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Christmas Carspotting: 12 Cars That Featured in Holiday Classics
It’s time to get your Christmas movie car-spotting checklist ready for a bit of post-festive-feast streaming. In amongst the tinsel and carols, the snow and the slushy stuff, you can find some most excellent automobiles, if you pay close enough attention.
Chevrolet Corvette – Red One (2024)
In Red One, this season’s Santa blockbuster, Chris Evans and giant elf Dwayne Johnson team up to search for a kidnapped St Nick. In their pursuit, the pair use a Hot Wheels C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and a Chevy Pickup that are magically transformed from toys to real cars.
Jaguar XJ – Love Actually (2003)
Actually, the most interesting car to be caught on camera in Love Actually ended up on the cutting room floor. The M100 Lotus Elan was in a street scene that never made the final edit. However, the Jaguar X350 XJ used to chauffeur Prime Minister Hugh Grant around does get decent screen time in the Richard Curtis rom-com.
Ford Crown Victoria – Elf (2003)
Poor Buddy, he literally doesn’t know what’s hit him when he arrives in New York. But we do. It’s a Ford Crown Victoria Taxi number 4X27! Later another Crown Vic cab plays a key role in Buddy’s dad’s redemption.
Batmobile – Batman Returns (1992)
It’s Christmastime in Gotham City, and the Penguin (Danny DeVito) is causing chaos. It’s up to Michael Keaton’s Batman to bring peace in his custom Batmobile, designed by Anton Furst, who reportedly took his inspiration from the Corvette Stingray and salt flat racers.
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Dodge Ram Van – Home Alone (1990)
It’s Kevin against the burglars on Christmas Eve. Harry and Marv—a.k.a. the Wet Bandits—soon regret getting out of their OH-KAY Plumbing-liveried Dodge Ram van as Kevin finds increasingly more inventive (and painful) ways to protect the McCallister family home.
Ford Taurus Wagon – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
There’s automotive action right from the start as Clark Griswold gets involved in a road rage incident, declaring “Eat my rubber” to the driver of a battered Dodge pickup, only to find himself steering the family Ford Taurus wagon underneath an 18-wheeler.
Chevrolet Impala – Die Hard (1988)
Whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not is a debate that’s already raged for over 30 years, but there’s no denying that the star car of the Bruce Willis action vehicle is the Chevrolet Impala police car on which Willis’ John McLean drops the body of one of Hans Gruber’s henchman with the immortal line, “Welcome to the party, pal!”
Checker Taxi – Scrooged (1988)
Scrooged is a re-telling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but set in New York rather than old London town. The Ghost of Christmas Past appears to Bill Murray’s Scrooge-like Frank Cross as the driver of a Checker Taxi.
Chrysler Le Baron – Planes Trains & Automobiles (1987)
Okay, technically this road trip buddy movie is set at Thanksgiving, but it’s such a classic you’ll want to watch it again at Christmas. When Steve Martin and John Candy team up for a cross-country drive in their rented Chrysler LeBaron Convertible it’s a laugh-a-minute ride.
Oldsmobile Six – A Christmas Story (1983)
All Little Ralphie Parker wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder air rifle, in this seasonal classic set in 1940. Ralphie’s dad, meanwhile, has a particular affinity for one American motor. “Some men are Baptists, others Catholics. My father was an Oldsmobile man,” he says. In the film, it’s a 1937 Oldsmobile Six F-37 Touring Sedan that is his pop’s pride and joy and can be seen hauling the family tree home.
Plymouth Special Deluxe – White Christmas (1954)
In Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, a 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe Station Wagon is used to ferry guests to the Columbia Inn where the Bob and Phil perform for their former General.
Dodge Brothers Phaeton – It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) is a man out of time. As the story of It’s a Wonderful Life progresses from 1919 to 1946 he still drives the 1919 Dodge Phaeton that he inherited from his father. The car is a proper co-star in this all-time Christmas favorite, with George using to move his family into their new home, drives it through fierce winter weather, and, ultimately, into a tree.
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What I want to know is did anyone make a Woody kit for the Taurus? (I believe the car is a post face lift first generation).
The frame prices seem to fit well, so they weren’t just stuck on square
pieces.
Despite its (then) radical body style, it looked great as a woody.
In White Christmas, an Army MB/GPW Jeep get more screen time than the Woody. We see one in the war scenes and the general drives one in retirement. Probably the same Jeep sans markings.
The old Taxi from It’s a Wonderful Life survives and was recently sold at auction. The Christmas Story Olds also survives.
If you want to see car mayhem in a Christmas film, check out Bing Crosby’s “Holiday Inn”. A circa ’40 Ford Woody and convertible end up in a pond.
From what I’ve read, the Dodge truck in Christmas Vacation is the same truck used by Kurt Russel in Overboard.
What? You actually overlooked the TBird in Thelma and Louise … or the one in American Pie??!!
Not Christmas films…….
Christmas films?
I was afraid you were going to leave out the Dodge from “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Whew! That’s the first one that came to my mind. Why no credit for David Johansen as the ghost in “Scrooged”? “White Christmas” is basically the color update of “Holiday Inn”. It wouldn’t be an inn without a woody station car.
Would have rather seen clark grizwold driving the wagon queen family truckster from the first film but I guess they beat that one up pretty good! Merry Christmas!
I agree, but then again, they replaced the kids too!
I remember driving those Dodge Ram Van’s and you missed the little Nero’s driver car the Dodge Omni!
Miracle on 34th street! FULL of classics!
I’m probably in the minority here of one who has had a Checker. I didn’t actually own it since it was given to me when I needed a second vehicle. It wouldn’t pass inspection so my uncle and I went to a junk yard and cut off a spring. Once we got that done and put together we still could not get it to start. Good thing because I didn’t have a title for it. So I called the scrap man and had it towed away.
1) the ratty Dodge Sweptline 4×4 from Christmas Vacation is way more memorable than the Taurus
2) a similar 49 Plymouth (same vehicle maybe?) shows up again in White Christmas as the taxi that the girls get in after leaving via the dressing room window. (It’s also easy to see that the two dressing rooms are the exact same set, just with different props (the ceiling fan, sink, window, etc. are identical)
I saw the Olds F37 from The Christmas Story and met the owner at our local August car show. in Alliston ON. It’s in excellent condition and the owner knows more details about the car and the show than you could imagine. He even has an early bar of Lifebouy Soap in the glove box.
It wasn’t Ralphies’ fault the lug nuts went flying…just sayin’
from its a wonderful life, Sam Wainwright and his Duesenberg, love that sound it makes as they drive away. many of the thirty’s cars traversing downtown, love those bulbous sedans.
Don’t forget the Taurus SHO from The Santa Clause
Tim Allen always made sure he had a cool car!
Kinda partial to George’s 1919 Dodge, but the 1950 Plymouth ranks up there also. The stories hold up pretty well after many years. And who doesn’t like to listen to Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas”?
1937 Olds from A Christmas Story
There was also a big block red Chevelle in “Surviving Christmas” with James Gandolfini as the car owner