What’s Your Favorite Car Driven By A Celebrity? Autopian Asks

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Celebrities are always in the public consciousness, regardless if they’re talking up a new piece of work or drunkenly lawn-darting their vehicles into traffic. As car people, we don’t really care all that much about what Tom Hanks is doing today, but what about his car? What does Tom Hanks drive? Today, we’re asking about your favorite car driven by a celebrity. To keep this fun, I’m keeping this question open to vehicles driven by celebrities in movies and TV or vehicles owned by celebrities.

To answer my own question, Tom Hanks apparently has a pretty good taste in cars. He used to own a 1980 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, a 1992 Airstream Model 34 Limited Excella, a 2011 Ford F-450 Super Duty, and more. Hanks has even owned a Fiat 126P an electric Scion xB, and a ’90s Toyota RAV4 EV.

He sold the Airstream, Land Cruiser, a Tesla Model S, and the Super Duty. Sadly, I couldn’t find what’s currently in his fleet, but Hanks seems like a car guy.

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Bonhams

My actual answer to this question comes out from left field. Are you ready? My favorite celebrity vehicle is the GM New Look driven by Sandra Bullock and saved by Keanu Reeves in the film “The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down.” Wait, I think that one was actually called Speed. Yes, my favorite celebrity vehicle is a bus. That movie’s bus is probably part of why I love buses so much today.

General Motors knew how to give transit buses a striking look. Sure, buses don’t need to look cool. Most of today’s transit buses are boring bricks that get the job done. But, it is nice when a builder goes the extra mile to make a bus nice to look at. I mean, public transportation doesn’t have to look boring.

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20th Century Studios

 

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20th Century Studios

When you think about it, Speed‘s premise is silly. A guy straps a bomb to a bus that arms at 50 mph and then triggers if the speed drops under 50 mph. It’s stupid, but it makes for some awesome high-octane fun. Or, maybe it’s high cetane since we’re talking about a diesel bus here? I mean, where else are you going to see a transit bus jump a gap in an elevated highway?

If you want to know a bit of a plot twist about Speed, it’s that the fuel gauge in the bus was unrealistic. I’m not talking about how quickly the bus lost fuel, but the existence of the fuel gauge itself. Many transit buses, even newer ones in service today, do not have fuel gauges. Buses have huge tanks, set routes, and they don’t run out of fuel during a shift. All of the New Looks I’ve seen at the Illinois Railway Museum do not have fuel gauges and neither does my far newer RTS-06 from 2002. I have a 120-gallon tank and a light that flickers on when the bus thinks it’s low. The driver of an older New Look didn’t even have that.

Alright, enough bus talk. What’s your favorite car, motorcycle, or other vehicle driven by a celebrity?

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95 thoughts on “What’s Your Favorite Car Driven By A Celebrity? Autopian Asks”

  1. Paint me as a child if you want, but when it comes to cars in movies, it’s gotta be the 3 different Chargers Vin Diesel drives in the first, fourth, and 7th movies. There’s something about the look that just feels so right, even if Vin never actually drove it.
    In terms of cars celebrities drive day by day, I think the safest answer I can give is Lada Gaga in that first generation Lightning. If you could count Bisimoto or Ralph Gilles as celebrities, then it’s the 5th gen Vipers they drove: Bisi’s own and/or the car Ralph drove from the most southern point of Florida to California just for Jay Leno to review.

  3. Someone brings a Jim Rockford Pontiac Firebird tribute car to local car shows, complete with windshield protector with an image of James Garner at the driver’s seat.

    1. I saw a real one at Cars and Coffee in Malibu a few years back.
      It looked like a perfectly normal gold over cream 1976 Firebird Esprit (Jim preferred the Formula, so would have them ordered without any of the frippery) until you looked in the dash where the ashtray/lighter would be – where I noticed a blanking plate with labeled mono-plug mic jacks.

        1. I also enjoy watching that show to see the cars and buildings around Southern California. The rich girl usually drives an SL; the baddies drive big sedans, usually Cadillacs but sometimes something different. I think once the bad guys drove a Grosser (MB 600 sedan). I like spying the other cars on the roads and parked on the streets.

          1. And Beth, Jim’s lawyer, with her wonderful Porsche 914 and Rocky with his modified GMC pickup that he’ll grudgingly let Jim borrow.

        2. That’s pretty much the case with any production using an owned asset – unless it’s a specific rare and high value vehicle, such as the 1969 280SE Cabriolet used in “The Kominsky Method”.

          They’re fully written off as a cost of production anyway – although they will sometimes be purchased from the production for restoration as a keepsake – such as Jack Nicholson’s Mercedes 600 used in “Witches of Eastwick”, and now residing in the vault at the Peterson, or the ’68 Mercury Park Lane used as McGarrett’s car in “Hawaii Five-O”

    1. I was more drawn to the R129 that caused so much controversy for Princess Diana that she was forced to turn it in for a Jaguar XJS Cabriolet. The SL resides in the Mercedes-Benz museum now.
      Of course she later wound up with an Audi 90 Cabriolet.

  8. I recently watched the Netflix documentary about the making of “We Are The World.” In one scene, they show the stars arriving at the recording studio, after the Grammys or the VMAs or whatever awards show it was they were all at beforehand. Kenny Rogers pulled up in a silver Chrysler Laser XE, like the one I used to have except mine was brown, Swiss-cheese wheels and all. I thought it was cool that me and Kenny used to drive the same car.

  9. In the original Batman, you can see Kim Basinger piloting a Chevy Citation. It’s like two ends of the desirability spectrum.

    I really like Citations.

  10. Easy movie answer, anything from Q-branch.

    Mercedes, while I am not surprised about your New Look choice, I am somewhat surprised you didn’t mention the EM-50(GMC Motorhome) co-driven (iirc) by Harold Ramis and Sean Young.

    As for real-life star cars, hard to pass up the McLaren F1s owned by Rowan Atkinson (hopefully it has been repaired by now), Nick Mason, and Jay Leno, among others.

    1. Apparently Burt had a small fleet of T/As, the ’77 version of which he auctioned off shortly before his passing.

      He started receiving a new T/A every year from GM in gratitude for his films, which made the T/A so popular among buyers. Then one year they stopped showing up – apparently the promise was given by the old CEO and the new one had no inclination to continue the gratitude.

      1. If you haven’t seen the feature on Burt’s cars from “Counting Cars,” you should. It’s pretty special. Burt was already sending three of them to auction before his death – his personal “Bandit” Trans Am, his personal “Hooper” Trans Am, and a replica of an insane crew cab truck that appeared in The Cannonball Run. Since he and Danny Koker had been friends for years, he sent all three to Count’s Customs to be spiffed up and prepared for auction, but then suddenly passed away the night the cars arrived at the shop.

        You can see my profile picture and easily understand how deep a level that episode touched in me.

        1. Which only lasts, what, an episode or two, esp after he drives it through the garage door and later full-on airborne jumps it into the street?

    1. But which one?

      Adam West?
      Michael Keaton?
      Christian Bale?
      Ben Affleck?
      Robert Pattinson?

      I’m torn between the Adam West Batmobile and the Michael Keaton Batmobile.
      I excluded Batman Forever and Batman & Robin because I don’t recall them being used and only seen briefly.

      1. I’d take the Kilmer or Clooney Batmobile over the Pattinson one. At least the former ones had some qualities that made them special. Over the top, sure. But the Pattinson one is too “normal” car-like. It needs to look 100% custom, even if it isn’t.

  16. I ran into Tom, Rita and the kids at a sushi restaurant in Brentwood shortly after I moved to LA years ago – but I didn’t pay any attention to what they arrived/departed in. I wouldn’t have noticed them at all but from hearing “Woody’s” voice.

    I did encounter Lisa and Ken Vanderpump at the valet stand of the Beverly Hills Hotel – they arrived in a very handsome platinum Ghost. When I glanced over while awaiting my car, she smiled at me. I also saw her riding in her white Dawn in a Pride Parade.

    Jude Law was ahead of me at the Chevron on Santa Monica one balmy afternoon – the one between the Chateau and the Laugh Factory – in his black/black SL. He looked back at me with my red CLK, smiled and said “I had one of those”, to which I replied “They’re great, aren’t they? Have a good one!” I didn’t realize who I had spoken to until later.

    There was a tall woman causing a dramatic ruckus at the valet stand at the Gelson’s in Century City one weekend afternoon – I have no idea which car was hers tho, and I didn’t want to. One of the ladies who worked there swiftly ushered my to my CLK, which they always parked up front, helped me load in my groceries and sent me on my way. My buddy who was with me said “That Tatum O’Neil is a mess.” I had to look her up when we arrived home. Sure enough, that was her – and she’s a mess. I bet her car is too.

    When stopped in traffic on Santa Monica in WeHo, heading back to my sublet in Hollywood, I glanced across the street to see Angelyne posing for photos and selling t-shirts out the back of her pink C6 Corvette. She turned to see me, the old guy in the red convertible wearing a suit and a bowtie – pursed her lips and gave me a kitten-wave. I smiled from behind my Persols and drove off.

    I was at a Cars and Coffee in Malibu when a couple of tall guys dressed head to toe in black rode up on some really cool matte black motorcycles. Turned out to be Keanu and his business partner on Arch Motorcycles. Keanu is very humble and low-key in person – but will just walk away when someone gets weird or overly familiar with him. I’m not a motorcycle guy generally, but those were some cool machines.

    I briefly met Kathy Griffin aboard a cruise over 20 years ago – this was before the “D List”. She had a CLK coupe and a 4th gen Quattroporte. I always liked those Quattroportes – but the president of the wealth management firm I worked for had one for his LA home, and he said it was a nightmare to maintain. He preferred his SL, which was a match for Jude Law’s.

    Speaking of silver Rolls Royces: I understand that the Silver Cloud that was rolled into the lake in “View to a Kill” was Cubby Broccoli’s own personal car. What a sad fate for such a handsome old machine. I guess that’s one way to write off the old sled…

  17. B/c I like the oddball juxtaposition of it all, James Coburn and his Ferraris, particularly the 250 GT California.

    He wasn’t as associated with cars in the public eye as a couple of his contemporaries, so I like to imagine that being more under the radar meant he actually got to enjoy them more for what they were.

  19. Anything in Rowan Atkinson’s Fleet for real cars. He collects and actually drives them.

    Movie – Tough choice so many good options, however most have destruction by the end of the film. Right now it is the Interceptor (not the black pursuit special) from Mad Max.

  21. That would be a toss up between the Ferrari 308 driven by Christie Brinkley in Vacation or the Porsche 356 (which if I recall correctly is a replica) driven by Kelly McGillis in Top Gun

  22. Right off the top of my head I’d say Clint Eastwood and his 560SEC, honorable mention for his Typhoon. I’m sure there’s more I can’t think of as quickly too.

    For a movie car, the Yukon from Nothing To Lose with Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence is one of my favorites, mostly because it appeared to do every crazy thing they asked of it without a qualm, in true GMT 400 fashion.

    1. Clint had a white over black ’84 500SEC (the valences and bumpers were painted body color – I believe as a special factory order) which he drove regularly at least through 2013.
      Some say he still owns it.

      Johnny Carson purchased a duplicate 560SEC from Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills in 1988. That one has been through a few hands, and was recently resold on Bring-a-Trailer.

  23. I own a minivan (Sienna) even though I swear I’d never make that purchase, but I love the part in Mr. & Mrs. Smith when Brad Pitt opens both sliding doors during the chase scene and immediately exits the bad guy out the opposite door he just entered, and tops it off with “Those doors are handy”.

    Gave me a whole new appreciation for minivans.

  25. I have no idea what pretty much any celebrity drives. Fav movie car probably the wrx in baby driver, at least that I can recall right now without thinking too hard about it.

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