This is the first film I thought of when I began making this list. I remember flipping through the channels late one Friday night and came upon a scene where a black car was mowing down a marching band. I watched the rest of this film and felt it was a pretty cool idea that a supernatural car would terrorize a small town.

The Car in the movie's title is a black sedan that enters the town of Santa Ynez and begins to run down the residents. After the car kills the town’s sheriff, it is up to Captain Wade Parent to stop the phantom vehicle. Things get personal when the car kills Wade’s girlfriend and the captain takes it upon himself to have a final confrontation with the killer vehicle.

Looking back, it was a freaky movie for its time, but it just doesn’t have the same effect watching it today. I’m surprised no one has tried to remake this one.

Christine (1983)

Without a doubt, this is the first film people think off when they hear the phrase “killer car”.

Christine refers to a 1958 Plymouth Fury that is bought by a high school nerd by the name of Arnie Cunningham. As he spends more time restoring the car, Arnie to change and becomes disconnected with reality and his friends. His friends attempt to save Arnie from Christine, but car takes matters into its own hands to keep Arnie all for herself and to protect him from those that would torment him.

I would rank this as one of King’s better films, but it’s not really scary or gory. I don’t know of any horror fan that goes “Hey! Let’s watch Christine instead of Hellraiser tonight!”, but this film could have a few hardcore fans out there. Then again, so could Gigli.

Maximum Overdrive (1986)

This is the second Stephen King film on my list and it is the only film he ever directed. He is on record saying “that in order to get a proper Stephen King film, it should be directed by Stephen King!”. Well, the end result is not a work of terror, but a work of comedy. Even King considered the film to be a moron movie and swore never to direct again.

Maximum Overdrive begins with a strange comet passing close to the Earth. Shortly Afterwards, machines all over the world come “alive” and begin to attack the human race. A group of people are trapped in a truck stop by a pack of tractor trailers. Using a hidden cache of weapons found under the truck stop, the people attempt to confront the trucks and win their freedom.

I think the best thing about this film was the AC/DC music. Of course, I am an AC/DC fan so if you’re not, you won’t like anything about this film… unless you are a killer machine.

Duel (1971)

During my research, I was surprised to discover that this was the first feature film directed by Stephen Spielberg. Even though it does not involve the supernatural, this simple film takes a simple road rage idea and turns it into a pretty decent thriller.

Duel is about a salesman who is driving through the California desert to an appointment. The salesman encounters a grimy tanker truck and soon finds himself stalked by the unseen driver. The two vehicles engage in a deadly game of cat and mouse before their final confrontation at the climax of the film.

Never let anyone tell you an idea is too simple or too short for a book or movie. This film was based upon a short story that appeared in Playboy and some times, the simplest plots are the most effective.

Death Race 2000 (1975)

This movie is on my top ten list and I still get a kick out of watching it. If you have ever shouted out “Old lady! Ten points!” while driving, then you have been touched by this film through popular culture. Apart from the vehicular violence, this film also offers up a clever satire on the world and capitalism.

Death Race 2000 is a movie about the annual murderous Transcontinental Road Race. It is a national form of entertainment. Racers streak across America earning points by running down pedestrians. A rebel group wants to put a stop to this bloody race and have deadly plans for the racers and the President.

I was pretty ticked when they decided to remake… pardon me, “reimagine”… no, I was right the first time: remake this film as Death Race in 2008. I knew Paul W.S. Anderson would screw it up based upon his work with other films. He stripped out all the stuff that made the original a classic and produced a film that was little more than a violent pulp piece… and even that is too much credit.

Until next time, keep your foot on the accelerator.

So it was inevitable that one day, I just had to wonder how old Sally must be if she talks about missing the Route 66 that existed "forty years ago", and just what the HTB stickers on Chick Hicks stood for.

And as I tried to find out, here are other Cars trivia I came across:

1. Lightning McQueen's number 95 stands for the year Pixar released Toy Story.
   
   
2. Chick Hick's sponsor, HTB, stands for "Hostile Takeover Bank".
   
   
3. The real name of The King, Dinoco's Golden Boy, is Strip Weathers. His design is based on the Plymouth Superbird, a car produced only in 1970.
   
   
4. In Sally's story to McQueen when she first showed him Wheel Well Motel, she recounts how Radiator Springs looked so different 40 years ago. That leads us to believe that she had been there at least that long. Sally's car model, however, is based on a 2002 model of the Porsche 996, three years old at the time Cars was released.
   
   
5. Doc Hudson moved to Radiator Springs after his great crash in 1954, more than 50 years earlier. He met Sally in Radiator Springs when she ran away from her fast-track California life, which must have been more than 40 years ago.
   
   
6. Route 66 is a real-life road now called Historic Route 66, colloquially known as the "Mother Road" or the "Main Street of America", and runs from Chicago, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and ends at Los Angeles, California.
   
   
7. The song Route 66 has two versions in the movie - one by Chuck Berry, and another by John Mayer for the film's credits. From the day it was first recorded by Nat King Cole, the song has had more than 60 versions from different artists, including Natalie Cole, The Rolling Stones, Perry Como, Bob Dylan, and Bing Crosby.
   
   
8. The voice of The Sheriff is played by Michael Wallis, who also happens to be the writer of the book "Route 66: The Mother Road".
   
   
9. Fillmore's character was based on Bob Waldmire, a Route 66 artist and vegan who owns a VW microbus that looks very much like Fillmore.
   
   
10. If you look at the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas, you'll swear you were looking at Ramone's body-art shop.

Goldeneye

Seriously, that is one sexy car, just look at that soft top, and those rims. GOD. It's so beautiful!

BMW Z8

The World Is Not Enough

Honestly, if you don't count this car, you are blind. It's so good, the coat is wonderful and it's convertible. Seriously. It's incredible.

Aston Martin DB5

Goldfinger, Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale

This is a Classic James Bond car, yes, it's the one fitted with the shield, missile, tire killers, rammers, and machine guns. How could you not like that?

Oh yeah, it has an ejector seat too.

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only

Now, when they picked this car, they were going on hotness alone. This car is just the Pamela Anderson of motor vehicles. Look at the tyres, the grill, the shiny black coating and that thing that goes up the side and looks good.

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II

A View To A Kill

This is just a very sexy upgrade of the Silver Wraith. But more awesome.

T-55 Tank

GoldenEye

Come on, it's a bloody tank. Its awesomeness is partial to incomparable.

Mikoyan MiG-29

GoldenEye

A beautifully deadly jet. The Russian MiG made an excellent addition to GoldenEye.

Toyota 2000GT

You Only Live Twice

Now this, this is an eerily beautiful car. Having the seats so far back from the bonnet, the bonnet shaping upwards. Sure, it's almost a death trap, but damn is it pretty.

Jaguar XKR

Die Another Day

Mmm… I love my Jaguars. This car is just Godly! The shiny green paintjob, the shiny silver rims, the shiny handbrake.

Aston Martin DBS V12 Vanquish

Die Another Day

I'm drooling over this magnificent car, the magnificence is too much to bear, and it's so majestically fantastic…

Famous James Bond Car Chase: "Tomorrow Never Dies"