Road Trip: The Movies and the Cars

Dan CarterMember

I can't tell you how many "road trip" movies I've seen, some of them full of tense drama and some just hilarious...(one of my favorites, I have to admit, is "The Long Long Trailer," with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, which everyone says I'm not old enough for).

Anyway, what started this is that a friend started talking about "Coast to Coast" with Richard Dreyfuss. There are 2 '64 T-birds in the movie, but one has cowl-like covers over the back seats (I clipped this picture from a website) and she thought they weren't around for '64.

That started me wondering, how much do cars get modified for the movies? When I went hunting, I found a story from the Boston Globe last summer about Road Trip movies that included a note about "National Lampoon's Vacation" using a specially-built car that looked like an '83 Ford wagon.

So: I'm down to a bunch of questions. How real are the movie cars (obviously not talking about Batmobiles)? What's with the T-Bird? and What movies have set you off on a road trip? I love the road, but don't have one in particular...

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12/22/135:34 PM

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WorkerBeeMember

Originally Posted by Dan Carter:

So: I'm down to a bunch of questions. How real are the movie cars (obviously not talking about Batmobiles)? What's with the T-Bird?

There is a lot of variation in how "real" cars are in movies. it depends on what the car must survive during filming and, sometimes, who is driving. In the James Bond flick "You Only Live Twice" Sean Connery drives a Toyota 2000 GT convertible. there were only 2 2000GT convertibles built, both for the movie. the primary reason was that Sean was too tall to drive the standard coupe version. Often cars are reinforced so they will survive severe abuse.

The 64 t-bird has a tonneau cover which was an extra cost option. Run a search and you will find that they are still available.

12/22/1311:18 PM

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Travel RobGumbo Guru

I always liked that goofy Vacation Station Wagon.

Mainly though I like it when they use regular cars.We have an Edsel and got a kick when we saw one in Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

12/23/139:44 PM

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rbciaoMember

Speaking of classic old cars... I've wanted a 1931 Model A sedan since I was 14 years old. So a few years ago the search began with the help of the president of the local Model A club. Using this guy's expertise plus online searching and suggestions from a financial guy I made a purchase in 2011. However, it was not a 1931 Model A sedan.

This whole undertaking reminded me of the old axiom, "A camel is really a horse designed by a committee." While looking for the Model A I was talking my a childhood friend who now lives outside of Chicago; who is also a car guy. We both grew up in the projects and life took us in different directions. His passion is BMW and he has seven of them. So, in conversation he mentioned he wanted to sell his Florida car, which has never seen snow and very little rain. The guy is fastidious! Anyway, after gabbing on and off for a year my interest in the Model A dwindled and we began talking about his 97' convertible. Well, in July, 2011 my son and I flew to Sarasota to buy the vehicle. It took us two days to drive back to "da Burgh" with the new/older toy. The pic was taken last summer at the university car show benefitting children with Down Syndrome. Life is good.