OK, here's the deal... it's cold, and wet, and we are in our annual "off season" for car activities. Therefore, I suggest some indoor veg time in front of the tube watching some high quality car movies. I'm a closet film buff and I love well done films of many varieties, but this list will focus on films that feature an automotive backdrop (at the least) or prominently feature a timeless set of wheels. Most have some degree of colorful language and a few "spicy" situations, but what day in life doesn't? Of course, there are more where these came from, so feel free to chime in via a comment with your own suggestions. Maybe we can cultivate the ultimate guide to gearhead cinema. Now go make the popcorn!



This one has become a cult classic. Two-Lane Blacktop is possibly the ultimate road trip movie. It has been recently released on DVD again. This time by the high brow art film guys at the Criterion Collection. It includes much early 70's era Route 66 footage, and a lengthy segment filmed right in our own backyard at Lakeland International Raceway. You may need to put your existentialist hat on for this one. Limited dialogue, and an aimless reason to be, make this less of a plot driven predictable story with good guys and bad guys, and more like an observation of how to be a drag racing drifter. It has the most realistic racing scenes of any film I can recall, and a pretty good quantity of "adult situations". Here's the original trailer on You Tube.



After Two-Lane Blacktop was reviewed as the film of the decade by Esquire magazine, but flopped at the box office, the primer grey 55 Chevy was redone a bit and reappeared in the 1973 George Lucas nostalgia epic "American Graffiti". Net result was another pair of movie car stars in the yellow deuce coupe, and the black 55 Chevy. This one is chock full of choice cars, and has an amusing story line of young folk clinging to a 1962 high school lifestyle while the world forces them to move forward. This You Tube link is not a trailer or a real clip, but is more a homage to the film done in black and white. Pretty cool actually.



Bullit is universally acclaimed as having the greatest car chase scene ever filmed. Steve McQueen carries the film as a hard boiled cop on a mission and the movie works well as a police story without the automotive antics. Fear not, no Chevys were harmed filming this one, but a certain Dodge Charger probably could have had a better day. This You Tube link shows the aforementioned chase.



Good luck finding this one... "The California Kid" is a TV movie from 1974. It has been released on DVD in recent years, but is out of print again. The story is based around a small town sheriff (Vic Morrow) who turns his burg into a speed trap. Try to outrun him and he might just nerf you into the nearest canyon. A young Martin Sheen shows up one day in what may well be the coolest 34 Ford hot rod ever intending to seek justice. The 1970's made for TV approach to film making keeps this one pretty close to a G rating. Here is a clip posted on You Tube.



Cleavon Little proclaims Barry Newman as "The last American hero in the Dodge Challenger being chased by the blue blue meanies on wheels" over the radio airwaves. This post Woodstock era anti-establishment flick is laden with counter culture cliches, but the "driven" attitude of the protagonist keeps it interesting. Check out the trailer on You Tube.

LK