Wheels-Near-U blog

Welcome to Movie Motors, a series of pieces looking into the motors that feature in films. Last week we took a step back into the future and looked at the time travelling DeLorean featured in Back to the Future I, II and III. This week we look at a film that was released just last year based on a highly successful franchise of comics, cartoons and previous films. The first debut of the Transformers concept was in 1984 in the form of a TV series and a Marvel Comic.

Transformers features a whole host of fictional alien robots that can transform their bodies, rearranging themselves into everyday generic forms. These robots can take the shape of vehicles such as 18 wheeler trucks, muscle cars, jet planes or as other things such as animals. As well as their ability to transform into transport they can also combine with each other forming even larger transformations.

In their latest reincarnation (2007 film) we see the stars of the robot series meet stars of the silver screen when characters realise their vehicles can do more than transport them from A to B. Sam a young character in the film discovers that the yellow 1976 Chevrolet Camaro that he and his father buy as his first car is in fact an Autobot disguised as a car nicknamed Bumblebee. Bumblebee is a good robot and throughout the film a friendship develops between him and his human “owner”.

Other Motoring robot transformers that feature in the 2007 remake of Transformers include Iron Hide who appears as a GMC Topkick Pickup Truck, Ratchet (a medical officer) who features as a 230mph search and rescue Hummer2, Jazz (a dancing robot) who can transform into a silver and grey custom Pontiac Solstice GXP and the leader of the good robots Optimus Prime who transforms from/into a huge Peterbilt lorry cab.

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Want to read more about vehicles in films? Our Movie Motors series has also looked at Mustangs, DeLoreans and James Bonds Aston Martin. Before that we looked at some of the worlds most famous Motor Racing Legends, like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. We also have a great gallery of movie motors following the films we look at in this series. Just Click the Optimusprime image above to visit!

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Transformers Trivia: Autobots actually stands for Autonomous Robotic Organism, rather than an abbreviation of Automobile Robot.

After looking at the American Movie Muscle of the Mustang last week we are now going to take a look at something more futuristic (for the 1980’s) - The De Lorean DMC-12 from Back to the Future. The first Back to the Future film was released in 1985 and was to be the first in a series of three and was excepted well in America grossing over 200 million dollars in the U.S Box Office. Essentially the story features a wacky white haired scientist who manages to convert a quirky but average car that was the De Lorean into a time travelling vessel, aided by the most famous time travelling car part - the Flux Capacitor.The first film then see’s this time travelling car let Michael J Fox’s character Marty McFly accidentally go back to 1955 only to realise that he did not bring any extra plutonium, the fuel to power his slightly un-ecological De Lorean. This leads to a whole host of comedic and entertaining film scenes, ending with Marty and his scientist friend (the 1955 version) harnessing the raw power of lightning to power the gull wing-doored time machine.

The De Lorean didn’t stop with just 1 film under its belt it went on to feature in two more Back to the Future Titles, sending the time travelling duo both back into the future (2015) and back into the past (1885.) The car gained a lot of following from its film debut and there are said to be over 100 custom built copies of the De Lorean time machine car across the world.

Originally designed to be sold into an American market the De Lorean DMC-12 was produced in Dunmurry, Northen Ireland by the De Lorean Motor Company. The DMC-12 was changed mid production several times, the bonnet style, interior and even wheels were re-engineered as the cars were being built. This means that there are several versions of the De Lorean that are still around today and although earlier versions were problematic, an improvement in quality control meant they were able to introduce a 12000 mile warranty with all new cars, something which proved their improvements to customers worldwide. Unfortunately due to John De Lorean (the creator of the car and the owner of DMC) being arrested, the De Lorean Motor Company went bankrupt in 1982, never to produce motor cars again.

However in 2005 the DeLorean ws even redesigned by an unknown artist and for some time people believed there was a come back in the works, however this turned out to be a modified drawing of a Lamborghini Murcielago, you can see that drawing below - it shows this movie motor still remains fresh in peoples minds over 20 years after it was first introduced in the Cinemas.

If you would like to see more photo’s of the De Lorean DMC-12 or perhaps some of the other Film Vehicles we are looking at in this series why not have a look at our Movie Motors Gallery! We have already looked at James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, the Mustang GT from countless films and now now the De Lorean from Back to the Future!

This weeks Movie Motors brings you a car from across the pond, The Mustang GT. The star of hundreds of motoring movies over the last 40 or so years the Mustang is seen as an iconic slice of America, an American Muscle Car which fits nicely into almost all genres of film, from Fast Car action films such as Gone in 60 Seconds (2000 Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie) and Bullit (1968 Steve McQueen) to films like Back to the Future II (1989) and Bruce Almighty (2000) and even music videos (Guns N Roses “Don’t Cry” features a Shelby GT-350H.)

The list of films in which the Mustang is featured is believed to top 1000, making the Mustang well and truly a Movie Motor! The cars featured show the development of the Mustang and the variety of different models and variants available. For example in the 1968 film Bullit starring Steve McQueen features a 1968 Ford Mustang G.T.390 Fastback. A car that has become synonymous with the film and inspired the new models of the mustang since 2001.

Gone in 60 Seconds is another film which features a rare Mustang, namely the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500 (nicknamed Eleanor in the film.) The film was produced in 2000 and featured Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie as part of a crack team of car thieves. The penultimate scene of this film features Nicholas Cage attempting to escape with the Shelby Mustang from a whole host of law enforcement officers, offering a similar car chase scenario to that of Bullitt. Within the film the car is shown to be iconic and rare and is the last in a long line of expensive and sought after cars.

But the mustang is not included in every film in such a appreciative way, other motoring movies such as Thelma and Louise (1991), Back to the Future and Superman II (1980) the cars are more set pieces than stars. Eitherway the Mustang and all its variants have become infused within the American culture, so much so that it seems almost intrinsic to American Movie Making. The Mustang has secured its place as one of the Wheels-Near-U Movie Motors.

You can view some great Motoring Movie Clips in our Car Movie Clips archive or alternatively check out our Movie Motors Gallery!