I thought this would be a simple thing to find, but my google fu apparently isn’t up to the task of cutting through the considerable noise associated with Walt’s other car in that episode (the one with the New Hampsire license plates). If you find it in a simple search, feel free to crow away.
I’m talking about the car that… [spoiler]Walt puts the M60 and the pivoting-turrret firing mechanism in the trunk of.
At the Denny’s, Lawson (the no-questions-asked arms dealer) provided the car, along with the M60 (and the immortal line, “Well, good luck, I guess”).
I’m assuming Walt either requested a car with a large enough trunk to accommodate the mechanism, or requested the particular make and model after determining that the trunk would have room.
Kenny (the Aryan Brotherhood guy who greeted Walt at the gate of the compound) referred to it as a “classic”, and asked Walt what size engine it had (commenting, “there’s no replacement for displacement”).[/spoiler]
When did cars first have remote trunk releases on the fob? Or did Walt rig that up along with the machine gun? He could have had a successful career as a customizer.
I don’t think the trunk released, I think the gun just fired through the car, and maybe the truck comes open along the way. . . but, I could be mistaken.
That vintage Cadillac would have had an electric trunk release, probably with a button in the glove box. This always struck me as being one of the many “luxury” features of dubious utility found in American cars of that era. Anyways, you’d only need to apply 12 volts to the trunk release solenoid, so re-purposing it for Walt’s purposes would be pretty easy.
No, that’s the way it happened, but Walter activated the gun using the car’s key fob and (we assume) the trunk button. The trunk more or less opened itself from the heavy pounding of the gun and the body damage. ETA: And because the script said to, so we could get a good look at the maguffin.
As **GreasyJack **says, cars of that era did have an electric release (and latch, the second most useless power option I’ve ever heard of). I don’t know if they were on a key fob in 1977, though. That innovation in general was a mid- to late-80s feature, IIRC.
However, WW could have easily fitted an aftermarket locking system to the existing trunk solenoid and wiring. He was a Nobel-grade chemist, scientist and engineer, after all.
Ok, I just watched the scene, and the trunk lid pops open before the machine gun starts firing. And the fob is a bright orange piece of plastic, so it looks aftermarket- just something Walt rigged up.
Nitpick: The car had the fob when WW received it (it’s how he IDs it in the parking lot). It wasn’t necessarily rigged, you can get remote trunk release kits cheap, and as noted upthread the Cadillac probably wouldn’t need much.
I worked at a Caddy dealer during the 70s as a shop boy. You are correct that the trunk release was in the glove box (although you could use the key on the trunk too, by sliding the insignia). Fobs were not available on Caddy’s during that era, and I don’t think they were a thing with any brand yet.
The trunk clearly releases before the M-60 begins firing; Walter has rigged it up so that they’re connected somehow.
Here is the video. Walter hits the button at 4:48, making a “Bloop” sound, and the trunk immediately opens. The trigger is then pulled by some kind of mechanism adorned with duct tape at 4:50, and the M-60 begins firing.
It would not be a great challenge for a person of Walter White's mechanical genius to retrofit the De Ville to remotely activate the trunk release.