# Best and worst "car casting" you've seen in in TV and film **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2021, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873 "2021-06-08T21:18:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/161 "2021-06-17T01:24:13Z")
Dude, do I have the car for you… > **[Revealing the Volvo P1800 Cyan](https://www.cyanracing.com/news/2020/09/02/revealing-the-volvo-p1800-cyan)** > > High-strength steel and carbon fibre body > Bespoke and independent fully adjustable chassis > 420hp and 990kg > > > ”Our company was founded in 1996 to race Volvo cars in Sweden and the Volvo P1800 Cyan is closing the circle for us,” said Christian... Ignore the price; or better yet build one of your own… ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/162 "2021-06-17T01:28:09Z")
Call me what you will but I never agreed with Daisy Duke driving a Jeep CJ. I seem to recall her also having a white Satellite which seemed more in line with what them Dukes was up to. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/163 "2021-06-17T01:35:31Z")
[Yellow Road Runner](http://imcdb.org/vehicle_15918-Plymouth-Road-Runner-1973.html) for the first few episodes, then a [yellow Satellite Sebring](http://imcdb.org/vehicle_4848-Plymouth-Satellite-1971.html), which was wrecked while trying helping a wealthy industrialist from Oklahoma, who gave her the Jeep. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/164 "2021-06-17T02:58:08Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Dude, do I have the car for you… Nice! But I’ll just putter around in my original. At least until I sell it… prices are getting ‘noteworthy’. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/165 "2021-06-17T03:27:56Z")
Any film with Dean Jeffries’ The Mantaray has something going for it, but in _Bikini Beach_ it’s used as a tow car for Potato Bug’s dragster…and that’s a waste. Not 100% sure, but I think that may be Mr. Jeffries driving, made up to look like (Frankie Avalon as) Potato Bug. [![](https://www.imcdb.org/i443346.jpg) ](https://www.imcdb.org/i443346.jpg) [http://spicercollectorcars.com/2019/02/04/dean-jeffries-mantaray-the-ultimate-hot-rod/](http://spicercollectorcars.com/2019/02/04/dean-jeffries-mantaray-the-ultimate-hot-rod/) - The brilliantly cast and made-up Lincoln Continental as “Deathmobile” in _Animal House_. [https://images.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/deathmobile1.jpg](https://images.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/deathmobile1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/166 "2021-06-17T03:47:57Z")
The Leslie Special (for Tony Curtis) and the Hannibal 8 (for Jack Lemmon) in _ **The Great Race** _ [https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/254825395540\_/JACK-LEMMON-THE-GREAT-RACE-TONY-CURTIS-WORLD-EXCLUSIVE.jpg](https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/254825395540_/JACK-LEMMON-THE-GREAT-RACE-TONY-CURTIS-WORLD-EXCLUSIVE.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/167 "2021-06-20T18:09:17Z")
The other day I saw a Hyundai Accent hatchback in traffic, and it made me think of Marta’s car in _Knives Out_. That was the prefect car for an underpaid home healthcare worker. It’s one of the cheapest new cars one can buy in America, if not the cheapest. She needed reliable transportation to get to her job, so she wouldn’t drive some old clunker, but she would get the cheapest new car she could find. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/168 "2021-06-25T16:27:25Z")
A timely (Sort of) CineFix video: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fAK_tLNg19s/hqdefault.jpg "Top 10 Movie Cars of All Time") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAK_tLNg19s) They still put out decent content even though they have been added to the IGN family. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/169 "2021-06-26T02:28:42Z")
Early in the first season of Heroes I saw my first ad for the Nissan Rogue. Not twenty minutes later the cheerleader’s father presented her with a car for her birthday. She cried, “You got me the Rogue!” My bubble of disbelief exploded. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/170 "2021-06-27T20:46:14Z")
We just watched Breaking News from Yuba County and I have to say that Allison Janney’s Nissan Cube was absolutely the perfect car for her character, as was her douche husband’s F-Type R Jag. It summed up the whole relationship perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/171 "2021-06-27T20:59:34Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Columbo’s 1959 Peugeot Convertible Model 403: > [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/43/Columbo’s\_Car\_1959\_Peugeot\_403\_convertible.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/43/Columbo's_Car_1959_Peugeot_403_convertible.jpg) > > It was perfect for him: nondescript and not in great shape, but unique. You beat me to it. I’d say Columbo’s car was worse than “nondescript” – it was almost embarrassing, like his perpetually rumpled overcoat. Just perfect! The worst is the Rolls Royce in _Burke’s Law_. It’s not that the Rolls is inconsistent with the portrayal of the show’s main character, it’s that the whole premise is so stupid. To quote Wikipedia: > _Burke’s Law_ is an American detective series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1966. The show starred Gene Barry as millionaire captain of Los Angeles Police homicide division Amos Burke, who is chauffeured around to solve crimes in his 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II. ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/172 "2021-06-28T02:00:43Z")
Not sure what model and year it was, but the POS car that Eddie Murphy drove to California in **Beverly Hills Cop** seemed ideal casting to me. It was like exposition on four wheels. Likewise the European luxury sedan his friend (Jenny?) drove when he got there seemed to say quite a bit about her personality. (I honestly cannot recall, was it a Beemer or a Mercedes?) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/173 "2021-06-28T02:11:40Z")
Benjamin Braddock’s Alfa-Romeo in _ **The Graduate** _. > **[Movie Cars: The Graduate - 5 Things About the Red Alfa Duetto Spider](https://www.collierautomedia.com/movie-cars-alfa-duetto-spider-the-graduate)** > > The Alfa Romeo Duetto that Dustin Hoffman drove in the movie “The Graduate” is one of the most famous Alfa models ever made. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/174 "2021-06-28T02:16:58Z")
> [@Temporary\_Name](#): > > Not sure what model and year it was, but the POS car that Eddie Murphy drove to California in **Beverly Hills Cop** seemed ideal casting to me. It was like exposition on four wheels. '72 Chevy Nova. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/175 "2021-06-28T02:17:03Z")
> [@Temporary\_Name](#): > > Not sure what model and year it was, but the POS car that Eddie Murphy drove to California in **Beverly Hills Cop** seemed ideal casting to me. It was like exposition on four wheels. > **[Chevrolet Nova in "Beverly Hills Cop"](http://imcdb.org/vehicle_1159-Chevrolet-Nova-1970.html)** ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/176 "2021-06-28T03:45:31Z")
Thanks to both of you. At least it didn’t have any bananas in the tail pipe. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/177 "2021-07-11T20:21:09Z")
Nick Knight’s “[1962 Caddy](http://www.mpica.org/3_4%20Left%20front%20copy.JPG)”\* in _Forever Knight._ It’s only criterion? “It’s got to have a [big trunk](https://live.staticflickr.com/4370/36693639333_24f1b0f338_b.jpg).” \*They were actually a pair of '61s. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/178 "2021-07-11T22:05:55Z")
The Lincoln Continental Mark IV was the perfect vehicle for the lead character in the detective series Cannon. An overstuffed car for an overstuffed detective. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/179 "2021-07-12T02:50:26Z")
Keith Pratt’s [Morris Minor](https://youtu.be/-pxN2BADHwk?t=4304) was quite apropos in the all-time greatest film “Nuts in May”, as was Steve Martin’s awesome [coming-to-a-stop-by-itself motorcycle](https://youtu.be/EtWQGtgrC90?t=23) in the otherwise abysmal “Little Shop of Horrors”. The Johnson’s new [AMC Pacer](https://youtu.be/_V2O_0L2L8A?t=937) in “Spirit of '76” (1990) was very “them”. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873/180 "2024-05-07T18:22:04Z")
I am bumping this thread to mention I good one I noticed last night. I just watched the first two episodes of season 3 of _Hacks_, in which we see that Ava drives a Chevy Bolt, and I really feel like that’s the perfect car for her. She totally seems like the type of person who would buy an electric car, but she can only afford one of the cheapest electric cars on the market. They could have just had her driving some generic econobox, but putting her in an _electric_ econobox was nice attention to detail and was perfect for her character. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-car-casting-youve-seen-in-in-tv-and-film/943873.md?page=8)