Love and marriage, love and marriage.. Go together like a Griswolds and Family Truckster. Wait, that's not right. But believe it or not National Lampoon's Vacation and Married With Children share a connection. A scene in fact. In the early episodes of Married With Children, a scene from the movie was reused in the opening credits! Season 1-4 featured an aerial shot of Chicago skyline and interstate system. If you look closely in the Truckster.
I think everyone can agree that National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a Christmas Classic. I know my brother and I watch it every year. My office co-workers and I are constantly referencing the movie during the holidays. But one scene in the movie I think that is often over-looked is the car chase and big jump during the beginning of the movie. It could be that we're too busy getting settled in with our drinks and snacks to take note. But not this year! We want to commemorate the big jump scene as an OnScreenCars.com "Famous Jump." With that let's explore the scene.
The Scene
The opening scene is set in rural Illinois. The Griswolds are on their way to find that perfect Christmas Tree. However according to the filming locations reference on IMDB. The scene was shot in Summit County Colorado near Breckenridge. I have to say. It does makes sense. I don't recall rocky mountains in rural Illinois. In the picture above you can see the rockies in the background. That's the magic of Hollywood isn't it? Now for a little background on the car.
The Car
The family car in this film unlike it's predecessor is not a custom creation of George Barris. The simulated woodgrain on the side of the body was more than likely was added on. The Ford Taurus Wagon either did not come with this feature or it was extremely limited in production. However it did come on the Ford Country Squire Wagon being sold at the same time. I have a belief that the producers had the woodgrain on the car to pay tribute to the orignal Wagon Queen Family Truckster. I like to think of it as an updated Family Truckster.
The Jump
According to the commentary Dick Ziker was a stunt coordinator and stunt-driver that drove the car under the truck. He also did the jump. From the commentary it sounds like the jump was challenge because the car was front-wheel drive. You have to remember the 80's were the beginning of mass-production of front-wheel drive cars. A front-wheel drive is heavier in the front and less balanced as a real wheel drive car. They director said the car kept wanting to nose dive as the car came down from the jump. I'm glad they brought it up and that the jump was in fact real. No special effects. So there we have it. Another Famous Jump! Besure to check out our great links to Amazon Christmas Vacation goodies! Happy Holidays Folks!
"Now, I owe it to myself to tell you that if you're taking the whole tribe cross-country, the Wagon Queen Family Truckster..." Ah the Family Truckster. The official vehicle of the Griswold Family Vacation. "Believe me if you hate it now... Wait till you drive it." Just a ton of great lines in that film. I stumped across this entry on one of my favorite LEGO blogs and knew it was On Screen Cars material. Flickr user -derjoe- did a great job of not only capturing the family, but the ride as well. Obviously this scene is after Aunt Edna passed away. Note that she's on top. Many extras on the car. Not to mention the quad headlights, the roof rack and the brown brick representing the simulated woodgrain panels. It's all 80's here folks. Besure to check out some of their other creations on Flickr. Who's the Moosiest Moose We Know?... ah here I go again. See ya folks.
Happy Holidays folks! What a better way to kick off the holidays here at On Screen Cars with a little bit of License Plate Spotting. Over the next few posts we'll be bringing you clippings from your favorite holiday tv and movie cars. You'll be sure to impress your friends with your new found trivia thanks to OnScreenCars.com! To kick us off I've decided to start with National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!
T3H-762 - Ah the old front-wheel drive sleigh. A fan of John Hughes movies would know that often his movies feature cars with license plates that reference other films he wrote. For example the car the main character's mom drove in Ferris Bueller's Day Off had a license plate that read "VCTN" for National Lampoon's Vacation.
T3H-762 - Though I can't make any connections with this plate. Let try this. Nothing interesting.
597-8D4 - "Clark! I don't want to spend the Holidays dead!" How about this one? Nota.
597-8D4 - However Google found that it's an html color hex code (#5978D4 for you nerds like me) for the a nice shade of blue. What redneck truck would be complete without those mud-flap nudes? That's some classy stuff!
I can't seem to find a license plate number for Eddy's RV. If anyone comes across it let me know what part of the movie it's in and I'll snag it! My friend Branden pointed out that knowing Eddy owned the RV more than likely it doesn't have tags. If you think of any wild connections please email us through our contact page. We'll see ya later this week with another holiday tag. Merry Christmas and remember keep your tank pump'd out!
Would like to thank the folks over at ACME License Plate Maker for creating this awesome tool for making license plate images.
