive a [redacted] Mustang.” From that point on, stainless steel and gullwing doors were forever linked with the movie trilogy - and made the DeLorean a lot more popular than it might have been.
Pontiac Trans Am
When Burt Reynolds and his moustache leapt onto the screen in 1977, he took moviegoers along for the ride - a move cemented early in Smokey and the Bandit when, after shaking the 5-0 in a small town, he stares right into the camera and grins before peeling out.
Pontiac Trans Am
Sales of the Trans Am, a car which was by then very late in its design cycle but still several years from a full redesign, absolutely exploded. It is said that Pontiac was so thrilled with the residual success that they gave Reynolds a new Trans Am every year - until a new person took over at the head of Pontiac and cancelled the deal without telling him.
AMC Pacer
By the time Wayne’s World showed up in the early ‘90s, the homely AMC Pacer wasn’t much more than a joke in most circles. That all changed when Wayne and Garth appeared in a flame bedecked example, asking for Grey Poupon and generally causing harmless havoc.
AMC Pacer
After seeing the Mirthmobile in that classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" scene, the model went through a huge resurgence in collectability - and remains so today. It reappeared in the sequel as a limo. Party on.
