Hollywood’s car wranglers for these movies knew how to pick ’em
Think what you will about Hollywood’s propensity of returning to a popular well in search of new profits, but the approach does occasionally work — especially with blockbuster, summertime, put-your-brain-in-the-backseat types of films. It doesn’t hurt if the movie also appeals to a certain generation that grew up in the ‘90s and perpetually sees that era through a particularly thick set of rose-coloured glasses.
As one would expect, a red Ram Heavy Duty again plays a central role in Twisters (yes, they just added an ‘s’ to the original movie name for this iteration). Truck manufacturers are never ones to leave a good marketing stone unturned, so there is plenty of Ram action this time around as well. To be fair, Ram isn’t just using the movie for its sole benefit, teaming up with the American Red Cross and encouraging the public to give blood or platelets to help support disaster relief in communities affected by severe weather.
Beyond the Ram trucks, there are other good sets of wheels, too. We’ve assembled a list of our favourites from both films — be sure to sound off in the comments if we forgot your pick.
Twister: Ram 2500
Here’s the one which started it all. In the movie, our protagonist — a stormchaser who’s gotten out of the game but is, erm, flung right back into it — shows up with this beauty of a truck, one which eventually sees duty chasing tornadoes, bearing the brunt of a falling telephone pole, carrying scientific equipment, and being flung into the atmosphere. Did we mention it is shown being driven through a house? It was driven through a house and looked great doing it — even if the shot was pure movie magic.
Twisters: Ram Heavy Duty
While they didn’t haul the ’96 out of mothballs for this follow-up, they ran with what many would consider an appropriate tribute. This later model Heavy Duty looks great festooned with the type of over-the-top gear one might expect from a character who is chasing clicks as much as storms: snorkel, extra lights, and some sort of rebar exoskeleton we’re looking forward to seeing in action. Fans of continuity might cringe at the smashed headlight suddenly switching from driver to passenger side — but maybe it’s just flipped for the trailer. We’ll see in theatres.
Twisters: Ram 1500 RHO
Twister: Jeep J10
The original movie saw the heroine stormchaser wheel a Jeep J10 pickup truck in fine style, eventually giving it up to a tornado after driving through a ditch and burying it into the abutment of a rural bridge. Hey, chasing tornadoes is risky business. Nearly 30 years ago, it was the perfect truck for the vibe of the movie and background of the lead character played by Helen Hunt.
Twisters: Jeep J10
This time around, a J10 is shown in the movie trailer being whisked away and into a neon sign by a large tornado. The clip seems to suggest it’s part of a flashback explaining the context of a character, perhaps the lead scientist and why they are bound and determined to research tornadoes.
Twister: Bullnose Ford, Crown Vic Wagon
Anyone who watched the Twister remembers the late Philip Seymour Hoffman playing the wild character of Dusty Davies, part of the crew chasing tornadoes. He was often behind the wheel of a battered motorhome and played tunes piped through loudspeakers on its roof. Tremendous. Also part of the support crew were a bullnose Ford truck with a slide-in camper which almost cam dislodged on one field-to-pavement maneuver and a box-era Crown Vic wagon which was eventually flung through the metal roof of a Quonset hut.
Twisters: Chevy Avalanche, VW Vanagon
Twister: Chevy Suburban and Dodge Caravan fleet
Twisters: Toyota 4Runner
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