A Super Car in Every Garage

Everybody needs a super vehicle. Not a Hummer or some other off the lot piece of crap, I mean a real super machine. But I probably think this way due to my imprints as a youngin' in front of the ol' idiot box. What was I watching? Knight Rider and Dukes of Hazard were favorites of mine. I didn't like Fall Guy, but I always watched the opening scene to see that big custom truck doing crazy stuff. I didn't like Hardcastle and McCormick but would watch it for the car. And remember The Highwayman with that big tractor trailer setup that would transform into a helicopter to go fight evil for the government? I even liked all of the Herbie films. And the Mad Max films. Damn, that was good stuff.

In the late 90's I went nuts over motorcycle films. Easy Rider, Wild Angels, and Rebel Rousers were my favorites. The bikes in those flicks are memorable. I watched many others, but the bikes just didn't have that unique appeal.

In recent years, there are only a couple of extremely unique super vehicles I've seen on television. There's Apu's Firebird and Snake's Lil Bandit. This might have a lot to do with me not watching television and not paying for cable to get some of the stranger shows. I know you've got things like American Chopper and Monster Garage, but that's not the same. You can't develop a relationship with those vehicles. They aren't imprinting. KITT imprinted. STEALTH imprinted. The General Lee imprinted. Captain America imprinted. The Australian Ford Falcon, "The last of the V8 Interceptors," imprinted. (Why do you think Beyond Thunderdome sucked so bad?)

So this Thanksgiving, I give thanks for super vehicles, the customizers behind the scenes that built them for almost no glory, the stunt men that made them look so damn fun, and the actors who were nothing without them. Without you, I would not be who I am today. And my neighbors wouldn't be cursing that I work the night shift.