Party time excellent, requires excellent tunes. Do you have the right part for your Wayne's World AMC Pacer? Looking to head-bang accurately with the best of Wayne's World fans. Well you're gonna wanta pay attention to the information we have for you today's Proper Prop. Proper Prop, the segment of On Screen Cars where we tell you how to get proper prop for your tv/movie car replica.
The object we're talking about today, is the cassette tape deck used in the Mirthmobile. Ah, the Mirthmobile. The famous ride belonging to Dana Carvey's character Garth. But where did Garth get his tape deck? Well through a lot of screen pausing and analysis we have an answer for you. But it's a little complex. There were actually two cassette tape decks used in the films.
Panasonic CQ-H08
The first film used a Panasonic CQ-H08 AM/FM Cassette Deck. These units were sold around the time of the film in 1990 - 1991. You can kinda spot the front of this radio in the scene where Wayne pops in the Queen tape. I had a hard time finding photos that matched. But if you pause at the right time, you make out the words Panasonic in the upper left corner of the device as well as the words "HI-Power". The bass and treble knobs are not readable in the film, but the location on the device is unique enough for a match.
Kenwood KRC160
The radio in the second film was a bit easier to find. It was a Kenwood KRC160. This radio is much more noticeable. It's almost as if Kenwood sponsored for product placement. I can't think of much reason why Garth would have upgraded so soon. The features of the previous units were the same. I would suspected a in dash CD player to replace the portable one on top of the dash. But not another cassette deck. I was able to find out a lot more about this radio. You can see the specs here.
Something to note about both of the radios used. Both of these radios are a single DIN standard design (180 x 50 mm panel). Where as the original Pacer radio had a two-post radio (volume and tuning knobs). The dashboard would have needed to be modified to allow for the larger radio face. This is something very common with vehicles prior to 1984. You can actually see the larger hole that was cut for the radio in the Pawn Star's episode where Rick Harrison buys the car. Sadly at that point the radio had been pulled from the car. Logically the radio should have been the later Kenwood model. I guess we'll never know for sure.
So where does this leave us with Proper Prop? Well the answer is simple, are you building a Wayne's World 1 or 2 AMC Pacer? I hope you enjoyed this deep dive. I know we sure enjoyed digging for this piece of obscure prop trivia. Till next time, Party On!
'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!
The Mandela Effect, it's real. Ever had a memory that later turned to be false? It's earth shattering isn't it? I recently went through a similar thing with Knight Rider 4000 (KIFT). I remember seeing the Knight Rider 2000 made for tv movie as a kid. That sleek red car blew my mind. It looked so futuristic. I can remember telling myself "That's a Pontiac Banshee." Well folks, it's not. Wait it's not?! Yep, if you thought the same thing: you'd be wrong. Knight Rider 4000 is actually a Dodge Stealth/Mitsubishi 3000GT. Let me give you a minute to let that settle. Believe it or not KIFT is sort of a replica of the Banshee created by car builder Jay Ohrberg. Him and his team did such a good job that most people wouldn't notice the difference. Kinda like a cheaper store brand version: the taste is similar but not the appearance. It all makes sense. Concept cars are too rare to be used and abused the way these cars were in tv/movie productions.
Like you, I had forgotten about this car. Until recently, when Videobob Moseley on Youtube did a video about it. He's had the car in storage for many years. But now it's time to sell it. But where? How? Wouldn't be an On Screen Cars eBay Find without eBay right? In our usual fashion, we bring you another opportunity to own an actual movie car. There's just one catch. It doesn't run and there's no title. Until recently it's been in disrepair. Videobob is in the process of moving his shop and needs to offload this beast. But with all that, he has verified that this vehicle was the hero car of the two used in the film. In fact, it was driven by the man himself David Hasselhoff. You can have all of this for the low low price of $19,999.00 buckaroos. Sure you can't drive it. But you could display it right? Till next time, stay safe folks!
It's amazing how many different movie posters for a single movie are created. Between multiple taglines, releases, and languages. It's no wonder there are so many posters. The ionic 1968 cult-classic Bullitt starting legendary Steve McQueen is no exception.
The poster featured above is the most popular poster for the film. The current DVD release (Amazon) uses the poster for the cover. This work of art was created by famous french artist Michel Landi. Landi was known in France and abroad for his work on movie posters. He was known to work in with thick oil in long strokes of color. This poster however varies a lot from his regular work. Notice the white background with little color. However this poster is considered the high-point of his career. The 1960's were a point of change in the movie poster industry. Photography and offset printing would soon replace lithograph artist like Landi. Which is such a shame. The posters of the time were timeless. Take a moment to see the difference between all of these posters. Very interesting stuff! Below are some of the other great posters of the film. We'll catch ya next time on On Screen Cars!
Japanese Poster for Bullitt
Alternative Poster with Tagline: "There are bad cops and there are good cops - and then there's Bullitt."
Polish Release Poster
Spanish Release Poster
Panasonic CQ-H08
Kenwood KRC160
) uses the poster for the cover. This work of art was created by famous french artist Michel Landi. Landi was known in France and abroad for his work on movie posters. He was known to work in with thick oil in long strokes of color. This poster however varies a lot from his regular work. Notice the white background with little color. However this poster is considered the high-point of his career. The 1960's were a point of change in the movie poster industry. Photography and offset printing would soon replace lithograph artist like Landi. Which is such a shame. The posters of the time were timeless. Take a moment to see the difference between all of these posters. Very interesting stuff! Below are some of the other great posters of the film. We'll catch ya next time on On Screen Cars!
Japanese Poster for Bullitt
Alternative Poster with Tagline: "There are bad cops and there are good cops - and then there's Bullitt."
Polish Release Poster
Spanish Release Poster