Perhaps you’ve already heard, but the American hero better known as P.W. Herman has his first actual new movie coming out since Big Top Pee-Wee back in 1988. Not too surprisingly, there looks to be a really interesting collection of cars in this new, Netflix-produced adventure.
Just so we’re all on the same page here, have a look-see at the trailer, optically, using your eyes:
The Pee-Wee Herman movies have always had a sort of secret gearhead-dom. His first movie revolved around the recovery of a beloved bicycle, which was not in the Alamo’s basement, and the movie featured some impressive iron, including a major role for an Edsel and a prominent cameo for a very rare Citroën DS convertible.
This little two-minute-something trailer is filled with some great old iron; I’m not trying to point out everything, but let’s check out some of the most noticeable wheeled stars:
That little toy car is a dead ringer for a 1960 Ford Thunderbird. That’s a pretty sweet little drivable carlet. I’m guessing it’s electric.
I actually already talked about how perfect the choice of Pee-Wee’s main car, a Fiat 600, is. This one is a first-generation one, possibly as early as 1955.
Look at that lovely old workhorse! I think that’s a mid-’20s American LaFrance fire engine.
There’s actually a lot of good stuff in the background, but I’ll just pick this one: a Studebaker Hawk.
Can you go wrong by having a Morgan Three-Wheeler in a movie? No, of course not. Hell, you could probably slip one into a chariot race scene in a movie about ancient Rome and I’d be cool with it.
It’s not a particularly interesting bus, but it is a “Mobile Salon,” so that’s something.
There’s lots of other good mid-century iron in the background here, along with some Amish equipment, too. Oh, and I really have to hand it to whatever stunt driver is hooning the shit out of that Fiat 600 up there in the topshot; that’s a mighty fine powerslide for a car making around 20HP.
Contact the author at jason@jalopnik.com.