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The 12 Worst Car Movies Of All Time

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EDT

We love movies. We love cars. We love movies about cars. But there are some truly pathetic car flicks out there. Below, thanks to your help, is our list of 12 of the worst.

This is open to debate, of course, and there are films we deplore that didn't make this list. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments and feel free to add some YouTube clips to support your choices. In the meantime, click next to see what we're talking about.

12.) Gone In 60 Seconds (Remake)
Director: Dominic Sena
Year Debuted: 2000
Why It's Awful: It's not as if the original Gone In 60 Seconds is the best example of cinema ever, it just features great cars. Unfortunately, the remake manages to lose some of the verve and spark of the first film and replaces it with Jerry Bruckhiemer-induced stunts and a truly awful performance from Angeline Jolie. Oh well, it's always fun to watch Nick Cage.

11.) Herbie: Fully Loaded
Director: Angle Robinson
Year Debuted: 2005
Why It's Awful: As cute as the original Herbie movies are, this remake smacks of Disney-fied unoriginality and features Herbie racing in a NASCAR race. It also features Lindsay Lohan's rise into womanhood (which involved, allegedly, a digital breast reduction) and her decline into substance abuse. We're going to show you the blooper real, because it's actually more entertaining than the film itself.

10.) Black Moon Rising
Director: Harvey Cokliss
Year Debuted: 1986
Why It's Awful: Other than the general 1980s-ness, as exemplified by the appearance of both a big-haired Linda Hamilton and Bubba Smith, the production value of the film isn't as bad as some of the others here. Written by John Carpenter and directed with a touch of science fiction noir (hey, everyone loves Blade Runner!) the worst part of the film is that the titular Black Moon concept cars is based on the hideous Wingho Concordia II. It's a bad Canadian, Bertone-rejected wedge unimpressive even by 1980s standards.

9.) Race The Sun
Director: Charles T. Kanganis
Year Debuted: 1996
Why It's Awful: Wait? A movie with both Halle Berry and Jim Belushi? About a high school solar racing team that came in 18th place? Oh man, nothing beats bratty teenagers (played by pre-fame Casey Affleck and Eliza Dushku) and alternative energy. It's like October Sky... in Hawaii! We couldn't actually find a youtube video of this, but the photo above and your imagination should do the trick.

8.) The Wraith
Year Debuted: 1986
Director: Mike Marvin
Why It's Awful: It's like the original Fast And The Furious with a street-racing gang. But instead of Vin Diesel you have a cosmically resurrected teenager. And instead of driving around in a souped-up DSM he has a Dodge prototype. Oh, and rather than Jordana Brewster to stare at you have Clint Howard.

< 7.) The Dukes Of Hazzard
Year Debuted: 2005
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
Why It's Awful: It's not as if The Dukes of Hazzard was a particularly great television show, but it had its moments. Other than Willie Nelson, the movie had almost nothing worth salvaging. We even like the director, Chandrasekhar, who directed some of the funniest episodes of Arrested Development. Extra points for being yet another film on this list featuring Burt Reynolds.

6.) Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
Year Debuted: 2009
Director: Michael Bay
Why It's Awful: As you can read here and here, the genius of Michael Bay is making lots of money by getting people to watch a movie mostly unwatchable. There's no car pr0n in this one, like the original. It's mostly just a bunch of nearly identical robots tearing pieces of metal off of each other for reasons unclear to anyone who doesn't follow the intricacies of the Transformers canon.

5.) Smokey And The Bandit III
Year Debuted: 1983
Director: Dick Lowry
Why It's Awful: A movie so bad Burt Reynolds wouldn't appear it, the plot of Smokey And The Bandit 3 includes Jerry Reed as the Bandit and Jackie Gleason betting away his badge. Rumor has it that Jackie Gleason originally played the Bandit but test audiences didn't get it. Either way, nothing really explains why certain scenes exist or what happens. And to top it all off, there's a sex scene with Jackie Gleason. The-Watercooler.com explains the rest above.

4.) RPM
Year Debuted: 1998
Director: Ian Sharp
Why It's Awful: We were surprised to discover, in doing our background research for why RPM is so awful, that there's no Wikipedia entry for RPM. There's a wikipedia page for The Alarmist and for the made-for-tv-movie with David Arquette The Webbers. Why no page for RPM? We think it's a vast conspiracy perperated by Courtney Cox to make us forget the film. Great cars, bad acting, and David Arquette. Need we say more?

3.) 2 Fast, 2 Furious
Year Debuted: 2003
Director: John Singleton
Why It's Awful: Lacking almost any of the charm, or the cast, of the original, 2 Fast 2 Furious matches the acting skills of Ludacris with dialogue that goes from campy and technically dubious to downright awful. The film is dreadfully slow for an action movie and the concept of Paul Walker earning his way back in to the government's good graces is tired and predictable. The whole film has the value of a set of neon green JC Whitney pedal covers.

2.) Driven
Year Debuted: 2001
Director: Renny Harlin
Why It's Awful: Driven is maybe the worst film directed by Renny Harlin, the genius behind such films as the second worst Die Hard flick, Wal-Mart $5 DVD bin staple The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (to be fair, Wert really likes this one), and massive flop Cutthroat Island. A mixture of convoluted plot, poor acting, and crappy CG combines for a movie so bad we unfairly blame it for killing off the CART series.

1.) Redline
Year Debuted: 2007
Director: Andy Cheng
Why It's Awful: Literally part of the reason why the subprime market crashed (the film was produced with subprime loans) and the economy is in the crapper; the film Redline is a tour de force of awful. The questionable plotline, the gratuitous destruction of exotics, the Eddie Griffin factor, and the awful acting all combine to create a film that makes The Fast And The Furious seem like Citizen Kane. It's so bad, the car gods took the producer's Enzo.

The 12 Greatest Car Movies

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT

We love movies. We love cars. We love movies about cars. And there are some really great car flicks out there. Below, thanks to your help, is our list of 12 of the greatest.

This is open to debate, of course, and there are films we love that didn't make this list. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments and feel free to add some YouTube clips to support your choices. In the meantime, click next to see what we're talking about. 12.) C'etait un Rendezvous Director: Claude Lelouch Year Debuted: 1976 Why It's Awesome: With no dialogue and a plot completely suggested by the title (It was a date), the film is a classic piece of motoring cinema, clouded in mystery for years. Who was the driver? What was the car? How much was planned out? Lelouch eventually spilled the beans. It was he, himself, behind the wheel of a Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9 with the sound of a Ferrari 275 GTB dubbed over it. 11.) Gone In 60 Seconds (Original) Director: H.B. Halicki Year Debuted: 1974 Why It's Awesome: Despite not being the best written film ever, the original Gone in 60 Seconds is a glorious collection of nearly every car sold in America you'd want to see from 1974. (Check out the Star Car Shootout for a full list). There's an Eleanor, an Intermeccanica, a Miura, a Stutz, a Lime Charger. In the 34-minute chase scene there are nearly 100 cars destroyed. It's everything a car person could want. 10.) Grand Prix Director: John Frankenheimer Year Debuted: 1966 Why It's Awesome:Probably the ultimate film about the excitement of a Formula One season, the film stars a very likeable James Garner and the gorgeous Eva Marie Saint as an entire fake season plays out. With apperances from Jim Clark, Juan-Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill and others, it's truly a joy for fans of open-wheel racing, though others may find it a bit tedious. 9.) Bullitt Director: Peter Yates Year Debuted: 1968 Why It's Awesome: Is Bullitt a car move? Is it a detective thriller? We think it's both. Featuring perhaps the most famous car chase of all time between the classic Dark Highalnd Green Mustang and a black Dodge Charger RT/440, this ten-minute clip alone qualifies it to grace this list. But there's more, including an Austin Healy 3000, Porsche 356 C, and even a Bizzarrini GT 5300 if you play close attention. It's an aster basket full of classic sports car metal. 8.) The Cannonball Run Director: Hal Needham Year Debuted: 1981 Why It's Awesome: We'll admit the film itself is probably the worst movie on the list, written by the lovable Brock Yates. The cast, also, is strange: Dom Deluise, Roger Moore, Burt Reynolds, an early apperance by Jackie Chan, Terry Bradshaw, Jamie Farr, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin. Despite all the problems you'd expect from a film based on the real Cannonball race, the B-movieness is nevertheless part of the film's campy charm. The cheesy performance from Deluise is endearing and the cars, despite everything, are fun to watch. There's a Ferrari 308 GTS, a Dodge Ambulance, Aston Martin DB5, a Rolls-Royce, and even a rocket-powered Subaru driven by Jackie Chan. It's bad, but it's so bad it's somehow wonderful. 7.) The Italian Job (Original) Director: Peter Colinson Year Debuted: 1969 Why It's Awesome: From the opening shot with a Lamborghini Miura winding through the Alps to Mini Cooper S's escaping through the sewers, it's a caper with the soul of a car flick. Great actors (Noel Coward, Michael Caine, Benny Hill) and great cars (Fiat Dino Coupe, Jaguar E-Type, Aston Martin DB4) combine to create an enduring classic, as clever as it is automotively satisfying. 6.) A Bout De Souffle (Breathless) Director: Jean-Luc Goddard Year Debuted: 1960 Why It's Awesome: One of the best New Wave films, with a story by Truffaut, much of it takes place behind the wheel of one car while admiring another (Look, a Talbot!). It's the story of a Bogart-wannabe car thief able to appreciate a classic T-Bird or swoopy Citroen as much as the breasts of the young woman next to him. A film that makes the link between our sometimes painful love with foreign cars and foreign women. 5.) Vanishing Point Director: Richard C. Sarafian Year Debuted: 1971 Why It's Awesome: Watching Vanishing Point is what expect being paranoid on mescaline is like. You're not really sure where you are. You're hallucinating about naked chicks on bikes. The radio is talking to you. You hear sirens everywhere. Sure, the film is a Chrysler lovefest with Chargers, Imperials, and a wicked white 1970 Challenger R/T — but it's from an era when this is a good thing. It also gets props for having the most existential ending to any mainstream car flick. 4.) Smokey And The Bandit Director: Hal Needham Year Debuted: 1977 Why It's Awesome: The other great Hal Needham cross-country trip featuring Burt Reynolds, is fecitiously billed as a "love story between a man and a woman" that's really a love story between a man and his Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Or maybe it's the love story between audiences and crushed cop cars. Whatever it is, we love it for Burt Reynolds' cool, car-destroying swagger. 3.) The Blues Brothers Director: John Landis Year Debuted: 1980 Why It's Awesome: Perhaps the only great musical comedy action road film, The Blues Brothers gives a lowly 1974 Mount Prospect Dodge Monaco police car magical powers and the ability to outrun hundreds of actual law enforcement officers in their shiny new Fords and Mopars. It held the record for the most cars destroyed in one film before the remake which, for everyone's sake, we're going to pretend didn't exist. Seriously, what other flick pits an old cop car against Pinto-driving Neo Nazis and a country western band in an RV? 2.) Mad Max Director: George Miller Year Debuted: 1979 Why It's Awesome: A post-apocalyptic western with Aussie muscle cars replacing the horse, the original Mad Max is a shodown between V8 power over a pretty screwed up piece of turf. The "pursuit specials" of the car are varous Holdens and Fords, with the 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe taking the role of Mel Gibson's famous car. If you can't appreciate the Holden Utes doing battle with the Monaros and Falcons in an arid wasteland you probably don't like cars. Just watch above as Mel Gibson quietly preps to do battle with the "terminal pyschopath" behind the wheel of a stolen pursuit special. 1.) Le Mans Director: Lee H. Katzin Year Debuted: 1971 Why It's Awesome: Steve McQueen's classic film Le Mans is essentially a Le Mans race caught on film. There's no distracting plot or unnecessary romance. Just a lot of close, intense, beautiful, glorious, wonderful racing action. And not just any race. This isn't Days Of Thunder. This is Le Mans. The mother race. "A four-hour sprint followed by a 20-hour death watch." It's a film you could watch with your eyes close, which is a great compliment for a movie with almost no talking - just the dialogue between Porsches and Ferraris. Mike Austin Memorial Honorable Mention Award Ronin Director: John Frankenheimer Year Debuted: 1998 Why It's Awesome: It's Ronin. Amazing chases. Violence. Minimal plot. David Mamet dialogue. Audis. Pugs. Bimmers. Beautiful

Top Ten Best Movie Police Car Chases, With A Twist

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:30:00 EDT

Police car chases are as much a part of American cinema as the sappy love story and the life-like animated robot movie. With so many directors having tackled the police chase it has become a bountiful field from which to pluck perfectly formed flowers of destruction and tire smoke. As we continue our Jalopnik Automotive Amerigasm this week with the second part of our review of the 2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition, we figured we should see what the celluloid forefathers of this blacked out beast have been able to do on film. Except, the "top ten car chases" thing's been done so many times it's not funny. Since we know there's more out there than the usual Bullitt-to-Bandit list we've shaken things up a little — with five of the obvious best and five of the not-so-obvious best — silver screen police car chases. So grab your popcorn and hit the jump.

Top Five Famous Police Chases:

#5: The French Connection
This one makes the cut for nothing else if not innovation. Hack Man wasn't even chasing a car in the French connection's most famous scene, indeed he was after an elevated train carrying the sniper who tried to gun him down. The brilliant use of hand held second person camera work and bumper cams while driving through thick traffic make this one a brass balls special.

#4: Smokey And the Bandit
How can you not credit a movie at least in-part responsible for the CB Radio renaissance? Of all the flicks on the list, this one is practically a shoo-in, considering it's an entire movie dedicated to evading the fuzz — with five major chase scenes as a result. If you don't want to grow a mustache after watching this movie, you might be a communist.

#3: Blues Brothers
This icon of American college cinema is both brilliant in it's scope and magical in its wanton destruction.

#2: Bullitt
Bullitt is a much-lauded car chase wrapped in a gritty, 60's era cop drama. The epic battle between Mustang and Charger has been committed to memory for a great many car dorks. Hell, it even got us all together for a night out in Highland Park. The only thing holding this one back is the well documented, and well loved, inconsistencies in it's production. Some love it for those post production snafu's while other call it shoddy attention to detail. we just love all that tire squealing goodness topped with a dollop of burning bad guy.

#1: Gone In Sixty Seconds
There's something to be said about a flick which is basically a flimsy plot used to frame the scene for a forty minute police chase. Our hero dons the miter of the original Eleanor, a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, which is used to evade, confound, embarrass and destroy an entire squad's worth of patrol cars. We've selected our favorite clip of the movie, the dirty, dusty construction chase. Today it would be a brilliant product placement opportunity for Fram air filters. In our opinion, this is both brilliantly executed and fiendishly simple, a hallmark of excellent chase-making.

Five Great Chases That Aren't As Obvious

#5: Beverly Hills Cop
The level of destructive power in a twin-trailer semi truck is hard to imagine until you see this cab-over ploughing through the streets of Detroit circa 1984. Huge props for actually filming on those streets (it was a dangerous place at the time) and even today we recognize some of the old mansions they drive past, though now they're rebuilt and occupied, instead of hollowed out drug dens. (Sorry about the long, foreign dubbed clip, it's amazingly hard piece of hosted film to find)

#4: The Bourne Identity
Take a Mini, some French Police in cars and on motorcycles, shake vigorously with a marked spy, and serve with a rousing soundtrack. The Bourne Identity is a good ride start to finish, but the chase sequence here made everyone's eyes pop when it first flitted cross the silver screen. Tight European streets, death defying dances through traffic and damn impressive driving make this one for the ages.

#3: Short Time
What's more dangerous than a cop with nothing to lose? One that gets rewarded if he dies on the job. Dabney Coleman plays a cop in this little known flick as a cop who thinks he's got a terminal illness, so he goes about attempting to kill himself off on the job, so his family gets a big fat pension and life insurance bonus. The ensuing suicidal police chase is both amusing and brilliantly filmed.

#2: The Seven-Ups
All right, fess up. In every police chase ever committed to film, a little (or even big) piece of you wanted to see the bad guys get away, to see the cop take the fall, and to see justice not served. Nothing quite says car chase like a giant Pontiac flying down the cramped streets of New York and actually getting air at times. Roy Scheider saddles up for a hair raising chase which end in an unexpected bone crushing finale.

#1: Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
This is the quintessential anti-hero police chase. Our robber heroes are chased over hill and dale by an angry back-country cop who can't quite chase down their bright green Dodge Charger, heck, even a helicopter can't stop em. Just as we think it's all over, random chance and poor driving habits snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The 50 Most Memorable Movie Cars, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Mark Arnold — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:40:00 EDT

The film critics over at the site all about Tomatoes that are Rotten, have proclaimed a list of the 50 "Most Memorable" movie cars. We won't give it all away here, but we were actually fairly satisfied with their choice for the numero uno slot. Obviously, they're not total hoons like us, but we were still interested to see where a few of our favorites ended up.

Somehow, despite all the recent Dodge Challenger hype, Eleanor from the original Gone In 60 Seconds came in at #41, beating out the Kowalski's white Challenger from Vanishing Point at #43. An apparently more famous Mustang, the '68 390 GT from Bullitt listed at #25, though its co-star Charger was nowhere in sight. The pond-skipping Lambo from Speed Zone failed to secure a spot, but its predecessor from Cannonball Run earned #17, barely being beat by Bond's Lotus at #16. The righteous Bluesmobile earned the #11 spot. Sadly, it came as no surprise that Michael Delaney's Porsche 911 S, and our very own March Madness Champion, the Miura, were forgotten.
[RottenTomatoes]

Star Car Shootout: Championship Today

Mark Arnold — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EDT

This is it. The final round of the Gone In 60 Seconds Star Car Shootout tournament. Where's Eleanor? She didn't make the cut. The remaining contenders? In one corner, we have the gorgeous and yet completely motionless Lamborghini Miura. In the other corner, a powerful combination of Italian style and American muscle, the Intermeccanica Italia. Now it's your job to figure out which car is the coolest star of H.B. Halicki's Gone In 60 Seconds. Place your bets, and hit the polls.

Star Car Shootout: The Final Four

Mark Arnold — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EDT

This is it. The final four cars left in our Star Car Shootout tournament. It's been madness trying to get to here from our original selection of 32 cars, and maddening for you to deal with the brilliantly brutish poll system, but we've made it together seemingly none the worse for wear. Certainly, the cars left are all winner-worthy. Eleanor is no surprise, as she's the star of the show. The Intermeccanica and the DeTomaso are both robust Italian-American blends. The Miura is just dripping with style. But who will make the final round? That, friends, is up to you. UPDATE: Polls for this round are closed. Check out the finals here.

March Madness Down To Elite Eight, Voting To Final Four Today

Mark Arnold — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:00:00 EDT

And then there were eight. On Wednesday, we'll have the final round to decide which is the coolest car from the original Gone In 60 Seconds, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Today, we have to pare these eight contenders down to a final four. Who's gonna make the cut? Which is the coolest? Eleanor or the Roller? The crushed Challenger or the Intermeccanica? DeTomaso or Manta? Miura or Vega? Your votes will decide.

March Madness Narrowed To Sweet 16, Round 2 Of Voting Today

Mark Arnold — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Well here we are, Round 2 of Jalopnik-style madness. After the first round of voting, we've eliminated half of the 32-car field. And there sure were some upsets; Parnelli Jones' Big Oly Bronco losing to some white Italian car being perhaps the most shocking. We even had a last minute buzzer-beater, with "Billy" beating out the Rolls Limo by only 2 votes! But, now it's time to vote our sweet 16 down to an elite 8. We'll be one step closer to figuring out which car you think is the coolest on-screen in the 1974 film Gone In 60 Seconds. Update: Polls have closed, voting for Round Three here.

March Madness Begins, First Round Of Voting

Mark Arnold — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Yesterday, we gave you the brackets. Today, the voting begins and Jalopnik-style March Madness ensues. If you haven't finalized your own bracket for the office pool just yet, hurry up! The field of 32 cars from the original 1974 film Gone In 60 Seconds is about to get narrowed down by your votes. At the end this round, we'll be down to 16 sweet rides. Ultimately, we want to find out what you think the coolest car in the movie is. Now some cars are cool all by themselves, but you also have to consider what role they played on screen. So who knows what the results will look like? Update: Polls for Round 1 are closed. Vote in Round 2 here.

March Madness, Jalopnik Style

Mark Arnold — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Interested in all the March madness tournament bracketry, but not really into college hoops? Maybe you're looking for a way to redeem yourself after penciling-in Duke to go all the way? Whatever the case, we've decided to throw our own Jalopnik-style bracket-madness party! Instead of basketball, we've got cars! And don't think this isn't some randomly-selected field of Consumer Reports top choices. What we have is a 32-car selection from one of the coolest car movies ever made: the original Gone In 60 Seconds from 1974. Through the rest of this week and part of next, your votes will be tallied to decide the winners of each face-off. Polls will open tomorrow, so that gives you today to print out your own bracket, fill in your predictions, tell your buddies, and make up your own office pool. It also gives you time to go watch the movie, but if you want just a quick refresher, we've provided that too.

This is the star of the show; the top seed. A seemingly indestructible 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that runs from the law in a glorious 40-minute chase scene.
The local country radio reporter's ride, a Ford that might as well have "dorky" painted all over it.

A drop-top Ford with questionable structural rigidity that gets hit in the side so hard it splits neatly in half. Ridiculous, but funny.
The Belvedere rent-a-cop with a German Shepard. Attempts to chase down a tow-truck stealing a Challenger, and fails.

A burgundy Roller stolen in broad daylight from the airport drop-off curb; chauffeur left the key in it.
A Fleetwood serving as personal transportation for the ring-leader of the operation. An arranged assortment of sunglasses on the dash, and enough room for the whole crew to cruise around.

Stole a Challenger right off a dealership lot, then outran security even with the Challenger still attached. The star of the second best chase in the movie.
A poor little Type 3 that got flipped on its roof by Eleanor, starting a huge pileup. Cute car, humiliating role.

The Dodge carries the flag for all the cop cars in the movie. They're cool rides burdened by somewhat inept drivers.
One of the "girls" on the hit list, though it only appears on film for a moment. Not a hearse, but a custom station wagon.

License plate reads "OOO GAL." The Dodge was a stolen car wearing VIN tags from a wrecked donor; An identity thief before it was popular. Sadly, it had to go to the crusher once people started getting wise.
A new Plymouth out on a test drive gets smashed by a cop in pursuit of Eleanor.

Lyle Waggoner's Intermeccanica Italia swiped from spaced-out stoner cleaning it.
A stolen Corvette in a sizzling color. Not on film very long, but it leaves an impression.

The undercover cop that started the epic chase with Eleanor. It Went toe-to-toe with the Mustang, but couldn't quite keep up.
A nice bright green Dodge that suffered the fate of being crushed by a garbage truck rolling onto it.

An old sedan DeVille ridin' low. Occupants seemed to enjoy smokin' the herb so much that they drove the Caddy to self-destruction.
A Rolls limo big enough to carry a fully-assembled bicycle in the back seat with room to spare. Just wait for the chauffeur to leave the car unattended, insert the bike you rode up on, and drive away. Petty theft made high-class.

Don't get distracted by the girl, this DeTomaso is what you really want. She's just askin' for it, leaving the keys in the car like that.
This Jensen Interceptor is practically good enough for JFG, and it's apparently good enough to make the South American client's, list as well.

Fantastically obscure Manta Mirage stolen during a test drive. Salesman gets out to switch seats, thief slides behind the wheel and takes off.
The Maserati is another car on the list only appearing for a moment, but it's pure style.

A Cadillac filled with drugs, one of the few things to survive in the remake movie from 2000. How do you get rid of all that white powder? Burn it. Who cares if it's worth a million bucks on the street; these are responsible criminals.
The hopped-up Plymouth was on the screen for only a quick flash, but we're sure it's even quicker down the strip.

Parnelli Jones' Baja Bronco is the icon of off-road racing. But that didn't stop anyone from stealing it in the movie.
The Lamborghini is elegantly beautiful, but forgettable in this context.

Epic cool car and JFG resident, but it's too bad we can't see it's wacky suspension in action.
Who needs a high-tech anti-theft system? Just keep a tiger in your Cadillac.

Another limo left unattended and vulnerable. All the coolness factor of death with none of the emotional struggle.
Hard to say what exactly has been done to this Chevy Vega, but it sure ain't stock. Another one we'd like to see actually driving.

It looks plain on the outside because it's supposed to. There were two identical Fords used for scouting out all the cars on the to-be-stolen list before the day of the big hit. Equipped with walkie-talkies too!
Nothing says "Malaise Era" more than a Stutz. And this one was stolen right in front of a confused old lady. Classy.

[Screenshots are property of the movie's copyright holders; not Jalopnik]

Unique Performance Mustangs Allegedly Built By Prisoners, Used 13 Gallons Of Bondo

Matt Hardigree — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:40:00 EST

Just when we thought there would be a break from the Unique Performance Saga, we get word that things were even more rotten in the city of Farmers Branch. First, an investigation by CBS11-TV has turned up solid evidence that unskilled Texas prisoners were used to do the bodywork on the replica "Eleanor" Mustangs, including removing the VIN plates (which is illegal). Second, the poorly built cars cost upwards of $200,000 yet were built using approximately 13 gallons of Bondo each. Third, the U.S. Secret Service and Texas Department of Public Safety (state police) have launched investigations. Fourth, this may impact the way the prison system work program is implemented. Finally, according to authorities charges are imminent (probably fraud and title-washing to start). More pictures from the evidence locker (everything comes from Taiwan), a statement from Unique Performance owner Doug Hasty's lawyer and a quick primer for those that haven't been following the case below the jump.

History

After the success of Gone In 60 Seconds, Unique Performance with the blessing of Carroll Shelby started building "Eleanor" replicas. Turns out that most of those replicas may have been built with salvage or otherwise questionably titled Mustangs and, despite taking huge deposits, weren't being delivered. After being raided by police and shut down, the company filed for bankruptcy and refused to pay Unique Performance employees. That's where we stood before these latest revelations.

Statement From Doug Hasty's Lawyer

Every customer that has received a car has ultimately been satisfied with the quality of the car they received. Farmers Branch Police are continuing their witch hunt. They continue to leak false accusations to the press knowing that we have not had an opportunity to have access to the cars to rebut their claims. There were no title issues or criminal problems with the titles and no one has been defrauded. We are eager to address these cases in a court of law, on the record, where people will have to be responsible for their conduct. And I'm referring specifically to the Farmers Branch Police Department.

That's the information we have to date.

Special thanks to 67Mustangblog for following the story so closely. [All information via CBS-11 TV]

What Th'... It's the Smartleanor!

Mike Spinelli — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 12:33:56 EDT

What happens when you take a Smart Fortwo and cross it with Eleanor the Mustang from "Gone in 60 Seconds"? A question that needn't been asked, to be sure. But there's an answer. Whatever it is, it looks like something that emerge about six months after Eleanor's egg has been fertilized. Oh, gross. – Mike Spinelli

[More at Autoblog]

Hot Rod's Final Four Best Car Movie Candidates

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 17:30:00 EST

Polls are open until the first of the year in Hot Rod's "Top Car Movie Ever" contest and while the contenders aren't exactly surprising in the earlier categories, it's rather shocking that the Gone in 60 Seconds remake beat out Ronin for the late-period nomination. We suppose Hot Rod's readership don't cotton much to them furrin cars. Unshockingly, American Graffiti and Bullitt are out front in the voting, but if Smokey and the Bandit doesn't win this thing, we're gonna go around smashing any and every Highland Green Mustang and piss-yellow/puke-green Deuce we can find. Save the Fords, friends. Alan Mulally will thank you. Vote Smokey, the film that Alfred Hitchcock once called his favorite guilty pleasure. Hal Needham for President! – Davey G. Johnson

Final Four Voting for the Top Car Movie Ever [Hot Rod]

Mass Destructo: The Original 'Gone in 60 Seconds'

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 16:00:00 EDT

Because we are untrue to the Gearhead Code, which requires viewing the original Gone in 60 Seconds at least once a year, (we hadn't seen it since were about eight), we'd forgotten that the infamous chase sequence runs from Long Beach, briefly through Pedro, into Torrance and Carson and up to Redondo. Needless to say, the Harbor Area and South Bay have changed a lot in 32 years. And to appease the deities we have sinned against, we now offer up the trailer and a clip of the mayhem. More can be found via YouTube.

Gone in 60 Seconds

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Oh Screw It, We Give: 'BJ and the Bear' [Internal]