What Automaker Needs A Total Overhaul? | Jalopinions
Subtitles
  • Off
  • English

These Are The Most Overrated Movie Cars Of All Time

These Are The Most Overrated Movie Cars Of All Time

From Bond cars to getaway cars, these are some of the most overrated vehicles to ever feature on the silver screen.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Start Slideshow
Start Slideshow
Is this the most overrated movie car of all time?
Gif: Eon Productions

The movie world is filled with some wonderful machines, like James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, the Mach 5 from ‘Speed Racer’ and the Land Rover Defender in every movie it’s ever been in. But there have also been some more mundane movie cars. The kind of cars that you’d never pin up on your bedroom wall.

Advertisement

To separate the wheat from the chaff, we turned to you and asked for your picks of the most overrated movie cars of all time and, thankfully, you came back with some great suggestions. From unrealistic Bond cars to under-powered and under-performing muscle cars, these are some of the best suggestions you came back with.

So sit back, relax and flick through the most overrated movie cars of all time, according to Jalopnik’s dear readers. Is there a car out there that they missed? Let us know in the comments section below.

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

2 / 14

The Bullitt Mustang

The Bullitt Mustang

A photo of the Ford Mustang from Bullitt.
Photo: Bill Pugliano (Getty Images)

The Mustang from Bullitt. The movie is awful* but the iconic car chase is just... bad. It’s like the much-mocked fight scene in “They Live” in that it goes on WAY too long. And in the end, it’s really just wedged, does little to advance the plot, it’s clearly there because the star wanted it.

*Yes, I’ve seen it. I own the DVD because that was the only way to see it 20 years ago and every car nerd said OMG Bullitt is great... It is not. It’s hard to imagine how you make a bad movie with Steve McQueen as the star and San Francisco as the backdrop but apparently you also need a script and I’m not sure this movie had one . Want the best car chase AND an incredible movie? Watch ‘The French Connection’.

Advertisement

Starting strong with this one, who’s going to come running to the Mustang’s defense?

Suggested by: buckfiddiousagain

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

3 / 14

Another Mustang

Another Mustang

A photo of the Ford Mustang from Gone In 60 Seconds.
Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos (Getty Images)

I have no qualms with the ‘Gone In 60 Seconds’ remake, but I hate the Mustang that launched a thousand awful clones. If you own one of these, you are not a connoisseur, you’re a self-indulgent wiener.

Advertisement

The Mustang for people who don’t know anything about Mustangs.

Suggested by: maymar

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

4 / 14

Mirth Machine

Mirth Machine

A screenshot showing the blue car from Wayne's World.
Screenshot: Paramount Pictures

The AMC Pacer from ‘Wayne’s World,’ AKA the Mirth Machine.

It might not have been a great car in the movie, but you lot don’t think it’s a great car in the real world, either.

Advertisement

Suggested by: Scott Harris (Facebook)

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

5 / 14

When This Baby Hits 88

When This Baby Hits 88

A photo of the Back To The Future DeLorean at an event.
Photo: Roy Rochlin (Getty Images)

Might be unpopular, but the ‘Back to the Future’ DeLorean. I mean the DeLorean in general just isn’t that great a car in the first place. At least with the Mad Max cars, while they are probably rolling death traps, the fact that someone built them and they run and drive is pretty damn impressive.

Advertisement

Did the addition of flight make the DeLorean any better? Or was it hot trash in every ‘Back To The Future’ film?

Suggested by: liffie420

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

6 / 14

General Who?

General Who?

A photo of the General Lee from the Dukes Of Hazzard movie.
Photo: Ian West - PA Images (Getty Images)

I think a certain Charger commenter on here will disagree with me =), but The General Lee Charger is overrated. Traitor flag aside, it’s literally just an orange Charger with 01 on the side, it’s not a particularly fun car to replicate in something like Forza, it’s not a character car like Herbie or Christine. I’d argue Dom’s Charger from ‘Fast And Furious’ is wayyy more iconic and cool...I guess if Daisy duke was on top of it then I’d get it, but I never understood the hype with the car.

Advertisement

Dom’s ‘Fast And Furious’ Charger would definitely win in a race, but does that make it more iconic?

Suggested by: darthspartan117

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

7 / 14

The Ectomobile

The Ectomobile

A photo of the Ghostbusters hearse driving through New York.
Photo: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images (Getty Images)

The ‘Ghostbusters’ Cadillac Ambulance thing, just pips that other bunch of stuck on lunch boxes ,wires and tubes in the B to F DeLorean, closely followed by KITT!

Whereas the coolest have to be the Citroen Pallas in ‘European Vacation,’ the Family Truckster in ‘Lampoons Vacation,’ and the Winnebago (shitter’s full) in ‘Christmas Vacation,’ plus of course the Blues Mobile!!

Advertisement

Is this another complaint that boils down to it being style over substance?

Suggested by: Mark A Wood (Facebook)

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

8 / 14

A Step Too Far

A Step Too Far

Gif: Eon Productions

The Lotus submersible from ‘The Spy Who Loved Me:’

Course this prop was from one of the Roger Moore Bond flicks—when they were truly silly, but even this car is a total eyeball-roller. Where are the ballast tanks? It’d be easy for it to sink, but emerge from the water?

And then there’s the pièce de résistance — once the ‘car’ emerges from the water, Moore opens the window and tosses out a fish. So a fish bafflingly made its way into the cabin, but not the water — wowser.

It was the Seventies — WTF.

They only ever claimed the car was waterproof and not fish-proof, I guess.

Suggested by: the1969dodgechargerfan

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

9 / 14

Polish A Turd

Polish A Turd

A photo of the car from Smokey and the Bandit.
Photo: Mike Windle (Getty Images)

‘Smoky And The Bandit’ Trans Am. That movie really polished that turd.

A popular choice today, the Trans Am was always going to find its way onto this list.

Advertisement

Suggested by: vabubba

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

A Bike

Gif: Warner Bros. Pictures

Y2K bike from ‘Torque.’

Most of the others are competent for what they’re supposed to be, really being hyped, or (in Herbie’s case) clearly not capable of what’s shown and that’s what’s fun about it.

Advertisement

Sure it’s a bike, but this guy hates it so we’ll count it.

Suggested by: Christopher Wright-Thwing (Facebook)

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

11 / 14

The Other ‘Jurassic Park’ Cars

The Other ‘Jurassic Park’ Cars

Gif: Universal Pictures

Since someone beat me to General Lee, I’m going to go with the Ford Explorers from ‘Jurassic Park.’ Cool paint job aside, those Explorers really were pretty horrendous vehicles. “My college roommate in the mid 00's was a JP super fan and bought an Explorer because of it. That thing broke down so many times that I considered charging him for the rides home after a while. We also tried to take it off-roading on fairly mild terrain (him in the Explorer, me in my bone-stock 1973 Jeep J-2500) and I had to pull him out of stuff so many danged times.

Quick shoutout to the most underrated movie car: the E38 BMW in “The Transporter”

Advertisement

Sure, everyone has fond memories of the ‘Jurassic Park’ Jeep, but nobody comes out to celebrate the Explorers crushed by a T Rex.

Suggested by: santacruzin6

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

12 / 14

But It’s A Skyline

But It’s A Skyline

Gif: Universal Pictures

1. I’d agree with Herbie. I saw the original movie, and it’s pretty stupid. And they brought out Herbie in the Disney World stunt driving show and all I remember is all the old grandparents telling the little kids ‘SEE IT’S HERBIE!!!’ like they would have any idea what that is.. and they got no reaction.

2. F&F Skyline. Don’t get the Paul Walker reverence, he was a boring-ass actor and the car is only cool because 12 year olds could only see it in a video game.

Advertisement

You’re a brave poster for suggesting this one.

Suggested by: give-me-a-manuel-alpha-romero-you-cowards

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

13 / 14

Don’t Hassle The Hoff

Don’t Hassle The Hoff

A photo of KITT from Knight Rider.
Photo: Scott Dudelson (Getty Images)

KITT on ‘Knight Rider,’ wow that car was junk.

Sure it’s a TV car but let’s be honest, KITT wasn’t great.

Suggested by: derphous

Advertisement