'Taxi' may not be the most rememberable film. Sure it had it's share of laughs. But when was the last time someone said "Hey, um let's watch Taxi." For those who have not seen the movie. Here's a short rundown. A police officer (Jimmy Fallon) loses his drivers license and is forced to rely on public transportation. A crime occurs and he happens to hail the fastest cab in the city. The cab is driven by a wantable race car driver (Queen Latifah). Hilarious antics happen and that's the movie. Short and simple right? Well, I'll be honest. When the film came out, I enjoyed it. The thing I remember most from the movie though was the car Queen Latifah drove.
The car is standard looking Ford Crown Vic taxi cab at first glance. But with a press of a button it became a full on race car. Kinda neat huh? Well yea. What makes this car special is the creator. The late great Eddie Paul, the man responsible for numerous Hollywood automobile creations. xXx, Grease, Cobra, Fast & Furious to name a few of the productions Eddie was commissioned on. The base car is a P71 Ford Crown Victoria. P71 is a special order trim package created by Ford just for police use. They're pretty easy to spot. Most have the "Police Interceptor" badging on the back. Lot's of extra goodies in the package. As Elwood (Blues Brothers) would say would say "It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks..." Eddie made some major modifications to this car. Custom body kit, 20 inch wheels and hood scoop are most notable. But something that always threw me off was the shifter. There's a standard shifter on the column and then this other shifter in a custom console. I'm not sure which one you actually use. These features are likely all just for looks. This car did have the air bag removed and custom steering wheel replaces the factory wheel. There was a large bit of CGI used in the film to augment its appearance.
So why are we talking about this again? Well, one of the cars used in the film is for sale on eBay. At just $39,999 dollars, you too could own a movie car. Sounds steep. Keep in mind, you can actually drive this one. It's street legal. Not many movie cars you can do that with. Not sure if you would call this the hero car. But it was used in many of a chase scenes. Including the scene where the car hits a fire hydrant. Believe it or not, Eddie signed the dash on this one. Rest in peace our friend. Till next time, be safe and take the bus. See ya!
You got your ears on good buddy? Come on back. We're starting up a new series here on the site. Let me introduce you to "Proper Prop." A series about props and components of famous On Screen Cars. This week we're talking about the CB radio used in the hero car in movie Smokey and the Bandit. CB radio used through out the film for the drivers to communicate with each other. CB Radio was all rage in the 1970's. Everyone had one in their car or truck. Some vehicle manufactures even offered factory equipped OEM radios. Today with all the other forms of modern communication the CB radio has fallen out of favor. However truckers still use and rely on them. But what about the prop from the film?
There are actually two devices found under the dash of the famous Trans Am. On top is a 4 channel police scanner. But that's a subject for another post. Today we're focused on the Pace CB-166 unit under it. This radio was manufactured by Pathcom under the brand name Pace during the mid-70s. There are two versions of this radio. The only major difference between them is the number of channels. Early models being 23 channel and later being 40 channel models. The FCC was in the process of extending the CB radio band from 23 to 40 channels around the time of the film. You can hear Bandit and Snowman talk about jumping from channel to channel early in the film. They never reference a channel higher than 23 for this reason. Which leads me to believe the one in the car is a 23 channel model. Having a wild spectrum of channels on a CB at the time was a little bit of a luxury. Cheaper models usually only had a few channels that were "programmed" by changing out electronic component crystals.
I haven't been able to find an original price for this radio. However some pictures suggest it retailed for over $100 dollars new. Due to the popularity of the film, these radios fetch a premium on the collector market. I found one on an eBay auction listed for nearly $2000! Good luck finding one cheap for your T/A SE project car. The unit in the picture above is stated to be from Burt Reynold's estate. It was listed and sold at auction with the scanner for $25,000 dollars. Do you already have a Pace CB-166? Maybe you're an electronics geek like me. Well you're in luck. The fine folks over at CBTricks.com have posted the manual for this thing. It blew me away how much detail Pathcom put into the shop manual. Detail of all of the printed circuit boards are in manual with a complete listing of every component. Check it out! Tell next time keep the greasy side down!
“Have you ever wondered how the snow plow driver drives to the snow plow?â€
The Ad
The words of a great simple car ad. Brought to us by the same company that introduced the world to Jake from State Farm: DDB Marketing and Advertising. They were one of the original "Madison Ave" agencies. During the 60's they did several ads for Volkswagen. They even won an award for this piece. How does it get any simpler? They ask a simple question. Have you ever wondered how the snowplow driver drives to the snowplow? Sounds like a shower thought doesn't it? Granted Mr. Plow just jumped in his truck. But that's a story for another day. What about the car?
The Car
The early 60's were a great time of growth for Volkswagen in North America. The Beetle in this clip is a 1964 model. Under the hood lives a 1.2L inline four cylinder with a whopping 40 bhp. Standard transmission. There were several color options at the time, including Ruby Red, Bahama Blue, and Panama Beige. Rag top convertible, sunroof or standard roof options too. Over 259,000 Beetles were sold in the US that year alone. Not to mention innovation, Beetle's first year for vinyl upholstery and metal sunroof. I'm sure our snowplow driver wouldn't have minded that metal cover instead of a canvas top. What about staying warm in a Beetle? Seems critical for our snowplow driver right? Check out this video below on how heaters work in a Beetle.
Driving In The Snow
Believe it or not in 1964, the Beetle was one of the best cars to drive in the snow. Shocking I know. There are several reasons why. The primary reason is the fact they were rear engine. All the weight of the was situated over the rear wheels. Which is great for traction. The 125R16 tires are skinny. The car tends to cut through the snow, rather than ride on top of it. The lower center of gravity helps as well. Who would have thought? The Beetle did have one thing against it. It's lack of ground clearance. This car was low to the ground in comparison to others on the road at the time. Very prone to high-centering on ruts and packed snow. But hey, could you imagine the satisfaction of hippy passing a guy in a two-wheel drive pickup stuck on the side of the road in the snow? Check out this clip of this guy whipping around in a Beetle.
Well there you have it folks. How does the snowplow driver get to the plow? In a Volkswagen of course! Till next time, stay safe in the snow.
What happens when the worlds of 3D printing, remote controlled cars and tv/movie cars collide together? Well you get the image above. A fully printed remote controlled version of Dom's Ice Charger from Fast and the Furious 8. This work of living art was custom built buy a duo of brothers from Model Factory RC Cars. The pair have been cooking up working creations in their shop. All in the midst of this pandemic we're in. But how do they do it?
The pair began working with their uncle back in 2014. At that time they were designing replicas of Hungarian locomotives. They produced the replicas on a milling machine. Fast forward a year later and they shifted their focus to 3D printing. At that time they purchased their first printer, a Zortrax M200. Hungarian locomotives soon lead to making remote controlled cars.
With a background in engineering they developed a platform for their RC cars. The platform is completely customizable and adaptable for different cars. The cars come to life with some off the shelf components (which they sell in their shop). Electronics, wheels, springs, motors and other miscellaneous parts are not 3D printable (at least not yet). So they rely on these for now. Using a 3D scanner and a lot of cad time, each design comes together. After hours of printing, the body parts are assembled and painted. I'm super impressed with the work they've done.
Earlier this year they replicated a 1967 Mustang Fastback and launched a Youtube channel (links below). With each project they plan to produce a video of the design and construction. It's fun watching this all come together. This video is later followed up with a testing video. After the testing is complete they will make their 3D files for the project available. As well as a complete parts list needed to build your very own! To date they have a BMW e46 M3 GTR, 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback and Peugeot 406 TAXI models. Soon Dom's Ice Charger! I can't wait. Till next time, keep your engines revving, your RC cars spin'n and your printers step'n!
A113 is found through out many animated shows and movies. But what does it mean? A1-13 is actually a reference to a classroom at California Institute of Arts. Graduates pay tribute to their alma mater by inserting 'A113' into their work wherever they can. It's a way of honoring their school and teachers. For example: Can't think of a name for a fictional product? Need a license plate number? Insert A113. Check out some of the examples of A113 license plates below. Keep your eye out for the plate while watching animated film and shows. This trend is started to pop up in films too. You'll never know where it might popup next.
