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12 Bonehead Basics of Car Maintenance
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You know, That Guy who thinks that the best way to keep a car from overheating is to roll down the window. That Guy who hires the neighborhood kid to wash his car 'cause he’s allergic to “going outside and doing things.” There are lots of ways to be That Guy, but only one way not

to be: by regaining your self-sufficiency and learning the basics about car care. Using STP® is a good first step. And while we can’t do the rest for you, we'll give you a few pointers. Check out the tutorials. Take a look at the videos. And get under your hood. Good luck, and Don't Be That Guy.

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  • Mar
    18
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    THE BEST CAR CHASE MOVIES, DECADE BY DECADE, Part 2 of 2

    Posted in: Car Culture

    Letting Wednesday’s blog be the preamble, let’s get right into it — starting with the greatest decade ever for cinematic car chases.

    1970s

    This. Was. The. DECADE. For movie car chases! The hard part is choosing the best from the best decade. They were all some of the greatest car chase movies of all time. Think Vanishing Point, Smokey and the Bandit, McQ, White Lightning, The Driver, and Mad Max. The French Connection contained what many consider to be the greatest single car chase scene of all time. But best car chase movie of the 1970s? After much deliberation, the award goes to Gone in 60 Seconds. Why Gone in 60 Seconds and not Vanishing Point, which is arguably just as good? Well, I flipped a coin. And Gone in 60 Seconds won.

    Gone60Seconds

     

    1960s

    Another decade that is no contest. The movie that started the car chase decade that was the 1970s was released in 1968. I am talking of course about the Steve McQueen classic, Bullitt. Set on the hilly streets of San Francisco, this movie makes good use of the beautiful city by tearing up her streets with some of the best car chases ever seen on film. In fact, just writing about this flick makes me want to rent it again. Excuse me a moment while I move it to No. 1 on my queue. I suggest you do the same (and that goes for all these aforementioned movies).

    Bullitt

     

    1950s

    Now it’s starting to get a little unfair. We’ve already peaked. Bullitt, Gone in 60 Seconds, Vanishing Point, The Blues Brothers, Ronin, and The Matrix: Reloaded — these movies belonged to the decades that really knew how to film great car chases. But in the 1950s, one movie does stand out above all the rest. I’m talking about the 1958 Robert Mitchum cult classic, Thunder Road. While this IS your dad’s car chase movie, it does get extra points for realism and loud engine roars. It also is known for being one of the most popular drive-in movies of all time, playing at drive-in theaters for decades after its release. And the story ain’t bad, either. And if you want a great story with a car chase from the 1950s, a special honorable mention goes to James Dean’s Rebel Without A Cause.

    ThunderRoad

     

    1940s, ’30s, ’20s, etc.

    I have to be honest here, I haven’t seen a car chase in any film from any of these decades. Sorry. I did do some research though, in case you’re interested. Lemme rattle off some names for ya: The Bank Dick, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, Sullivan’s Travels, Sock-a Bye Baby, Fifty Million Frenchmen, International House, False Alarms, Speedy, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, Intolerance, Wife and Auto Trouble, and Runaway Match. I have no opinion on which is the best, obviously.

    2010 and On

    I just couldn’t in good conscience end the blog rattling off a bunch of movies I’ve never seen before. That’s no way to go out. Since we did just recently start a new decade, I thought I’d close by commenting on car chases from the past year and a half. Both Angelina Jolie’s SALT and George Clooney’s The American featured some good ones, but I’m noticing a trend of car chases being played for laughs. This is especially prevalent in the ho-hum Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz movie Knight and Day. But while it was just silly in that movie, it worked very well in this year’s The Green Hornet. While I bet this movie won’t win any more awards than this, I am honoring it as best car chase movie of this current decade SO FAR. Let’s hope it doesn’t keep this title for very long.

    GreenHornet

     

    Race you to the closest drive-in theater.

    STV, STP ® Blogger

     

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