Would These Cars Be Popular Without Hollywood?
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.
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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1983 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, 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.
1977 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. 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.
1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Sticking with the same brand, Pontiac managed to wend itself into the popular Knight Rider television show starring The Hoff in a lead role and the new-for-’82 Firebird Trans Am as KITT, an AI-driven and self-aware car laden with tech tricks and a saucy attitude. The red strip of light between its pop up headlamps was replicated umpteen copies of that era Firebird by fans of the series. Would the ‘82 Firebird, itself a major leap over the ‘81, have been a success without the show? Maybe. But it sure as heck didn’t hurt sales.
1976 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. 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.
