Actually, since Dominic Toretto was king of the road, this '93 MazdaRX-7 was probably the fastest tuner car at the time. It was heavily modded. In a classic scene, Toretto showed how he outmatched the competition by flipping the car's passenger seat up and revealing a four-tank NOS system.
The car was equipped with a stock 255 hp twin-turbocharged rotary engine. The exterior was modified with a Veilside body kit, Lexan headlight covers, and aluminum struts. The tires were Toyo ZR18s and the wheels were 18" Veilsides. Also, because of Vin Diesel's bulk, the interior roll cage was removed.
"Sunday, Monday, Happy Days..." -- Happy Days theme song
A very big TV hit in the 70's. A show about high school teenagers growing up in the 50's. A time when kids were growing drag racing their hot rods. The cars seen in Happy Days were really old school. Ralph Malph, one of the main characters, had a yellow 1929 Ford Model A Roadster that he modded for street racing, though he didn't really race much. Still the car was very well designed and looked really cool. It was yellow with spitfires on the engine hood.
FordModel A's began rolling out of the factory in 1903. The early Model A had an open-air cab and resembled a horse-drawn buggy. It was powered by a 2 cylinder 100 cid engine with 8 horsepower.
By the late 20's, there were considerable improvements. The 1929 Ford Model A was equipped with a battery-and-coil ignition, nickel-plated headlamps, 4-wheel mechanical brakes, and double action shock absorbers. It was powered by an inline L-head 4-cylinder 200.5 cid engine with 40 horsepower.
By the time Ralph Malph was driving around in his yellow hot rod, his car would have been 20+ years old. That would be the equivalent of a high school teenager today modding a car built in 1989. Wow!
Of course, there's a car involved. Al Bundy, the loveable loser shoe salesman who peaked in life way back when he was a high school football player, drove a Dodge -- a brown, dusty Dodge that had been stolen in one of the episodes and Al went nuts to get it back.
Though the show often dismissed the Dodge as a loser's car, fit for a guy who's way past his prime, in reality, the car that was referred to as the Dodge was 1) not a real Dodge but a 1971 Plymouth-made Duster 340, and 2) a popular entry level muscle car in its heyday.
National Lampoon's Vacation had been an old school road trip movie. It was directed by Harold Ramis (star of Ghosbusters), written by John Hughes (director of Sixteen Candles, RIP), and starred Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, John Candy, Randy Quaid, and Eugene Levy.
Out of all of them, my single best memory from the movie was the scene with Christie Brinkley driving a Ferrari as she flirted with Chevy Chase in an open highway. Can anything be more apropos than a red hot car being driven by a super hot blond?
Sleek and aerodynamic, the Ferrari 308 GTS joined the Ferrari roster in 1977. It had a targa top that could be stored away behind the seats for open air riding. Despite being a 2-seater and rear-engine powered, it had a luggage compartment! Yep, at the rear of the car right next to the engine bay. I suppose that if you're going away for the weekend, you'll need those luggage spaces. The Ferrari 308 GTS was a really sleek car, even by today's standard. In my mind, I can only picture them in red. They were produced until 1980.
When The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift came out, one of the cooler car in the movie was Neela's black and blue 2006 Mazda RX-8. It was beautifully painted with a blue front fading to black rear. It was shot mostly at night and it looked like the car was coming out of darkness every time.
Neela's 2006 Mazda RX-8 was a great performance car. Too bad we did not see it in real action. It was equipped with a Renesis 1.3 liter 13B rotary engine with GReddy turbo kit and Tanabe exhaust system. It was modded with Veilside body kit, Toyo Proxes 19 inch tires, and Volk Racing GT-AV wheels.
Here's a video clip talking about the modification and the roadtest of the RX-8 used in Tokyo Drift. Video is low quality, but still watchable. This car is truly a great addition to The Fast and The Furious series. Enjoy.
The General Lee is one of the most well-known cars on films. Single orange tone with the badge "01" on the doors and the southern flag on the roof, it's up there with the Batmobile and Herbie the Love Bug. How can you not like it? It's a muscle car that saw plenty of action.
As a young kid in the late 70's, I saw The Dukes of Hazzard on Channel 2 (CBS) every Friday night. Bo and Luke always got away from Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe with the General Lee kicking off dirt as it sped away. It's appropriate that in the movie remake released in 2005 that the General Lee was also played by a 1969 Dodge Charger RT. By then, it was obviously more difficult to gather enough of these beastly beauties since it has not been made in 36 years. Luckily, 89,704 '69 Chargers were built. Although by the time the TV show and, many years later, the movie, they were difficult to get.
The 1969 Dodge Charger RT had been a favorite among movie makers. This particular year and model had been in some of my cult favorites, such as Death Proof, Blade, and The Fast and The Furious.
And for good reason. It's a beautiful car to appreciate. The slim and rounded profile often drew comparison with the Coke bottle design. The standard model came with a 225 cid Slant Six engine. The more popular option was the 318 cid V-8.
Here's a short video clip of a General Lee replica complete with the horns and all.
One of the funniest classic movies is Animal House with John Belushi. It is one of the first or, perhaps, the first teen / college romp film. Great thing is, Animal House has a scene that used a classic car. In the parade scene, the brothers of Delta Tau Chi rigged a black 1964 Lincoln Continental and rechristened as the Deathmobile to carry a float that hid them and their true intention. "Eat Me" was inscripted on the float as a message of defiance to the school authorities. The whole thing was funny.
Youtube has a clip of the Deathmobile scene, though not in the best quality.
The scene has clearly become entrenched in our pop culture. There are several people out there mimicking the "Eat Me" float in various events such as soapbox racing. Here's a video clip of one for a Red Bull event:
As for the car of choice, well, it was a good one. The 1964 Lincoln Continental was what we refer to as "boats". Big, elegant family cars that can fit you and all your friends with a quiet and comfortable ride. Great for cruising and road trips, which was what the Delta brothers did.
I'm gonna include in this blog entries from music videos as well as movies and TV shows. This first one will be on the 1960 Buick LeSabre Convertible that's seen in the Gogo's music video for their 80's hit song, "Our Lips are Sealed."
This is a perfect car for cruising. You should be able to pack in a lot of your friends for cruise on the beach. At least that's how I'd use it. Of course, they can't be sitting on the edge of the car. But back in the days, it was ok.
One fun thing about playing a lead character in The Fast and the Furious movies is that you get to drive several cars. In Tokyo Drift, Sean Boswell (played by Lucas Black had began the movie racing in a white 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo. He then trashed a 2001 Nissan Silvia S-15 owned by Han. Then to get ready for street car racing, he had to learn how to drift using a 2006 Mitsubishi Evo IX. The Evo IX was one of the car owned by Han who wanted his lackey, Boswell, to get around in style.
A few days before the release of the Transformers 2 DVD, Revenge of the Fallen, I figure it's time to post about them. From the first movie, Ironhide, the weapons specialist for the Autobots, is one of my favorites. He did some really cool somersaults evading incoming missiles from the Decepticons during the battle in Mission City.
In the theatrical movies, Transformers and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, Ironhide's alternate mode is a black 2006 GMC TopKick C4500. More accurately, Ultimate Class IV Topkick Pickup (C4500 medium-duty truck). TopKicks, aka Chevrolet Kodiak, are typically commercial class utility vehicles used for high-power towing such as dump trucks, moving trucks, and cargo hauls. The Ultimate Class IV TopKick Pickup is a converted version for use by regular folks for more than regular hauling. So we're talking strong enough to haul boats, RVs, trailers,...the works.
In the movie, 2 Fast 2 Furious, the second of the series, Brian O'Conner was the only guy who came back from the original movie. This time around, he had a buddy named Roman Pearce, played by Tyrese Gibson. O'Conner needed a partner whom he could trust to work an assignment that was forced on him by the police. Of course, there were conditions. Pearce was serving a prison sentence, but he can be pardoned if he successfully assisted O'Conner in infiltrating a drug trafficking ring in Miami, where the stage was set for dangerous street racing.
Roman Pearce drove a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Convertible. The metallic silver and purple tuner car was powered by a stock 200-hp 3 L V6 engine. The body was modded for street racing with a Shine Street wide body kit and rear wing.
