Like an actor that’s not quite a fit for the role, these movie cars should have been replaced with something else
Not to impugn the fine acting of Mr. Damon, but speaking personally, I find it impossible to get past how Matt Damon-y he is. Carroll Shelby was a tall, charismatic chicken farmer from Texas. Damon’s portrayal isn’t bad, per se, but it certainly has an element of, “Hey, Enzo, how do ya like them apples?”
Instead, what if we’d had Matthew McConaughey? All right, all right, all right — now we’re talking. A laid-back personality that’s irresistible with a sales pitch is Shelby through and through. Oh, well. It’s still a fun movie.
But it got me thinking: what cars were miscast in their onscreen roles? Not the worst movies in cars, as that’s sometimes the point. Yes, the 1971 Plymouth Valiant in the chase movie The Duel was a wheezy beater of a thing, but it was perfect for the character of a tired everyman chased down by a deranged truck driver.
What we’re talking about here is car-casting where the car doesn’t match the driver or the film. Sometimes it’s down to product placement, sometimes it’s just silver-screen silliness. Here’s a look at the eight car roles that should have been played by something else.
The Fast and the Furious (2001) — Dom’s Mazda RX-7
The RX-7 of the 1990s is a hero car of that era, but it was never really a drag racer. Compared to the rest of the pan-Pacific muscle that was out there, it was complex and slightly brittle, requiring tuners who really knew what they were doing. That rotary engine requires completely different know-how than an old-school mechanic that busted his knuckles on his dad’s Dodge would have experience with. Plus it’s tiny inside — Dom should barely fit.
Twilight (2008) — Volvo C30
Disclaimer: I have not seen these movies, as my doing so would require some kind of Clockwork Orange-style Ludovico torture. I have, however, absorbed enough through popular-culture osmosis to know the vampires sparkle for some reason, like they are blood-drinking Care Bears.
The problem is that this lanky, pallid goofball is supposed to be an actual vampire. I know it’s set in the Pacific Northwest, but good grief. At least give him a black Subaru STI or something.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) — 1956 Aston Martin DBR1, 1973 Porsche 911S
Speaking of pedantry, here’s another hefty helping. While anyone who is even mildly interested in cars has to put up with a lot of Hollywood nonsense, with anachronistic cars in the background of period pieces and so on, at some point you have to draw the line.
The problem with the ‘Twilight’ Volvo is this lanky, pallid goofball is supposed to be an actual vampire—at least give him a black Subaru STI or something
But let’s assume Chuck Yeager left the P-51 to ol’ Pete in his will. Also in that garage is a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1, one of just five ever made, and for the price of that car, you could buy twenty-two P-51s. It’s absurd.
The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019) — BMW 3.0CSi
If you like dogs, get a dog. It’s better than watching movies about dogs, which are usually gloopy and over-sweet, like a Hallmark movie. Call that the “Hallbark effect.” Anyway, 2019’s The Art of Racing in the Rain is basically Carley and Me, narrated by Kevin Costner as the dog Enzo, and featuring one of Rory’s worse boyfriends off of Gilmore Girls. There are some cars in it, and it’s fine. C+. If nothing else is on.
Even worse, this movie is set in “Seattle” (Vancouver, B.C. once again standing in) and is called Racing in the Rain. The E9 is a terrible choice for a daily in such a climate, as it is both hugely valuable and prone to rust due to drainage issues. Denny and his dog would have a 1980s BMW 325i. Maybe the wagon version, because dog.
Goldeneye (1995) — 1996 BMW Z3
The car should have been at least an M3, or very possibly an M5. Take comfort at least that the stunt Aston Martin DB5s from No Time To Die were BMW M3s underneath.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) — Jeep Renegade
Come on Stellantis, pick anything else from your range. A Chrysler 300C with a Hellcat swap at least seems like the kind of thing you’d find in the garage at Wayne manor.
Drive (2011) — Ford Mustang GT
Drive is a pretty good movie, and pretty faithfully captures some of that 1960s and 1970s action-movie vibe, with a nameless protagonist in a conflicted situation. It even has a pretty cool car choice, featuring a 1973 Chevy Malibu.
Because the GT isn’t the hero car, it would have made so much more sense here for Gosling to have stolen an innocuous car to try to hide in plain sight, and then have gotten jumped by the bad guys. A 5.0L Mustang is cool, but it is not a believable underdog.
Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) — 1967 Ford Shelby Mustang ‘Eleanor’
The problem is that the movie’s production team couldn’t resist trying to add monster makeup to what is already an extremely cool car. This is probably a matter of taste, but in the cold light of 2024, the body-kitted-up 1967 Mustang looks a little overwrought.
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