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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.
My favorite is the 1970 GTO that Robert Downy Jr drove in HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
David Johansen aka Buster Poindexter and New York Dolls frontman driving the Checker cab.
Grumpy Old Men
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Scouting Ahead!
You missed the Taurus SHO in The Santa Clause. 👍
I recall the Olds receiving a warm-water (intake manifold?) bath in order to start, and marveling at no side curtains in the snowy winter on the Dodge. As I have only seen those two of these movies, I guess I should not be surprised that I know nothing about most of the other cars. That said, “It’s a Wonderful Life” is not only the best Christmas movie ever, but also one of the best MOVIES ever.
Didn’t get to see if I knew them all! Had the answers right there!
I believe the wagon in Christmas Vaction ( The Family Truckster) was a LTD wagon. I worked at the garage for The Evergreen State College for 14 years. We had a 79 LTD that matched that car before it’s customization of adding 2 more sets of headlights, taillights, and the wood kit.i never seen a Taurus of that style or vintage. I really liked the way that LTD drove. Had a 302 that seemed to give it all the power you needed. And tight steering that made you keep reminding yourself that you are driving a big car not a midsized like the 79 Lemans wagon we also had. But I liked it too. LTD was a more classier ride tho.
Plains (???????) Trains & Automobiles. At my school they were Planes, as in airplanes. Spell check won’t let me misspell words. How do you guys do it in Big Black Bold lettering? SMH.
Corrected!
You missed the Taurus SHO in The Santa ClausE and Ferrari F430 in Santa Clause 3:The Escape Clause.
In The Family Man, Nick Cage drove a Ferrari 550 Maranello. A must for this list.
In “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE”, Jimmy Stewart is seen driving Bailey Credit Union customers to their new home, not to the new home of Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.
From the Palm City Grinch
Martini’s house in fact. The owner of the bar and Grille George visits. An aside, the house still exists in So-Cal and looks the same with the addition of landscaping.
I’ve seen the house. Over by the Rose Bowl on Pasadena. Ya. I was going to say, that was the Martinis house . Putting the goat in the backseat always makes me laugh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nIJZyacIUk
Don’t forget about Ernist saves Christmas taxi scene in the impala taxi!
The Desoto taxi in the ultimate Christmas movie. The Bishops Wife.
The 1940 Ford V8 Standard Coupe driven by Fred Gailey as he is asked to come to a quick stop when Susan noticed the house she wanted for Christmas. Great film, my favorite Christmas classic.Cool looking car!
A favorite of my home’s is The Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant. A good portion of the movie takes place in a ’46 Desoto taxi cab. It even has a narrow miss when Sylvester the driver becomes distracted and only angel Dudley’s intervention saves the cab from meeting an unfortunate end with a late 40s Dodge 3-ton. Many other late 40s autos are featured in street scenes.