Ever since the inception of film, there's been an almost inseparable bond between the medium and the world of cars. The car chase genre surged in popularity during the New Hollywood era of the 1960s, featuring iconic scenes of Sean Connery in Goldfinger and Steve McQueen in Bullit riding fearlessly through city streets. From Back to the Future to Ferris Bueller to Mad Max: Fury Road, many of cinema's most beloved films are synonymous with their iconic vehicles.
The connection between cinema and automobiles has only grown stronger over time, with Ford v Ferrari earning a Best Picture nomination in 2020, and the continued success of the Fast and the Furious franchise, which recently released its tenth installment and has an eleventh in production. Even the renowned video game racing series Gran Turismo has made its way to the big screen in recent months.
Recognizing that much of our knowledge about cars has been influenced, often inaccurately, by the films we watched growing up, we find it necessary to separate fact from fiction and debunk prevalent myths.
Vehicles in film tend to execute perfect jumps, landing effortlessly and continuing on their journey as though nothing extraordinary just transpired. Even the mid-air ending of Thelma and Louise allows us to imagine that the main characters miraculously survived their cliff jump.
The reality is quite different once the glamourous Hollywood curtain has been pulled back. Attempting even minor jumps or traversing unusual terrains can wreak havoc on a vehicle, causing issues ranging from tire damage to suspension failure to engine problems. Even if the car's exterior appears unscathed, there could be internal damage. Thus, it's wise to either leave the daredevil stunts to professional stuntmen or brace yourself for a visit to our Service Center.
In various films, a convenient solution or 'deus ex machina' often appears at the end to abruptly rectify a seemingly insurmountable issue. Take for instance, iconic racing scenes in cinema where the protagonist runs into the classic problem of... their car being too slow.
This is when the nitrous oxide button comes into play, popularized in films such as Fast and the Furious and Mad Max 2. A quick press of the N.O. button propels the protagonist's vehicle into warp speed, blurring the background into streaks of lines as the hero overtakes their rivals with ease.
However, it's important to highlight that nitrous oxide, while significantly enhancing engine power for a short span, won't exactly unlock an unparalleled burst of acceleration. In reality, nitrous oxide boosts the engine's power by a functional, yet far from physics-defying, 10-15%.
Drifting, a driving technique made popular by the third installment of the Fast and the Furious series, Tokyo Drift, is an intriguing concept. It involves directing a vehicle in a controlled, lateral skid, typically around "drift corners". Drift protagonist Sean Boswell is required to adapt to this unconventional driving style or risk lagging behind his drifting challengers.
In reality, drifting is as inefficient as it sounds. Skidding during a race is counter-intuitive, as it basically slows your momentum. The next time you watch a Formula 1 race, note the conspicuous absence of skid marks on the track. It's as though professional drivers understand the impracticality of drfiting.
It's also worth noting that downshifting at high speeds, no matter how impressive it appeared in the opening scene of Baby Driver, is detrimental to your vehicle. Attempting to replicate such stick shift abuse it could lead to damage to your vehicle's clutch plate and flywheel.
In perpetually sunny Hollywood, intense weather isn’t the result of nature as much as it is a product of suspense. Unless the director is an avowed storm chaser on weekends, the severe rain and snowfall you see is the result of rigorous set design and/or CGI. Accordingly, cars in these scenes behave just as unrealistically.
Take the Iceland scene from the eighth Fast and the Furious entry, curiouly titled Fate of the Furious rather than F8 of the Furious. (I mean, it was right in front of them). Like most Fast films, there's a chase scene, this time featuring a small armada of vehicles racing atop a field of ice as if it’s a freshly paved road.
Before you attempt to test your ride’s performance against similar blizzard conditions, consider that even slightly chillier Autumn weather can potentially result in battery failure. Make sure you're checking and maintaining your battery more regularly as Winter rolls in.
The representation of cars in films often dramatizes their vulnerability, suggesting that a single bullet to the gas flap is as terminal as a shot to a human heart. In reality, however, a bullet piercing a gas tank merely results in an inconvenient hole, rather than an explosion. This is due to the fuel and oxygen mixture required for an explosion, which isn't present in sufficient quantities within a fuel tank.
It may seem like we're being overly critical of the film industry, but it's important to remember that movies are first and foremost here to entertain us. So by all means, continue cherishing your movie nights! After all, the absence of Matrix-style physics in our world shouldn't detract from the enjoyment of an extravagant highway sequence in The Matrix: Reloaded.
While you sift through your streaming services for the perfect evening watch, check out our entire used inventory. At Dells Auto, we do everything we can to ensure that you're always the star of the show.