In Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega has a speech he likes to give about why you never fuck with another man's vehicle. "It's just against the rules," he says. That quote became absurdly ironic after the car John Travolta drives in that movie — a 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu — was stolen in real life 19 years ago.
But there's some great news today! The stolen Malibu has been recovered, according to the San Bernadino Sun.
The Malibu actually doesn't belong to Travolta. It belongs to director Quentin Tarantino. It was stolen in 1994 during the production of the movie. The car was discovered in the Oakland area this week.
The newspaper reports that a San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputy spotted two men who appeared to be stripping the Malibu on April 18. From their story:
According to sheriff's reports, investigators learned the VIN for the Chevrolet found in Victorville legitimately belonged to that car, but it hadn't been registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles for several decades.
Detectives contacted authorities in the Bay Area to alert them to the VIN match for a 1964 Chevrolet Malibu in their area.
Bay Area investigators contacted the owner of that Malibu and learned that vehicle had a cloned VIN on it. Further investigation revealed the Malibu found in the Bay Area was in fact Tarantino's vehicle stolen in 1994, officials said.
The man who was in possession of Tarantino's stolen Malibu is not believed to be involved in the theft and is considered to be a victim of a fraud.
The case is still under investigation, and TMZ reports that Tarantino hasn't retrieved the car yet. They say the statute of limitations may have run out for auto theft, so it's possible no one will be charged.
Hopefully, the director can add it back to his stable of cars soon, which also includes the famous Kill Bill Pussy Wagon.
Whoever stole it should consider themselves lucky that Vincent and Jules aren't real dudes. I doubt this would have ended well for the thieves if that were the case.
Thanks for the tips everyone!