Muscle Cars on the Big Screen

Some of Hollywood’s Biggest Stars Were Cars

American muscle has been a fixture in popular culture for decades. From appearances on television and the silver screen to songs written specifically to glorify the raw, unadulterated power of the 409, for example, the muscle car became part of life for America in the 1960s and early 1970s. Movies such as “Bullitt” with Steve McQueen to the slapstick humor that showcased some of America’s hottest rides in “Hollywood Knights” have showcased raw American power and symbolized a time when American exceptionalism was at its height, and the nation was booming with jobs and ingenuity.

Muscle cars allowed America to flex; these weren’t the sleek, futuristic European sports machines, or even the sports car design found in the Chevrolet Corvette.

Muscle cars defined a generation that was caught between the change of the 1960s and the continuation of what until then had been traditional American values. Americans liked their cars big, they liked their cars fast, and they liked their cars loud. Hollywood took note and utilized the silver screen to showcase just how the muscle car had influenced culture.

According to the editors at In Good Taste, along with some of our own picks, here are five movies that popularized the American muscle cars on the big screen:

“Bullitt,” 1968 – Senator Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross (Vic Tayback) with the help of testimony from the criminal’s hothead brother Johnny (Pat Renella), who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen). When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed. Frank Bullitt’s (Steve McQueen’s) car is a 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback. The bad guys drive a 1968 Dodge Charger 440 Magnum. The Charger is just barely faster than the Mustang, with a 13.6-second quarter-mile compared to the Mustang’s 13.8-second.

“John Wick,” 2014 – This movie and its two sequels starring Keanu Reeves features two of the baddest muscle cars of all-time – a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 and a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS. For much of the younger generation, this marked their first exposure to muscle cars, how they handled, their speed and overall raw power.

“Smokey & The Bandit,” 1978 – This is one that should be on everybody’s list. While Burt Reynolds’ Pontiac Trans Am was a 1977 model, not the oh-so-powerful 1973 model, it still returned America, at least for a short time, to an era where obnoxiously loud cars ruled and authority (in this case, Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played wonderfully by Jackie Gleason) was to be snubbed.

“The Dukes of Hazzard,” 1979-1985 – Who could ever forget these two good ol’ boys, Bo and Luke Duke, as they drove the “General Lee” – a 1969 Dodge Charger – in their fight against corruption in the fictional Hazzard County.

Each episode contained at least one ravine jump, multiple burnouts and showcased a car that had the doors welded shut – hence, the Duke boys always had to vault into the seats.

“Hollywood Knights,” 1980 – This movie is debatable for such a list, but the fact remains that some of the most iconic vehicles were showcased in this slapstick comedy.

The cars featured in this film would make any high-end collector drool: a 1966 Shelby Cobra; a 1961 Ford Galaxie Starliner; a 1957 Chevrolet 210; a 1965 Chevrolet El Camino; 1965 Pontiac Le Mans; 1923 Ford Model T; 1940 Ford coupe; and a 1953 Ford F-100.