Wolverine’s Wednesday Whips presents the Top 10 TV/Movie Cars

Since TV/movies are such an important part, its not foreign to believe that the vehicles that the movie stars drive would become just as iconic as the characters themselves. Sometimes the cars themselves more synonymous than the human characters themselves. Wolverine’s Wednesday Whips is combining its collective intelligence with Top Cat’s Tuesday Top Ten and Time Machine Time to bring you:

Wolverine’s Wednesday Whips presents the Top 10 TV/Movie Cars

10. The 80s was full of terrible movies and even though Sylvester Stallone has written and starred in A LOT of memorable movies, Cobra isn’t really remembered for its cinematic wonder or the masterfully written script. I myself remember Cobra because of Detective Marion Cobretti (codenamed ‘Cobra’)’s souped up 1950 Mercury. From the modified grill and hood scoops to the rims and lowered stance, the car was truly one of a kind.

9. On the roof of a building in New York City, Dr. Ray Stantz says that “I tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never, ever possibly destroy us. Mr. Stay Puft.” Even though this movie caused the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man to become an iconic figure from my childhood and iconic figure in the pantheon of pop culture images but the 1959 white Cadillac Miller-Meteor limo-style end-loader with ambulance conversion known as the Ecto-1 is one of those memorable things for me. The sound of the siren, the lights and the classic 1950s lines make the Ecto-1 a beautiful ride.

8. After the success of the Fast and Furious movies, Vin Diesel was popping up everywhere. The movie XXX tried to be my generations version of a James Bond style spy film but the odds of an action sports star magically becoming the world’s greatest spy and saving the world from a nuclear attack was just a little far fetched for some of us. I loved the movie and 50% of that was due to the gorgeous modified 1967 Pontiac GTO. As I have stated before, my dad owned a 1967 Pontiac GTO and regrets the day that he sold that car. I regret the day that he sold that car even though it was before I was born. The stylings and power of this car are perfect and if you add that to the fact that XXX’s version of James Bond’s Q outfitted the car with more firepower than a Sherman tank.

7. B.A. Baracus always said that “I ain’t goin’ on no airplane,” and that must have been why the A-Team decided to drive around in a bad to the bone Modified 1983 black and metallic gray GMC Vandura van. The A-Team ruled the 80s TV scene and turned Mr. T into a household name. The crack commando unit sent to prison for a crime they didn’t commit turned themselves into soldiers of fortune. It was Rambo with less killing. The show was great and the blacked out GMC van just added to the awesomeness of this A-Team.

6.“Michael Knight, a lone crusader in a dangerous world. The world of the Knight Rider.” Add part modern day cowboy  to part spy to an advanced artificially intelligent computer inside of a souped up muscle car = all bad ass. In the early 80s, Knight Rider was the bees knees. Heck, people still talk about Knight Rider and the Pontiac Trans Am KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) is a huge part of why this show is remembered as well as it is. Well KITT and the heart-throb (all-be-it less alcoholic) David Hasselhoff.

5. “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” I still remember the anticipation of waiting for Back to the Future 2 to FINALLY come out in theaters. The three Back to the Future films were a huge success and have held a cult following ever since and you would be remiss to think that the Modified DeLorean DMC-12 magnified the movie’s long lasting popularity.

4. In the 1980s, TV was huge. I admit that I spent too much time in front of a TV set but it was the bridge jumping, hood sliding antics of the Duke Boys on the Duke’s of Hazzard that fueled a lot of that seat time. Well…a lot of reason for watching was General Lee, the Duke Boy’s 1969 Dodge Charger. The high flying, 2 wheel side ways driving roll cage equipped race car was enough reason to watch the Duke’s of Hazzard but as an added bonus…I got to gaze my eyes upon the gorgeous cousin of the Duke Boys: Daisy Duke.

3. The Batmobile has had just as many changes as the caped crusader himself has. From the iconic Batmobile used in the 1960s Batman live action TV show to the low and sleek Tim Burton Batmobile used in the Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) movies to our current Batman in which we saw in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016) but my personal favorite Batmobile is the ‘Tumbler’. Bruce Wayne utilizes a prototype bridging vehicle created for the military by Lucious Fox and Applied Sciences division at Wayne Enterprises. After being painted black (of course), the Tumbler not only had the strength and durability of a Sherman Tank but had the horsepower, maneuverability and sleek appearance of a Lamborghini.

2. In 2000 I was a senior in High School and was just beginning to tinker with the horsepower and appearance of my 1993 Ford Mustang but after watching Nicholas Cage and the 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (named Eleanor) from the Gone in 60 Seconds, I knew that my car was completely inferior. The car was a modified and stylized version of the 1967 GT500 which was a modified Ford Mustang Fastback. That’s a lot of modifications and the appearance and power of the car proved it.

1. “Breaker breaker for the Bandit.” My parents went to the drive-in movie theater 3 times to see Smokey and the Bandit in 1977. The film was the second grossing film of 1977; only losing out to Star Wars. I can only guess that Jackie Gleason’s portrayal of Sheriff Burford T. Justice of Portague County, Texas along with the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am drove the movie into cult like status. Since my parents loved the movie so much, I was raised watching Smokey and the Bandit all the time which fueled not only my love for muscle cars but an unequivocal yearning to be as whitty as the Bandit. I think it worked. 🙂

 

Honorable Mentions: 1955 Ford F100 from The Expendables, 1976 AMC Pacer from Waynes World, 1961 Ferrari GT250 from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1968 390 CID V8 Ford Mustang Fastback from Bullitt, 1958 Plymouth Fury from Christine