Famously Familiar Cars

Where Have I Seen That Car? 11 Famous Vehicles

By Colleen Kane


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So many automobiles roll through the backgrounds of movies and on TV shows, only to meet a humble end of getting compacted into a cube at a junkyard. But other cars are the movies and the TV shows in which they appear, or else they make such a memorable impression that they carry on the movie’s legacy as they are sold or displayed in museums.

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Most slides of the following famous cars were provided by Bob Hartwig, the director of rental operations at Cinema Vehicle Services in North Hollywood, Calif., which creates and supplies cars that appear in movies and on TV. Two of the following vehicles were unearthed on the first season of SyFy’s new cinema props-hunting show, “Hollywood Treasure.”
Five of the 11 Most Famously Familiar Cars


Alan's Dad's Mercedes

Classic auto aficionados alternately salivated and cringed to witness this 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE convertible cruised and abused in Las Vegas in the 2009 hit comedy "The Hangover."

One of five models built for the movie, this Mercedes is one of the beauties that didn't do stunts. It's a timeless car that if fully restored, can be worth upwards of $130,000, says Hartwig.

Eleanor

This is the star automobile known as Eleanor in the 2000 Nicolas Cage/ Angelina Jolie car-theft flick "Gone in 60 Seconds" (a remake of the 1974 original). In it, car thief Randall "Memphis" Raines (Cage) has tried to steal old Eleanor on multiple occasions, and when he finally gets her in the movie, an action-packed high-speed chase ensues.

Eleanor is a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 coated in pepper grey metallic. For this movie, 11 Eleanors were made, and eight survived production. "The signature body kit makes the car sit low and mean," observes Hartwig, noting that it also runs a 428 dual quad with 4 speeds and nitrous. Which is to say: the car is super fast.

Fast & Furious

This 1970 Dodge Charger is from the 2009 film, "The Fast and the Furious 4." Hartwig says that the same style was used in 2001's "The Fast and The Furious" and the upcoming sequel, "Fast Five."

This Charger has a 350 Chevy crate motor, rack and pinion steering, a Ford 9-inch rear end, 18-inch wheels and tires. It's fully caged with fuel cell and custom gauges.

To Hartwig, who, mind you, works with famous cars on a regular basis, "this Charger represents the epitome of movie car fame and recognition."

The General Lee

You recognize this hot little number from the small screens of 1979 to 1985, when it raced around fictional Hazzard County, GA in "The Dukes of Hazzard" TV series. This particular 1969 Dodge Charger was used in the last three seasons, and is the only surviving original 440 R/T car. When those rascally Duke boys jumped their final gulch in 1985, 17 General Lees remained, out of around 235 crashed over the series' 7 years.

When this General Lee was restored in 2005, an effort was made to keep intact as much original paint and parts as possible. The 440 motor was also rebuilt and puts out close to 500 horsepower now. Due to that big motor, this vehicle was used for burnouts and slides but never jumped.

And now, to shatter a few TV illusions: this car's doors were never welded shut and the "Dixie" horn sound was always added in post-production.

The Ectomobile

For the right jumpsuit-wearing keymasters, this oldie is a fine set of wheels for fighting ancient refrigerator demons and avoiding exploding marshmallow men. That's right: as if there were any mistaking it, this 1959 converted limo-style Cadillac ambulance was the iconic transportation for the trio of heroes of the comedy smash "Ghostbusters."

Although other Ectomobiles emerged throughout the "Ghostbusters" franchise (sequels, video games, cartoons), and toy versions were mass-marketed, the car depicted here is the only original known to survive from the first "Ghostbusters" movie from 1984.

Fun fact: In the original script written by Dan Akroyd, which was much more ambitious and too expensive to produce, the Ectomobile had the power to travel through time. (The following year, of course, the movie-going public learned that time travel was best left to DeLoreans.)

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» Collectible Bikes For The Easy Rider Generation

 

I hate the knight rider mustang with a passion, the regular looking saleen with the red lights is awesome, but not the change mode. Honestly though I think the original Trans Am will always be better known as Kitt then any mustang or any car for that matter will ever be:

The Wraith!


Christine!


And more recently Bumblebee!


Many of those are more famous then say the car in Hangover IMO.

Joe

 

You can't forget the Pontiac Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit.


Or the Torino from Starsky & Hutch.


How about Dragula from The Munsters.


And you can't forget the Classic '57 Chevy Bel Air. It's been used in many movies and TV's shows.

 

Vanishing Point Challenger



Magnum PI Ferrari 308

 

Bandit was the first car I thought of also metalfan. Probably the most popular car of the late 70's. Here's another one I thought of

 

Thanks `Joe, Brian, KJ & Lou for your posts & contributions to this thread...It great to see all those cars of the past 4-Sure....
I enjoyed......

 

This is a great thread! I love both Knight Rider cars (I still secretly have a black '83 Firebird). I'm going to need one of those ATeam vans one day too. But for now...

I can't help but mention one car that has likely been on more tshirts and other consumer goods more then any other - but not exactly a family car:

Famous enough to be featured in Pixar's Cars!


And the most famous SUV ever made popular by some guy named OJ

 

The Partridge Family bus.




Hey Space, how much do you think you could get for the copper in that Rolls Royce you posted in the first post? lol.

 

Hi `Lou,
LOL, I sure wouldn't melt it down `if I own it 4-Sure...
Even though it cost the USA a $2.5 cents to made a penny in today's metal market (That's not good business to me : ). I wish I owned a Rolls Royce....I'd sell it for the estimate below & get me a ZR'1 : )
and even let you use it : ) "To dare 2 Dream" ~> I do all the time : )
Wish you & readers a Super New Years eve, and SuperSuper 2011
4-Sure....I'll be working ~> Will You ? EnJoy

1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II
Sold for: $181,682
Estimate: $237,381-$284,858

It looks like a shiny new penny, but it’s worth much more. Estimated to bring in over $200,000, this car’s body was made using solid copper, the only Rolls-Royce to have that distinction, according to its owner & a Kid from `Space. He knows everything about `nothing : ) 4-Real ~> Sure : )

 

I don't know how I forgot this in my first post. I'm a big fan of these movies. Anyway, it's the DeLorean from the Back to the Future movies.


And I thought of a couple more, too. First is the big rig from Smokey and the Bandit. Not as cool as the car, but still cool.


And the truck from Sanford and Son.