Jalopnik: silver cloud

1955 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud Shooting Brake Is Classiest Breadvan You'll Ever See

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:20:00 EDT

What's better than a 1955 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud? A shooting brake version of a 1955 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud of course. Our Japanese is as rusty as the bed on an '83 Toyota Pickup, so a legit description is out of the question, but we're willing to bet at some time in the past, this sucker played hearse to the well heeled. Whatever the history, it sure is a handsome car, packing a hardwood floor and ceiling in the cargo area and classic British refinement up front. Perhaps it was a parts hauler for the Sultan of Brunei, what do you think?

[Garret88 (translated — poorly)]

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]

Bulldog Skin: Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud Crackup in London

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:37:38 EDT

Little known, patently false assertion: The English Bulldog got its underbite and tabular facial features by repeatedly running headlong into wrought-iron fences in London's posh Regents Park area. Strangely enough, a 1950's era Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud in London gained a Bulldog-like expression by doing quite the same thing, only for real. Syberites has the low, low down.

1950's Rolls Royce Silver Cloud Crashes Into Fence [internal]