Lights, Camera, Accelerator! Cars in the Movies Quiz

Answer: 1974 Dodge Monaco 440

The Bluesmobile in detail: 1974 Dodge Monaco Sedan. Ex Mount Prospect police car (Mount Prospect is a north western suburb of Chicago). Licence plate BDR 529. "It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant" "It's got cop tyres, cop suspension, cop shocks.. it's the model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas."
Other vehicles featured include a Pontiac Grand Prix owned by Jake's ex-girlfriend who is bent on revenge, the 'Good Old Boys' camper that goes for a swim, the Ford Pinto Wagon owned by the leader of the Illinois Nazis and Murph's pink Cadillac.

Answer: 1968 Dodge Charger 440

Both cars careen around San Francisco at speeds up to 110 MPH - you can see the Charger doing some serious leaning in the turns. A really exciting chase flawed (for some purists) by scene repetition. Both cars were built by Max Balchowski and were driven by Carey Loftin, Bud Ekins (who also laid down the motorcycle in this chase) and Steve McQueen himself.

Answer: 1958 Plymouth Fury

John Carpenter directed this account of a young man's possession of and possession by an automobile. I've heard that twelve '58 Furies were destroyed in the making of this film - such a shame given it's relatively low production numbers.

In the book, the car was a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere.

Answer: 1970 Plymouth Valiant

No reason for the attack is ever given but that just adds to the tension. When this film first appeared in my part of the world there were a lot of people who claimed that it was possible to catch a glimpse of Richard M Nixon driving the truck!

Answer: Toyota 2000 GT

Toyota 2000 GT - You Only Live Twice (1967)
As seen in You Only Live Twice, filmed in 1966, this was a Japanese Intelligence vehicle driven by Aki, a beautiful and resourceful agent. Concerning gadgetry, the Toyota featured a Sony closed circuit TV for communication with Japanese Intelligence head Tanaka. This car was used to rescue Bond from Osato Chemicals henchmen. The Toyota 2000 GT seen in the film was one-of-a-kind model. It was one of the first convertible sports cars ever seen in Japan.
Bond never gets to drive it!

BMW Z3 - GoldenEye (1995)
A lot of hype was made over the fact that Bond was being issued German engineering by the British government. Is nothing sacred? Anyway, the Z3 appeared briefly in GoldenEye. Not too many extras were used in this particular car, although Q mentions amenities like Stinger missiles behind the headlights. "Good for unwinding after a rough day at the office..." Bond did use a GPS tracking system to locate Wade's plane, however.

Ford Mustang Mach 1 - Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Though a standard rental, Bond used this muscle car to its fullest in Diamonds Are Forever, released in 1971. He and Tiffany Case screeched through the Las Vegas strip, evading the local sheriff. Bond ended the car chase with a spectacular wheel stand in a narrow alley

1981 Citroen 2CV - For Your Eyes Only (1981)
After the destruction of Bond's Lotus in For Your Eyes Only, he either had to walk or settle with Melina Havelock's Citroen 2CV. It may not look like much of a getaway car, but the Citroen proves to be a solid vehicle as Bond puts it through just about everything. After rolling over numerous times, sliding down hills, and being smashed by more powerful cars, the Citroen emerges victorious.

Answer: Diane Keaton in 'Annie Hall' (1977)

Definitely Diane Keaton - I remember a T-Bird going past as Diane and Woody were walking along the street but as I recall the only car driven by the central characters was a VW.

Thelma & Louise (1991)--Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis make a statement in a big way--all while traveling the Southwest in a 1966 Convertible. The camera scans the car lovingly several times, and at times is so close you almost think you can touch the car. The end of the movie proves that Thunderbird truly is the only way to fly! But rest assured the Convertible used in the movie was not the car used for the ending, several different cars were used in the filming and the final scene used a scrapped Hardtop with the roof cut off.

Mystery, Alaska (1999) This movie focuses on the local hockey team. A town tradition, the ten elite players split into two teams and face off against each other every Saturday. A local guy who made it big as a writer for Sports Illustrated covers the team in an article, which leads to an exhibition game with the New York Rangers Hockey Team--to be covered on a cable sports network! A lot of other issues also occur in this very good movie. Russell Crowe, Hank Azaria, and Burt Reynolds star. Mike Meyers makes a cameo appearance near the end. Crowe's character drives an all-black 1965 Thunderbird Landau with aftermarket wheels. Car looks to be in good shape.

Winning (1969)--Paul Newman is a race car driver set on winning the Indianapolis 500. He drives a triple black 1969 Thunderbird Tudor Landau when not on the racetrack, and the T-Bird is stunning with a black leather bucket seat interior. Joanne Woodward plays his wife but she gets caught having an affair with Robert Wagner. Richard Thomas makes his film debut, and Clu Gulager also appears. Great scene with the Thunderbird driving on the Indy 500 track! Note the seams on the vinyl roof, and the change of wheel covers in the last scene. Several other late sixties Thunderbirds are in various background shots, including a Fourdoor Landau. Everyone with a 1969 Thunderbird should include this movie in their collection!

Answer: Ronin (1998)

Ronin
Features some of the best car chase sequences in recent years and a host of different cars, most notably the Audi S8 - but no Minis as far as I recall

Three Men & A Little Lady
This film was the sequel to Three men and a Baby. The film includes a red 1989 Mini Mayfair being driven by Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg. They claim it was the last rental car to choose from.

The Italian Job
This goes without saying really

The Bourne Identity
The story of a chap that loses his memory, or identity or something - rivals The Italian Job for spectacular chases featuring the Mini.

Answer: Alfa Romeo

Filmgoers identified so strongly with this movie and car that the Alfa Romeo Spyder had a 'Graduate' variant released in the USA.

Answer: 'Throw Mama From The Train' (1987)

FUNNY FARM - Chevy Chase plays a New York sportswriter who abandons his career in the city. He and his wife leave Manhattan in his green MGTF and head off for life in the country where he plans to write the great American novel. This movie is not for the faint of heart as before the movie ends, he has driven the TF both into a lake and off a cliff.

IQ - Tim Robbins plays a very bright, but uneducated, auto mechanic who is attracted to Einstein's (Walter Matthau) niece (Meg Ryan). Her stuffy British fiancee is the owner of a red MGTF which has some (believe it or not) electrical problems. While this car is only seen briefly, Tim Robbins has a comment about the British and their automobiles that makes this movie well worth watching.

SUPERCOP - Jackie Chan plays a cop who joins forces with one of the latest "Bond" girls as his partner. They have fairly typical and very exciting Jackie Chan-type karate adventures culminating in a chase scene where he jumps into a red MG Midget and takes off to catch the bad guys who have kidnapped his partner.

THROW MAMA FROM THE TRAIN - An at times extremely funny comedy with NO MG CONTENT. In fact Billy Crystal drives a '71 Triumph TR6.

Answer: E Type Jaguar

Harold is a troubled young man. His staged 'suicides' at the start of the film are hilarious. The E Type hearse looks great.
Bud Cort (22) as Harold and Ruth Gordon (74) as Maude were just right in these roles.