Top 10 Coolest Movie Cars

I love car movies and I really, really love movie cars. I love the exaggerated sounds their engines and squealing tires make. They accomplish impossible stunts and chases. This list is dedicated to best of them. These are all "real cars" so you won't find any cartoons, Speed Racer Mach 5's, or Batmobiles. Clearly, all of the cars on this list do completely unrealistic stunts, that is what makes movie cars so fun. So spin the tires and light the fires, here's my top 10:

10. 2005 Audi A8 W12 Quattro, The Transporter 2&3. A package to be delivered, a beautiful car, a British accent, and a small set of rules. This Audi is not an over-the-top sports car but rather finese, sophistication, and an insane amount of power. This car kicks your butt and does it with class.

9. 1994 Toyota Supra, The Fast and Furious. This car is everything that the above mentioned car isn't. Bright orange paint, dinner table sized rear spoiler, and enough turbo boost to propel most NASA spacecraft, and of course, those ugly "Trojan Man" stickers on the sides. Like Vin Diesel, this car is ugly, in your face, and is powerful enough to scare you. The movie was ridiculous yet fun to watch, in spite of having more neon lighting than the Vegas Strip and deeply philosophical lines such as "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time."

8. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T,The Dukes of Hazzard. Its amazing what a great car and a pair of short shorts can do to an otherwise terrible movie. "General Lee" is a southern bred, ditch jumping, automotive icon. Functional door handles not included (or necessary).

7. 1958 Plymouth Fury, Christine. Only in the mind of Stephen King. Christine is a self restoring murdering car with a vendetta for blood and vengeance. The bright red paint and shiny chrome makes her so irresistible. While many of these cars are "bad", this one is just plain evil.

6. 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT, Mad Max. It's a big, ugly cop car searching for oil and gunning down motorcyclists. And a pissed off Mel Gibson behind the wheel. What's not to love?

5. 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390, Bullitt. This is the car that invented chase scenes. The Charger in pursuit wasn't bad, but it was this Mustang that everyone still talks about. The streets of San Francisco were never the same after this car tore up Lombard. This is the only car as cool and iconic as it's driver, Steve McQueen.

4. 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500, Gone in 60 Seconds. "Eleanor." This car converted my generation to classic Mustangs. This movie starred Angelina Jolie yet we all lusted over Eleanor. It was not just a car, it was the Holy Grail among 49 other classics and exotics. The ambulance jump and outrunning a helicopter was a little extreme, but it let us know that this was not a car to be reckoned with.

3. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Yeah, yeah, we know it is a kit car, but it is so incredibly sexy and forbidden. Ferris highly recommends anyone with the means to pick one up, and I wish I was one of those select few.

2. 1964 Aston Martin DB5, Goldfinger and several other Bond films. This is what James Bond is all about- timeless good looks, strength, and hidden missile launchers. I would bet on this car with Sean Connery at wheel in a road race against any other car on this list. I'd ride shotgun except for the passenger eject seat.

1. 1981 DeLorean DMC-12, Back to the Future. The ultimate hybrid- it ran on gasoline and plutonium. With gull wing doors and a flux capacitor anything is possible, including time travel at 88 mph and 1.21 gigawatts! This car eventually could fly and run on garbage.


Bonus:

Top 5 Worst Movie Cars
5. BMW Z3, Goldeneye- Its not that this is a bad car, its just that it lacks the swagger and sophistication of being a "Bond Car." This is the outcast in the impeccable list of timeless, powerful exotic cars assigned to 007. Its like casting Denise Richards as a Bond Girl, which they also happened to do.




4. 1963 VW Beetle, Herbie: Fully Loaded. This car was painfully annoying, but at least not as much as Lindsay Lohan. They both needed to be slapped. The old Herbie from the 70's was fun and had a great personality. He was a race car and he made car movies. This was not a car movie, and this car was not fun to watch.




3. 1959 Cadillac Ambulance, Ghostbusters. I really struggled with this car. I have been talking myself out of putting this on the 10 coolest list because it is so big, ugly, and slow. I would not want to drive it. Yet it remains so undeniably cool at the same time. Ecto-1 was loaded down with equipment, lights, oversized fenders, and trapped goblins in tow.

2. 1976 AMC Pacer, Wayne's World. This car, like Garth, tries so hard to be cool. Head banging and Queen played at loud volumes included.





1. 1984 Ford Econoline, Dumb and Dumber. The shaggin' wagon. I've seen a lot of company cars, but this is the only one worthy of Harry and Lloyd.

10 Most Definitive Songs of My Life

I'll be the first to admit that these are not the best songs of the last 20 years, but they are the songs that mean the most to me. It's those songs that, when I hear them, bring back a rush of memories and I just feel that connection. These are the songs that seemed to get me through the tough times and these are the songs that I was celebrating with during the best of times.

10. Ants Marching- Dave Matthews Band One of the few songs on this list that I would consider “quality” music. Their music is fun and dynamic- singing along for me includes dancing, playing the air drums and trumpet and singing falsetto. I think in another 20 years I will still enjoy listening to Dave Matthews Bands albums “Under the Table and Dreaming” and “Crash”. Dave Matthews for me was the group I would turn on after a long day or for the ride home after a late night.



9. Basket Case- Green Day Listening to Green Day and Nirvana for countless hours was a rite of passage for my generation. I wonder where alternative, punk, or even rock music would be today without these bands. This song epidimizes the MTV generation. Remember when MTV played music videos?



8. Outkast- Hey Ya This was the party song while I was in College. Hearing this song reminds me of dating, road trips, partying, and living care free. Those were good times.



7. You Raise me up- Josh Groban This song taught me that it is ok to listen to sissy music. His music is powerful yet peacefull. He is so amazing and seeing him in concert was a memoriable experience.



6. Sin Miedo a Nada- Alex Ubago This song was huge while I was in Spain and this song will be a reminder of the great times I had there. It also shows how undeniably sexy a real Spanish accent is, lisp and all.



5. Gangsta’s Paradise- Coolio I credit this song with bringing Hip-Hop mainstream and it definitely did in my life. I heard this song so much in high school that its lyrics with forever be etched into my memory.



4. What I got- Sublime This was my favorite band in High School. I still remember the first time I heard Sublime, I was in my Cousins truck. I was somehow drawn to their music even though I could never really relate to it. I owned every one of their cds, including the bootleg ones. Sublime was undeniably cool, and I was a big fan.




3. Something like that- Tim Mcgraw This song converted me to country and I haven’t looked back since. This album, “A Place in the Sun,” will always remind me of my Senior Year in High School and my Freshman year in college.



2. Santa Monica- Everclear The first Rock Album I ever bought and the first concert I ever went to. This is what being from California is all about.




1. The Dance- Garth Brooks The single greatest country song ever. Past relationships, old friends, and broken hearts all come into our lives for a reason, and we are better off because of them. I try to live with no regrets, just enjoying each dance as it comes.



Honorable Mention: Back Where I Come From- Kenny Chesney If you grew up in a small town like Yreka you understood what this song is all about. Our little town might not be much, but I will always be proud to call it home.

Top 10 Things I Learned From My Dad

As I approach my 28th birthday this week I have been reflecting on where I am at in my life and the impact I have on my wife and daughter. It made me think of what I have learned from my parents, and here are some of the values that I hope to pass on to my children, as taught to me by my dad.

10. Be strong in your beliefs. It is never, ever, under any circumstances acceptable to cheer for the Oakland Raiders! Ever!
9. Dinner is always better when cooked over an open flame. Men are expected to BBQ well and often.
8. There is no excuse for bad customer service. If someone is giving you money, always smile while you take it.
7. You are entitled let the referee know how you feel about that call he obviously just got wrong. Let him have it! Don’t hold back, even if he can’t hear you through the TV.
6. No day is so bad that red meat, soda, and a ballgame can’t make it better.
5. There are some things that are worth ponying up the extra money to get. Quality sports equipment, well built tools, a reliable vehicle, mom’s birthday dinner.
4. In the history of mankind there has never been anything worthwhile on TV after 10 pm, so go to bed and get the sleep you need. You will thank yourself in the morning.
3. Feel free to dance or sing along, your level of talent is insignificant. The guy who can’t dance but tries always has more fun than the wallflowers, and he gets the girl.
2. Get a serious hobby and take it serious. Whether its golf, fixing up a car, or even playing Mario Kart, it gets rid of frustration, gives you something to look forward to all week, and serves as a way to remind yourself and your friends “Who’s the man”.
1. The first item on any checklist or situation is to make sure your wife/mom is happy first. The rest of the items fall in to place so much easier when done in this order.

10 Worst Cars Built In My Lifetime

I consider myself to be somewhat of a car guy. I spend most of the day talking cars, driving cars, and reading about cars. I make a living showing people why certain cars are better than others and getting them excited about owning one. I love cars.....at least most of them. Here are 10 that I loathe, abhor, and that otherwise hate. I think you will see why.

10. Ford Probe- The car seems like more of a punchline then a sport-compact. What do you call a car shaped like a suppository, available only in black, blue, purple, and white, and built to penetrate the market of people who can’t afford a Mustang? Answer: a Probe.

9. Chevy Cavalier- I am not a fan of cheap, American made economy cars, but the Cavalier takes the cake. It did not see a style change in 11 years. There were 3 different body style changes with the Honda Civic during the same time! This car is covered in cheap plastic and the suspension gives you a feeling of what it must have been like to drive a horse drawn carriage down a dirt road, except with more squeaks.

8. Chrysler Sebring- International car critic and one of my heroes, Jeremy Clarkson, had this to say about the new Sebring, “Anyone thinking of drawing up a list of the ugliest cars ever made will be forced to put this one at the top. But the worst thing was the overwhelming sense from everything you touched that it had been built by someone who was being deliberately stupid or who was four years old. Life inside that bag of crap plastic gave me some idea of what it might be like to be a boiled sweet.”

7. Hummer H3- “It may be slow but at least it’s expensive.” That about sums up the mess known as the H3. The Hummer H2 is cool because it is a big, beastly monster that commands respect and has enough power to take over small countries. It is so over the top and unpractical that it is cool. But not the H3. It is too small, too cute, and came with only 5 cylinders. Its like a 4 cylinder Jeep or a V6 Mustang, why bother?

6. Daewoo- I don’t even have to list a model (there are only 3) since the whole company consists of poor cars. They only survived in the US for 4 Years. They are by far the worst of the Korean automakers to take a stab at the US market, and that is not a very elite group.

5. Dodge Durango- Even before the recent fuel crisis made it almost obsolete, the Dodge Durango has always sucked. The worst fuel economy in its class, ugly and bubbly styling, and the loosest, least responsive steering I have ever seen. They flooded the market with them and now you can buy one that about 5 years old for the same price as a nice set of 20" wheels and tires.

4. Chrysler PT Cruiser- This was one of the first cars to go “retro” with its styling. But they somehow missed the most important pages of the muscle car playbook- make it fast and fun to drive. Rather than make it a hotrod they built it on the Dodge Neon platform and gave it the handling and feel of a minivan. It is slow, boring, and has not seen a single styling overhaul in its much warn-out 10 year run. Note- Chrysler managed to take the same retro idea and did it right in the award winning Chrysler 300.

3. Cadillac Catera- This was Cadillac’s attempt to attract young buyers with a luxury midsized car. Cadillac lauded this car as "The Caddy that Zigs." They launched a huge ad campaign, including Super Bowl Commercials, with a talking stork claiming European performance. The problem with this car is that it is extremely boring and looks and drives like a grandma car. Worst though is its reliability, or lack thereof. It has more issues with its electrical system than a hairdryer in a water fight. The internet is full of stories of Cateras where the heated seats caught fire, the power seats getting passangers pinned in their cars, and catastrophic and unexplainable engine problems.

2. Pontiac Aztec- The Aztec started out as a good idea: an aggressive looking, off-road capable, crossover SUV. The end result was an ugly plastic-clad mess, with terrible lines, and a face not even a mother could love. Time Magazine described the car well; “The Aztek violates one of the principal rules of car design: We like cars that look like us. With its multiple eyes and supernumerary nostrils, the Aztek looks deformed and scary, something that dogs bark at and cathedrals employ to ring bells.”

1. Ford Focus- The 2000 Ford Focus set the record for recalls on a car ever! One of the recalls fixed the nuisance of the rear wheels falling off of the car while it was moving! Another one attempted to fix the ignition from randomly shutting off the car. My garbage disposal runs quieter and smoother than most Focus’ I have driven. And that hideous chrome fender flair bandage they have on the new Focus needs to go away.

Any that you would add to the list?