The Car

Designed for the movie "The Car" starring James Brolin. Made from a 1971 Lincoln. Fenders were 20 gauge steel shaped over the original body. The grill was hand made from square steel tubing. 4 bumpers made from heavy 18 gauge steel. Seven inch single headlights sunk behind the grill and fender. Body was raised to upper doorline. Four radius wheel wells around a six inch reverse deep chrome wheels and Goodrich tires.

Top was chopped 4 inches with all black transparent windows. Full body roll bars installed over and around stunt driver. A steel tube canon was installed on passenger side which had a telephone pole inside and steel cap which housed dynamite and black powder. When the stunt man rolled the car he would trigger the tube telephone pole by igniting the dynamite which drove the pole into the ground and roll the car 5 times. Finished with 20 coats of black pearl lacquer. A total of four were made.

I love this particular custom. Its looks mean and growls nicely. Too bad i can't afford it.

I've seen "The Car" several times over the years. I am a big fan of horror movies and while this is not exactly a "classic" by any means, I still enjoyed it. The plot is basically a car which drives around a desert town killing everyone/anyone it can. In these types of movies, you tend to enjoy watching and choosing who becomes the victims. I found the acting to be a little trying at times. In fact, at times, very bad. I mean, having two actors scream at each other (in one scene) does not create tension, it creates confusion. I like James Brolin in this film and John Marley as well, even though he didn't have much to do.

The star of the movie is "The Car". What I did not enjoy about the film was as a viewer I did not know anything about the car. Where did it come from? Why was it there? Was it the devil? A demon? I wanted to know more about this killing machine. I found that by the end of the film I was still a little confused. Also, I think this movie was a rip-off of the TV thriller released back in 1974, "Killdozer". The tale about a killer bulldozer terrorizing a construction crew. Possibly one of the worst ever made TV movies. The Car was much, much better. I remember seeing "The Car" at the movies. I think it stayed for about a week. Needless to say, the movie was a bomb. However, that does not mean it was a bad movie. There aren't very many horror movies that are a big success at the movie theatre. I think they tend to be more successful on video.

It's a shame that this movie wasn't more successful because I was looking forward to a sequel. Who knows, maybe they'll release "The Car 2" or "Son of Car". All that being said, take my advice, rent this movie. Pull up a chair, put the lights on low, snuggle beside your favorite person (wife, etc.), grab some munchies and, no matter what you do, make sure you keep that remote in your hand at all times.

Sit back and enjoy!

Lemme say this about "The Car" - the horror movie genre received a monumental boost in credibility with the release of this proud and noble pic. Gathering together some key horror movie elements (small desert town, scrappy desert folk, demonic Lincoln), the makers of "The Car" must've felt they were on top of a goldmine. They had an A-list cast led by the future Mr. Barbra Streisand and the awesome Ronny Cox. After a decade of love, peace and grooviness, America was once again ready for killer car movies. So what went so terribly wrong? Two words: Star Wars.

It's true. If it weren't for George Lucas, "The Car" would've been the surefire hit of 1977 and we'd all be reminiscing about the classic "Car Wars" trilogy and remembering how incredible James Brolin was as Indiana Jones.

Sadly, "The Car" disappeared into the night, never to receive the credit it deserved as a true horror breakthrough as a classic portrayal of man versus machine. Pitting a mysterious chopped-down souped-up Lincoln with a cruise-ship horn against a motley crew of never-say-die townsfolk, "The Car" follows the bloodthirsty path of a supercharged, soulless sedan as it brutally chews up scenery, cyclists, and one memorable french-horn-toting hitchhiker. It is indeed a chilling movie that eerily foretold future trends such as road rage and godawful James Brolin films, with an ending for the ages.

Bearing in mind, a great deal of this is sarcasm. But truthfully, "The Car" is highly recommended for the good-bad-movie lover - it is an excellent film to make fun of.

I thought it was just going to be another B movie, but hey, this one actually turned out pretty good. The only parts I wasn't too keen on was the fact that the car literally just "shows up" out of seemingly nowhere, and you never find out what it really truly is, or why its there. The way the movie is layed out, it can leave you on the edge of your seat at times, which is rare with this kind of film usually. There are some times as well that leave you forming your own little theories on why certain events are taking place, for example, the car being unable to enter a graveyard. The reasoning for this is suggested, but never truly set in stone. Later on you notice the car is completely indestructible, its tires unbustable, glass unbreakable and completely unstoppable, which adds to the suspense. The ending, for me, was both a bit confusing, and very eye opening. I really liked this film, more than I thought I would.

While traveling through the desert nearby the small town of Santa Ynez on their bicycles to camp, two teenage bicyclers are murdered by a mysterious black car. Then the car hit-and-run a hitchhiker and the crime is witnessed by the local Amos Clements (R.G. Armstrong). Sheriff Everett (John Marley) puts his men in alert and plans road blocks in the area to arrest the murderer. Sooner he becomes a victim of the car and Sheriff Wade Parent (James Brolin) begins a hunting of the vehicle that is threatening his town and seems to be impossible to be located. When his beloved girlfriend and teacher Lauren (Kathleen Lloyd) challenges the driver in a cemetery, the car hunts her in her home and Wade realizes that he might be dealing with supernatural powers.

The cult "The Car" is a supernatural tale of a creepy car that apparently might be driven by the devil himself. The entertaining story is visibly inspired in "Duel" and is inconclusive, and the viewer never knows for sure whether the car is driven by a demoniac being or by a wicked skilled driver. The havoc caused by the car is never graphic and that is a good point since the story is supported by the performances and the choreography of the stunts in the car chase. Further, thirty-two years later this movie has not aged. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Carro, A Máquina do Diabo" ("The Car, The Machine of the Devil")