This week is the first in a semi-irregular series of illustrations of vehicles from film and TV. What better way to start than with some Bill Murray movies and the iconic vehicle from Ghostbusters.
Yes, it is the Con Edison Ford Econoline van, everyone’s favourite from the movie! Fun fact it was a real Con Ed van.
The second most important GM vehicle from the 1981 movie Stripes is this real Louisville taxi cab that Bill Murray’s character drove and wound up dramatically abandoning on a bridge at the start of the film.
Of course the most important GM vehicle from the movie is the 1976 GMC Motor Home known as the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle. Here it is looking rather peaceful.
Perhaps the most beloved Bill Murray movie is Groundhog Day where he plays a TV meteorologist from Pittsburgh who has to grudgingly cover the festivities in Punxsutawney. He gets there and around town in a news van.
Perhaps the most beloved Bill Murray movie is Groundhog Day where he plays a TV meteorologist from Pittsburgh who has to grudgingly cover the festivities in Punxsutawney. He gets chased by the police a few times.
Perhaps the most beloved Bill Murray movie is Groundhog Day where he plays a TV meteorologist from Pittsburgh who has to grudgingly cover the festivities in Punxsutawney. He learns an important lesson while driving this appropriated Chevrolet pickup – never let a groundhog drive.
I see what you did there.
Groundhog Day was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois. My grandparents had recently retired to there from the west side of Chicago when it was filmed, so we would travel up there to visit them and watch the filming on the town square.
As a western Pennsylvanian, it always pissed a lot of us that Punxsutawney was considered for the shooting of the film, and then passed over for some town in Illinois. At least Slap Shot had the sense to shoot in Johnstown, where the events of the film actually happened.
At least one scene was filmed in Skokie, IL, I remember when they closed down Oakton St in downtown Skokie for filming. I lived just a few blocks away and me and some friends all heard Bill Murray was filming a movie there but the cops wouldn’t let us get closer than half a block away.
The “Don’t drive on the RR tracks” scene was at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. Featuring an early ’70s Eldorado if I remember correctly.
Also in Stripes Bill Murray owned, and we saw get repossessed, a black 79 Mustang with a cologne 2.8 and vinyl top.
The Rolls featured recently had me remembering the baddies in Columbo who drove them.
Now I recall that the snobby judge in Caddyshack had one too – and Rodney Dangerfield had an appropriately inappropriate “Chinese Eye” drophead.
Someone puked through a sunroof or a Targa top. 911? Can’t remember.
It was a sunroof 911.
And the puker was none other than Spalding Smails, Judge Smails’ nephew, after drinking someone else’s cocktail that had a cigarette butt in it.
I think it was a 930 Turbo, my Dad used to point that out whenever we watched it on tv
Cool details .
-Nate