Last night as I was skimming through the channels I came upon what is perhaps the most badass movie car ever to grace the big screen. It was made in 1973, had zoomies for exhaust pipes and a big honkin’ Weiand blower that helped this beast pump out 600 horsepower. You see Mad Max was on, not the Road Warrior mind you, but the original movie that started it all. I first saw this post-apocalyptic import when I was about 8 years old and I’ll never forget it. The phrase: “Last of the V8 Interceptors”, is a line that refers to one car only, this being the 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT of one Max Rockatansky. This was the car that Max used to get his revenge on the psychotic biker gang that mowed down his family and the one that he later used to scour the Australian wasteland in search of fuel.

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I then began to think of my all time favorite movie cars and believe it or not, I’ve actually put a lot of thought into labeling the Interceptor as the #1 most badass movie car ever. I figured that if I’m actually going to throw this out there that I’d better have some sort of reasons as to why it hit the el numero uno spot. Now, it’s obvious that some people out there are going to disagree with me, and even though you’d all be wrong, everyone’s entitled to their opinions. So without further adieu here are my rules for naming the most BADASS movie car to ever hit the silver screen.

RULES:
1. It has to look the business. Meaning, if you saw it coming towards you the vehicle in question would make you stop and say, “Damn, that thing is BADASS.”

2. Sound. If it doesn’t rattle the tiles off the wall or make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up then it has no grounds being considered. This thing should sound like WAR at start-up.

3. Presence. This is a big one. The vehicle in question has to have a presence that makes it immediately trounce all others in a parking lot situation. Simply stated, this would be the car you would walk over to first, to check out.

4. Power. If we pop the hood and spy a slant-6 with a one barrel you’re out. A V8 (or maybe a V12) is the only thing that will qualify.

5. It CANNOT be possessed in any way, shape or form. So for those of you that wanted to put up Christine or that weird Lincoln type thing from “The Car”… well, you’re S.O.L.

6. It has to be real. Example: the Tumbler from Batman, this is a real working and driving vehicle, so it definitely qualifies. The Mach 5 from Speed Racer or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, however… Well, if you choose these as badass vehicles you should be locked in their trunks without an air hose…

7. It’s has to have had a major role in the movie, which means it either had to be the hero car or best supporting actor. Small cameos will not do.

8. Hmm… well… there is no 8. So just hit the above 7 and let me know your picks…

Also, check out: http://www.imcdb.org/ – it’s the internet movie cars database… you may actually be amazed at what you find here.

So, I’ll be hanging with the guys from the “SATURDAY NITRO RADIO SHOW,” talkin’ movie cars on… you guessed it, Saturday Night. Be sure to check out the show below. You can call in and ask me, like whatever you want! (I’ll try not to mess things up, as I have a way of causing trouble without really trying. Wups. Also, make sure that if you’re in Vegas for February, head on over to the DIECAST SUPERCON!

Dial the number 914 338 1560 to talk with me LIVE! Or just listen HERE.

Initially, I was pretty impressed with this Bumble Bee costume, but after I saw that it actually transforms, I was blown away. It might not be the easiest thing to walk around in, but you know it would be awesome to show at a Halloween party in this get-up. Big-time props to the guy who made it.

I get a lot of questions about what I do. And, since I do a lot of things, sometimes I forget even myself! But, between the TV shows, traveling and other nonsense, I work with Cinema Vehicles Services as Chief Designer. And what does that entail? Just doin’ cool things to cars! …And I get to hang out with gorgeous women with names like Eleanor, so that’s a plus. Cha. (Don’t forget to friend us up on Facebook, too!)

Top Secret, so don’t show this to anyone… I MEAN IT!

Saturday August 15 – if you’ll be in LA, mark that day on your calender! Picture Car Warehouse will be auctioning off a massive movie car collection, with over 100 authentic movie and TV cars going under the hammer. The cars, including the 32 hi-boy from the latest Indiana Jones flick (below), will be auctioned off at LA Center Studios, for one day only! If you’re in the area, do yourself a favor and make your way down to this free event. More info, including all the cars, can be found here.

Yea, movie cars are cool. And I’ve done quite a few. But the best part of doing a car for film isn’t just the finished beast we shoot, it’s the thousands of people I get to meet each year at shows and events that tell me how much they dig the car. Even the funny looking ones. So, I decided to do a few ebooks on MOVIE CAR DESIGN. Check ‘em out.The 3 that I’ve launched now will be followed by about 17 others, covering everything from VEHICLES, MONSTERS, WEAPONS, SPACESHIPS and more. They’re gonna be totally cool, and at a measly $2.50, you’ll get to see stuff that’s never even been published by the studios. Shhh…

When I went to save the image of this van, the file was titled “bteam-1,” which cracked me up. Honestly, I can’t understand why the dude who posted the ad didn’t include the van’s nickname along with the obligatory quote from the A-Team opening. Unlike the pimped out ride from the show, this is a Ford, not a Chevy, and while there aren’t any interior pics, we can assume it’s not fitted with the four captain’s chair set-up. But even with the tranny leak, for $1000, this baby doesn’t seem like such a bad deal. Think about what an awesome score this would be for a young touring band! Head over to Craigslist to read the original post, and don’t miss the totally awesome bumper sticker that comes with the van.

Fast & Furious is opening this week–woohoo, you heard it here first!–and to help whip moviegoers into a car-crazy frenzy, Screen Junkies has put together this encyclopedic post covering (in detail) what they consider to be the top 40 movie cars of all time. Expect the usual suspects: Christine, Bullitt’s Mustang, and Doc Brown’s DeLorean all made the top ten. But there’s also a few rides that you probably haven’t thought about in awhile. Cameron’s dad’s ‘61 Ferrari 250 GT, which met such a violent and terrible end (beaten up by an angst-ridden rich kid, then run through a plate glass window into a ravine? Ugh). Louise’s ‘66 T-Bird convertible: hells yeah, “the best car for an Arkansas waitress and housewife to conspicuously flee the authorities after shooting a rapist.” And does anyone remember this crazy-painted bulletnose Stude from The Muppet Movie? Check out the full article here, and let us know if any of your faves didn’t make the list.

Daryl over at Just Driven has some interesting low-down and spy shots of the stunt R34 Skylines built for the new Fast and Furious movie. The clean R34-bodied Kaizo that stars as Paul Walker’s ride is the only one that doesn’t get hurt. The rest of them are GTS-T mules dressed up to look like R34 Skylines on the outside. Then there’s one lucky car, Daryl says, that’s fitted with a VW buggy drivetrain and running gear, and gets jumped and run down a flight of stairs. See build pics below the jump.

It must be liquidation time for the movie studios, because there’s been a lot of obscure movie cars showing up for sale lately, from the Animal House Death Mobile to the recently blogged Lord Humongous-mobile. This movie ride is much more tame but probably just as infamous. The 1946 Ford convertible that Biff Tannen drove in the first and second Back to the Future movies got quite a bit of screen time that ended in a pretty crappy way (“Manure… I hate manure!!”). While there’s no word on whether this was the car used for the infamous shot, it comes with documented proof that Universal Studios did once own it. The only real sad thing about this car is that, like a lot of movie cars, it’s been cut up to play the part. The convertible was once a coupe and so there is no folding top, just a boot to cover the hacked sheet metal. Hack-job aside, I actually don’t think the asking price of 20k is all that unreasonable considering the freshly-rebuilt flathead V8 and the acting chops that go with it.