With more than 125 years worth of history behind it, there’s no shock that the automotive industry has more than its share of compelling, audacious and outrageous stories, many of which would make great films. As a matter of fact, it’s shocking how few films have been made about the industry and its adherents.
Sure, we’ve had Tucker, and that movie about the guy who had his intermittent wiper invention stolen, both of which were great. But there’s still so much more! What about Liz Carmichael and the scam of the century, the Dale? Who wouldn’t be interested in a story about a grifter who disguised himself as a woman—and a pretty manly woman at that—and proceeded to fool a country?
That’s just one great story ripped from the headlines, as the say. And there’s plenty more where that came from. There’s the Edsel and the Mustang, the story of the Model T… Hell, Ford alone could pack theaters! What do you think, are there some untold stories from the auto age that YOU would like to see on the silver screen?
Image: American Digest
Hooniverse Asks: What Amazing Auto Age Story Needs a Movie Treatment?
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Having once owned a 1970 Opel Kadette Rallye I cringe whenever I see this photo.
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Fixed it.
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There used to be a documentary series on The History Channel that would be a great starting point. I can’t find any information about it but it was narrated by Edward Herrmann and every week it went through the history of a particular make, model or important figure. I suspect at least half the episodes could be made into feature films.
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Yeah, the memories are fuzzy, but that was way back when they had shows about actual history on The History Channel. I think the name was simply “Automobiles”
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I remember him mostly for Gilmore Girls and ’90s Dodge commercials.
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Just don’t invite him into your house.
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The DeLorean saga. To keep Hollywood interested include the legend of Colin Chapman faking his death.
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It already has the magic ingredient to make Hollywood care: cocaine.
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Ford vs. Ferrari 1960s.
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At least someone is trying…
Michael Mann Lines Up Next Feature, Ferrari Story ‘Go Like Hell’
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The life story of Smokey Yunick story. Already organized into a Hollywood friendly trilogy. http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780971146938_p0_v2_s399x595.jpg
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I’d like to see that. Also, one on this guy:
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Almost all of my reading is biographies (and not just car related) – and this might be one of the very best. So absolutely fascinating, that when my wife and I took a vacation drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I made her take a detour to Wilkes County.
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May be as close as we’ll get.
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Liz Carmichael? Yikes. I remember hearing interviews of “her” on a local radio talk show here in Dallas, when “she” was trying to get “her”
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The first thing that comes to mind is Carroll Shelby, especially the legend of his LeMans win where he was constantly popping nitro pills just to keep his heart under control.
But then I don’t know how well you could tell a Hollywood friendly story without some manufactured drama. On the other hand, any good Canadian remembers our Heritage Minute commercials from the 90s, little vignettes of important or iconic people and events. Shelby’s life was full of stuff perfectly suited for that.-
I think everyone would agree that Carroll Shelby had no difficulties when it came to manufacturing drama.
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If I were a Hollywood producer this would have already been made. It would have been titled “If In Doubt Flat Out”
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Couldn’t Liz Carmichael’s story also be called Tucker?
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The Man and His Dream, indeed.
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It’s already a book. Time to make it a movie.
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The Tuesday Answer:
In 1973, Triumph workers blockaded the factory from its new owners, Norton Villiers Triumph, to prevent it closing as part of a restructure. Their sit-in lasted almost two years, until the British Government forced NVT to sell the Meriden Workers Co-operative the factory, the design and tooling for the Triumph twin, and the rights to market and sell the motorcycles they produced. The Co-op incurred massive debt while struggling to source components and keep the assembly line rolling. Amid efforts to develop the modern models that would be needed to survive long-term, the co-operative collapsed in August 1983 and the factory was demolished.
There is drama here on so many levels: historical, personal, technical, financial, political.
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I suggest the story of Ferdinand Porsche’s relationship with Adolf Hitler. Plenty of history and drama there.
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A profile of Bill Mitchell could be good. Also the story of the suspicious death in a French prison of Louis Renault, accused of collaborating with the Nazis.
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Maybe not “untold,” but waiting desperately for the Alex Roy film to come to light
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The story of the Citroen 2CV. You’ve got Nazis, subterfuge, the French Resistance, hiding things in barns, a hero in Pierre-Jules Boulanger. It could be pretty fantastic.
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The story of Bruce McLaren. Currently being filmed as a documentary by Roger Donaldson of ‘World’s Fastest Indian’ fame.
And why the company logo isn’t a squidgy Nike tick but a stylised Kiwi.
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Ahh. Jerry Geraldine Dean Carmichael Micheals…
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I’ve heard talk of an unofficial sea to sea race across America….
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