These Are The Car Stories You Think Deserve To Be Made Into A Movie
Some real-life automotive shenanigans would make entertaining art on the silver screen
The world of the automobile is packed with interesting and compelling stories. So many larger-than-life impresarios, back-woods innovators, and cop-dodging scofflaws of yesterday would make incredible Hollywood heroes (or anti-heroes) and villains today. I know I'd love to see a film about the American south developing a love for speed hauling moonshine during the prohibition era. Or maybe a dramatic retelling of the tragic events of Le Mans 1955. Or the tale of Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan.
All of these and more were your choices when we asked what car story deserves a big Hollywood feature film. These picks didn't disappoint.
Errett Lobban Cord
E. L. Cord, a depression era Elon Musk, without the personality disorders.
Suggested by Richard Bartrop
Malcolm Bricklin
Malcolm Bricklin, whoBrought Subaru to the US in the '60s with the 360...Created his own sports car in the 1970s – the SV1And brought Yugo to the US in the 1980s
(Okay, so they can't all be winners....)
Soichiro Honda
Soichiro Honda- because he was a drunk maniac.
"He spent much of his time in the company of geisha, and once when he was drunk he went off the side of a bridge with several geisha riding in his car. Fortunately, everyone survived that incident."
https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/06/world/soichiro-honda-auto-innovator-is-dead-at-84.html
The Defense Production Act
I would love a movie about how Ford, GM and Chrysler (primarily), had to switch up their factories, production, and tooling to make bombers and other aircraft for WW2.
Just fascinating to me that FDR shows up to Detroit and tells Ford, "You guys are in the bomber-making business for this effort – make it happen"- and they did.
Some great story lines to be had: Big 3 adversaries working together toward a greater good. Edsel Ford being one of the primary drivers behind the successful movement and giving his name/legacy a positive light in place of the production car failure of his namesake. The city of Detroit being at the center of our successful war effort – just a lot of great story lines all around.
And the best part of the story line is the women that stepped in and kicked ass to make all this happens when the men that primarily ran the factories were drafted.
GM EV1
I would love to see a dramatization of the GM EV1 saga and Rick Wagoner's short-sighted and foolish decision to kill the project, believing that electric cars occupied an unprofitable niche of the automobile market. GM could have been early to the game and become, for better or worse, the Tesla of the EV world instead of trying to play catch-up with their troubled Ultium platform.
Al Holbert
Al Holbert's life story. Winning in IMSA and Le Mans. No fake crashes or fake physics.
The Nissan Fairlady Z
A movie about the development of the Nissan Fairlady Z would be cool. Exiled executives, secret prototypes...it's a great story.
Klaus-Günter Jacobi
BMW made it a short in 2019 but I think we need a big-budget spy movie about Klaus-Günter Jacobi and his BMW Isetta. Klaus and his little beemer smuggled Klaus's best friend out of East Germany, at the height of the Cold War in 1964; crossing the Checkpoint Charlie border crossing at midnight.
Pikes Peak
There are probably at least a dozen tales that could be spun off the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. And filming on location *chefs kiss
Rene Dreyfus
Read this book, it's way more entertaining than Wikipedia and covers the entire pre-WWII Grand Prix racing scene and more: nealbascomb.com
Miata Is Always The Answer
Story of the production of the Mazda Miata. Lots of drama there and Americans will really like the story of the California design studio vs stodgy 1980s Japanese corporation spawning the most successful sports car of all time. Plus there's so many Miatas that even if only owners and past owners went to see it the movie would still be successful.
The Cannonball Baker Sea To Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash
The REAL 'Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash' story, though I am struggling to determine who could play The Great Dan Gurney (I used to think Matt Damon would be perfect, but Ford v Ferrari ruined that).
Walter C. Baker And His Torpedo
I'm going to offer one last suggestion before we get out of here for the holidays. Cleveland, Ohio's own Walter C. Baker was maybe the most interesting man in automotive history. Not only did he effectively invent the ball bearing, the seatbelt, and the idea of streamlined aerodynamics in racing, but he pioneered the electric car in 1896, but just a handful of years later he was the first human to exceed 100 miles per hour. He took his Baker Torpedo prototype racing car to Ormond Beach in Florida and went 136 miles per hour (the standing land speed record was 75 miles per hour). – BB