Our Favorite Car Movies

If you’re interested in cars or movies, you probably have a list of "best car movies." Ken Bensinger and Martin Zimmerman, of Los Angeles Times, certainly do. Their recent piece on the Times’ Up to Speed blog is titled, "Souped-up cinema: Our 10 favorite car movies."

They start with "American Graffiti," and a film called "Blue Collar," then "Bonnie and Clyde," the classic Steve McQueen film, "Bullitt," then "Repo Man," "Road Warrior," "Smokey and the Bandit," "Two-Lane Blacktop," "Used Cars," and "Who Killed the Electric Car."

Good choices, but they make me think that depending upon our individual proclivities, each of us probably has his/her own list of faves. With that in mind, here’s Open Road’s Definitely Not Official List of the 10 Best Car Movies Ever, in no particular order:

1 - Grand Prix (1967) A beautifully done examination of the world of Formula One directed by the great John Frankenheimer, this film starred James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand and Toshirô Mifune. Shot on location across Europe, it also featured racing greats Dan Gurney, Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Richie Ginther and others. Stunning photography, great sound track.

2 – Ronin (1998) Not exactly a car movie, this film, starring Robert De Niro, also was directed by Frankenheimer, who used some of the same techniques to film its two incredible chase scenes that he developed during the filming of Grand Prix.

On the Safety of Teen Drivers

You may know that we operate a program called Toyota Driving Expectations. It’s a driver-training program, provided free of charge, that is designed to help teenagers understand and manage the very real and precipitous risks that are involved with driving a motor vehicle.

One of the elements that Driving Expectations looks at is the role that driver distractions can play in a traffic accident.

According to The Times of London, a study done by the Association of British Insurers shows that a young driver’s risk of being involved in a fatal accident is greatly increased when there are teenage passengers in that driver’s vehicle.

The more passengers there are, the greater the risk, the study says. It found that the risk of a fatal traffic accident for teen drivers is 39% higher with one passenger, 85% higher with two passengers and an astonishing 182% higher with three or more passengers. My father used to note ruefully that, "One boy’s a whole boy, two boys are a half a boy and three boys are no boy at all." This exponential increase of mischief and risk is what he was talking about.

How Far Can You Drive for $100?

A hundred bucks? A nice round number, for sure, and a comforting amount of cash to have tucked into your wallet or money clip. But these days it seems that they don’t make money like they used to. In fact, depending upon what you’re driving, it’s possible to see a hundred bucks escape from your grasp to gurgle down into your vehicle’s fuel tank filler, never to be seen again.

Which is why we’re interested in this new Web site called How Far for $100. It’s designed to answer exactly the question posed by its title. Click, for instance, on the choice that offers you a look at the top 20 vehicles and you learn interesting stuff.

You learn, for example, that two of the top five are Toyotas. The Prius takes top honors, traveling an estimated 1,322 miles, thanks to its EPA combined mpg rating of 46. The Camry Hybrid is in fourth place, thanks to its ability to travel an estimated 978 miles, courtesy its EPA combined mpg rating of 34.

Lexus Heats Up SEMA

You all know about the SEMA Show, right? SEMA, aka the Specialty Equipment Market Assn., holds its extravaganza of aftermarket parts, and the project cars that use them, annually in Las Vegas. For many folks in the automotive business, it’s a must-see event.

It’s even more so this year because when the show opens Nov. 4, several specialist companies will take the wraps off of their own Lexus project cars.

Headlining the project cars will be a fresh take on the Lexus GS 460 by Five Axis. Called Project GS, the vehicle will debut inside the Lexus SEMA booth on Tuesday.

But that’s not all. Project IS F, first shown at SEMA last year, returns with a heavily modified 5.75L V8 engine.