National Lampoon’s Vacation had been an old school road trip movie. It was directed by Harold Ramis (star of Ghosbusters), written by John Hughes (director of Sixteen Candles, RIP), and starred Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, John Candy, Randy Quaid, and Eugene Levy.

Out of all of them, my single best memory from the movie was the scene with Christie Brinkley driving a Ferrari as she flirted with Chevy Chase in an open highway. Can anything be more apropos than a red hot car being driven by a super hot blond?

Sleek and aerodynamic, the Ferrari 308 GTS joined the Ferrari roster in 1977. It had a targa top that could be stored away behind the seats for open air riding. Despite being a 2-seater and rear-engine powered, it had a luggage compartment! Yep, at the rear of the car right next to the engine bay. I suppose that if you’re going away for the weekend, you’ll need those luggage spaces. The Ferrari 308 GTS was a really sleek car, even by today’s standard. In my mind, I can only picture them in red. They were produced until 1980.

Ferrari 308 GTS Diecast Models

Pictures of Ferrari 308 GTS

See Ferrari 308 GTS for sale on eBay.

When The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift came out, one of the cooler car in the movie was Neela’s black and blue 2006 Mazda RX-8. It was beautifully painted with a blue front fading to black rear. It was shot mostly at night and it looked like the car was coming out of darkness every time.

Neela’s 2006 Mazda RX-8 was a great performance car. Too bad we did not see it in real action. It was equipped with a Renesis 1.3 liter 13B rotary engine with GReddy turbo kit and Tanabe exhaust system. It was modded with Veilside body kit, Toyo Proxes 19 inch tires, and Volk Racing GT-AV wheels.

Mazda RX-8 Diecast Models

Photos of 2006 Mazda RX-8

See 2006 Mazda RX-8 for sale on ebay.

The General Lee is one of the most well-known cars on films. Single orange tone with the badge “01″ on the doors and the southern flag on the roof, it’s up there with the Batmobile and Herbie the Love Bug. How can you not like it? It’s a muscle car that saw plenty of action.

As a young kid in the late 70′s, I saw The Dukes of Hazzard on Channel 2 (CBS) every Friday night. Bo and Luke always got away from Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe with the General Lee kicking off dirt as it sped away. It’s appropriate that in the movie remake released in 2005 that the General Lee was also played by a 1969 Dodge Charger RT. By then, it was obviously more difficult to gather enough of these beastly beauties since it has not been made in 36 years. Luckily, 89,704 ’69 Chargers were built. Although by the time the TV show and, many years later, the movie, they were difficult to get.

1969 Dodge Charger RT Diecast Models

The 1969 Dodge Charger RT had been a favorite among movie makers. This particular year and model had been in some of my cult favorites, such as Death Proof, Blade, and The Fast and The Furious.

And for good reason. It’s a beautiful car to appreciate. The slim and rounded profile often drew comparison with the Coke bottle design. The standard model came with a 225 cid Slant Six engine. The more popular option was the 318 cid V-8.

Pictures of 1969 Dodge Charger RT

See 1969 Dodge Charger RT for sale on eBay.