Notable
features: Talks, has prominent front teeth
Inspired
by a 1951 International boom truck, with a few GM pickup design
cues from the same era mixed in, this anthropomorphic work truck
runs “Tow Mater Towing and Salvage” in the rural
desert town of Radiator Springs on Route 66. During his off hours,
Mater (“Like tuh-mater, but without the ‘tuh’”)
likes to go tractor-tipping (“Tractors is so dumb”)
and hone his skills driving backward (“Ain't no need to watch
where I'm goin'; just need to know where I've been”). If
we were stuck in Radiator Springs, we’d want Mater to be
our best friend, too.
4
1972
Ford F-100, "Mad Max 2 – The
Road Warrior"
Notable
features: Wraparound, boat-style windshield, bed-mounted
four-bolt crossbow-launcher, non-Ford-SVT-endorsed cobras painted
on the doors
In post-apocalyptic Australia, where oil is hoarded or hunted
at any cost, shoulder-pad-wearing marauders deep in the Outback
use this weaponized F-100 to try to steal gasoline from Max Rockatansky
and his allies. Then he gets mad!
With
fuel prices near all-time highs and pickup sales falling harder than
the bodies in this flick, will Ford nostalgically refer to the "Mad
Max" F-100 if it resurrects the badge for its rumored 2011
EcoBoost-powered midsize pickup? Um, no.
3
1986
Ford F-350 (aka Bigfoot No. 7), "Road
House"
Notable
features: Six-foot-tall tires, weighs 28,000 pounds, takes more
than one parking spot - you gotta problem with that?
We
wish we could take credit for this quote, from agonybooth.com:
"What makes ‘Road House’ such a great movie?
The answer is easy: It's quite simply the most implausible film
ever made. Compared to 'Road House,' 'Star Wars' is a documentary.
This is a movie that expects you to believe a man can be famous
the world over for being a bouncer (played by Patrick Swayze, with
a mullet). This is a movie that wants you to believe a small-town
crime lord can afford a Bigfoot 4x4 monster truck, and that he’ll
actually use it to intimidate local businesses."
Oh man, we miss the 1980s.
2
Ironhide,
2007 GMC Topkick C4500, "Transformers"
Notable
features: Weapons specialist, can imitate Clint Eastwood
Aside
from Optimus Prime, is any Autobot cooler than Ironhide? He’s
got cannons for arms, for crying out loud! Can summer movie characters
get any better than that? Let’s just hope that now that diesel
fuel costs 20 percent more than regular unleaded, his robotic pals
don’t trade him in for a hybrid in the next movie.
1
1985
Toyota Pickup SR5, "Back
to the Future"
Notable
features: In 1985, nothing was cooler
This
is the truck many of us still dream about – the one we
were supposed to drive when we got our license. Even if we could
have a DeLorean-based time machine, alter the course of history and
stop nuclear terrorists, we’d still want to park this black
4x4 in our garage -- freshly waxed by Biff Tannen, of course.
