Last weekend, I was driving along a particularly hilly section of a near by town.
As I deployed the accelerator and brakes with equal enthusiasm, I was thoroughly
enjoying the roller coaster effect. At each crest, I would ponder how much inertia
was necessary to defy gravity and send my 30-year-old car airborne. Now, I did mention
"ponder." The vision of suddenly compressing my entire suspension into the asphalt
below and the resulting repair bills kept me grounded.During this short-lived folly, I find myself fantasizing about being in a Hollywood car chase. Once I am back driving on the flatlands, the notion for this column came to light. Hollywood car chases. Hmm... Which was the most memorable? Which was the best? Well it's obvious that I am classic car enthusiast, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this column, would I. Now I enter this arena with mixed emotions. Whether it's the 1968 Charger from the Dukes of Hazard or Nash Bridges Hemi 'Cuda, the abuse these vehicles take on celluloid is both delightful and saddening at the same time. I began to compile a list of my favorite car chases of all time. I decided to break them down into two categories: Best Car Chase in a Movie and Best Car Chase Movies. This is pretty simple; a lot of films were basically one big long car chase. While others contained a single memorable car chase. Here we go...  continued...
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Rear View is a monthly column looking back at the days these cars were new.
| "...the abuse these vehicles take on celluloid is both delightful and saddening at the same time." |
