The year 2019 might be the last year that Volkswagen Beetles are ever produced, but the adorable VW Bug Herbie will live forever. In ‘Herbie Fully Loaded’, Maggie Peyton has dreams to modify the magical Herbie into a competitive NASCAR. It’s playful and funny, a car movie the whole family will adore.
The endearing Disney movie stars Lindsay Lohan, Matt Dillon, Justin Long, Michael Keaton, and Breckin Meyer. Premiering in 2005, the movie is the sixth adventure starring Herbie. Herbie came to life first in ‘The Love Bug’, released in 1968. Guest appearances by NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon delight. The Herbie Fully Loaded soundtrack features Lindsay Lohan’s single “First,” among a spray of big name artists.
Death Proof
Billed as a “crash course in revenge,” 'Death Proof' is another foray into cinema by the renowned Quentin Tarantino. The 2007 film stars Kurt Russell, a psycho killer former movie stuntman named Mike, who has a fetish for assassinating young women. Co-stars Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd (there has to be a lot as he kills them off one by one), Rose McGowan, Sydney Tamila Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Zoë Bell are the objects of Tarantino’s sexploitation theme. The exploitation horror flick pays tribute to 1970s slasher muscle car movies.
Most importantly, the car. Mike calls his muscle car death proof, and he uses it to kill the young girls by smashing head-first into his victims. He receives minimal injury since the car was built as a stunt car, the reason he calls it “death proof.” The revenge part, if you don’t mind a spoiler, happens when three of his victims survive and come after him as a team. His murder weapons, incidentally, are a 1970 Chevy Nova, a white 1970 Dodge Charger, and a 1969 Dodge Charger.
Ronin
In the world of cars, 'Ronin' is a masterpiece. The spy-thriller boasts Robert De Niro, Sean Bean, and Natascha McElhone. The action revolves around an international team of ex-spies and a cryptic briefcase. They go to the French Riviera to track the briefcase down for Russian and Irish sources. But who can you trust? The group of former intelligence officers compete for the mission with eyes wide open trusting no one.
An epic car chase through the streets of Paris makes 'Ronin' one of the best car movies ever made. Directed by car lover Frankenheimer of Grand Prix, this movie features two superlatively real-looking chase scenes. An Audi S8 and a Mercedes screech through Nice, a spectacular battle. But it is in Paris where a stunning street clash features an E34 BMW 535i versus a Peugeot 406. Excellent sound editing keeps it real with throaty engine revs, crunching metal, and screeching tires. If you notice a look of terror across De Niro’s face, that’s real too. He’s in the car while the stuntman maneuvers narrow Paris streets.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby' is a 2006 action-adventure comedy written and directed by Will Farrell and Adam McKay (Anchorman). Ebert & Roeper say it’s “One of the stupidest and one of the funniest movies in Will Farrell’s career.” Ricky Bobby, son of parents who conceived him in a roadside café bathroom, makes it big in life. The riotous slapstick tale traces America’s No. 1 NASCAR driver and Wonder Bread sponsor, Ricky Bobby (Will Farrell), from the height of his wealth and glory as a Wonder Bread sponsor, to his game-ending crash-and-burn.
Bobby’s fall is grand. In a fiery crash, he loses everything. Gone is his sizzling-hot trophy wife, lost to his best friend and racing partner. No more is his McMansion abode with a garage full of high-end performance machines. Stuck living with his parents, Ricky Bobby will never race again. And it’s all because of a French Formula One racer named Jean Girard (Sacha Cohen). Will he have a comeback chance?
The Transporter
Ex-Special Ops officer Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is available for hire. His price is steep, but he will transport anything, no matter the risk. He’s called the transporter, and everything goes well until it doesn’t.
'The Transporter' hit theaters in 2003. The action-thriller also stars Matt Schulze and Qi Shu. Filmed in France and directed by French director Louis Leterrier along with director Corey Yuen, it was inspired by The Hire series from BMW Films. It’s filmed on location. The transporter’s car is a slick black BMW 735i. Some highlights are shot racing through Nice. Reviews were “meh.” It’s a packed genre, to be sure, but hot-pursuit chases by elite team-level operatives played by Statham are always fun.