Movie Stars and Movie Cars

• July 27, 2015
• Story By
  John McCabe

During the recent Friends of Steve McQueen Car and Motorcycle Show, we thought it fitting that we share some of the movie car replicas that showed up. First up, we have one of the most famous cars to ever hit the silver screen: the DeLorean SMC-12 from all three parts of the Back to the Future trilogy. Although this car was not in the Michael J. Fox / Christopher Lloyd movies, it actually is a star in its own right. As the car for Team #15 of the Fireball Run, this car can make its own claim to fame. Plus, it has the all-important Mr. Fusion Home Reactor and a flux capacitor capable of generating 1.21 gigawatts of power – or so we’ve been told. Does anyone remember the ‘80s? Does anyone want to? Well, there is one good thing that survived the 1980s, and that is KITT, the Firebird from the Knight Rider TV series. Yes, it’s a talking car. We never realized just how cruel KITT could be until it told this kid that he was about to run out of oxygen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUkqmNpn1Gw The coolest and most appropriate tribute car at the show was this 1975 Dodge Monaco that looks precisely like the Bluesmobile. The Blues Brothers drove around in this beast to some of their gigs as they were on a mission to save the orphanage where they grew up. Some great scenes were made in the Bluesmobile, this reproduction comes complete with dents, giant loudspeaker and the missing second “D” on the back, bringing back great memories of John Belushi and the amazing chemistry that he had with Dan Akroyd. Speaking of which, the car’s owner doesn’t look much like Jake, but he really cares about his project, so we’re going to give him a pass. After all, he’s on a mission from god! Here is one that is not a tribute, this is the real deal! Bruce Meyers owns this little dune buggy. The Meyers Manx was the car used by – you guessed it – Steve McQueen, in the movie The Thomas Crown Affair. And just for kicks we thought we'd throw in a bicycle with an honorable mention. Some pasty looking guy in a suit was asking if I’d seen his bike. I took a picture of it to send with a ransom note. Actually, no PeeWee, I haven’t seen your bike in a few months. I last saw it at the America on Wheels museum last summer.