My Daily Driver



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by Bobby McCarthy
Copyright (c), 2003, My Daily Driver -- All Rights Reserved

Last weekend, I was driving along a particularly hilly section of a near by town. As I deployed the accelerator and brakes with equal enthusiasm, I was thoroughly enjoying the roller coaster effect. At each crest, I would ponder how much inertia was necessary to defy gravity and send my 30-year-old car airborne. Now, I did mention "ponder." The vision of suddenly compressing my entire suspension into the asphalt below and the resulting repair bills kept me grounded.

During this short-lived folly, I find myself fantasizing about being in a Hollywood car chase. Once I am back driving on the flatlands, the notion for this column came to light. Hollywood car chases. Hmm... Which was the most memorable? Which was the best? Well it's obvious that I am classic car enthusiast, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this column, would I. Now I enter this arena with mixed emotions. Whether it's the 1968 Charger from the Dukes of Hazard or Nash Bridges Hemi 'Cuda, the abuse these vehicles take on celluloid is both delightful and saddening at the same time.

I began to compile a list of my favorite car chases of all time. I decided to break them down into two categories: Best Car Chase in a Movie and Best Car Chase Movies.

This is pretty simple; a lot of films were basically one big long car chase. While others contained a single memorable car chase. Here we go...

Best Car Chase in a Movie:
	Bullitt - C'mon, the 1968 Mustang GT that Steve McQueen actually drove is pitted against a formidable 1968 Charger R/T. The slow build, the shot of the rear view mirror in the Mustang, the driver of the Charger cinching down the lap belt, and the engine sounds makes this cinematic magic.
Honorable mention: The Seven Ups - Roy Scheider busting through New York in a Ventura (yep, a Ventura) in hot pursuit of a nasty Delta 88. Although the engine sounds are obviously dubbed, a Ventura vs. a Delta 88, my goodness, who writes this stuff?
Best Car Chase Movie:
	Vanishing Point - Kowalski burning up the desert in that 440 Challenger, combined with the zen hippie flashbacks, elevates this film into a cultural experience. The realism of the speeds attained and the shocker ending puts this one over the top.

Honorable mention: Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry - Peter Fonda starts his crime spree in a hot-rod 4-door Byscayne and finishes in the sublime Charger R/T. The pass between the two 18 wheelers that rips the side mirror off and cracks the windshield is shear terror. Fonda ripping the Charger through the Georgia orchard is just plain delightful.

So there you have it. Just one man's opinion. As I navigate my old Dodge back into civilization, I checked my rear view mirror and I could swear there was a black Charger tailing me.

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