The Mustang was on the show 'Vice News Tonight', specifically the episode on the 18th with the part about how the National Guard members who had been sent out to look for remains in the burned houses. First, the good news: Here's the Bel Air (although upon further inspection, it isn't a Bel Air. I can't think of what car it is, I'm not that well versed in retro sedans), which survived. It was in this video, at around 0:34. And the bad news: Dead Mustang. In this video at around 0:51. Mad.
Alright, getting back to the main topic of this thread, cars destroyed in film, I've always been irked by the chase scene in Fire Down Below: Not only do they ruin a 1952 Chevy (keep in mind that this movie was made in 1997 - they can't use the "it was just a used car at the time" defense), But they also manage to send a (fairly rare) Mack DM800-series off a cliff at the same time: Listen - Duel gets a free pass because the '71 Plymouth Valiant was brand new at the time, the '55 Peterbilt 281 they used appeared to be a completely rusted wreck, and because it was actually an original idea when they thought of it!
It's a Mustang. It's not anything rare - there is about a quadrillion of them, starting at $200-300 for a rolling shell. For me, cars are just tools, with a level of disposability only limited by the owner's budget.
Car guys, and only car guys (and girls, don't get triggered) respect the value of classic cars. I saw earlier in the thread the "They only use shells, not real cars." No, trust me, they use real cars, I watched a video a while back where this guy in Hollywood tries convincing movie studios to pay a bit more to re-create the car on a newer chassis, but usually they say no and just use the real thing. A friend who lives in LA works at a car lot that specifically rents out (or sells) cars to studios to use in movies. Can't count how many classics they have that never come back because they end up scrap. He sent a picture of THREE, yes THREE 79 Ford Broncos, one was used around 2 or 3 times in roll over scene and is destroyed (mind you it was a rust free all original 351 Bronco) beyond recognition. The other is used in minor accident scenes and could be repaired if someone would save it, and the last is immaculate, used for normal scenes where nothing bad happens. They recently scraped the first bronco and the other two were sent away, but he has no clue where. Hollywood sees cars as a price tag, car guys (and girls) see a lifestyle and love.
It wasn't an actual Plymouth Fury, it was a Belvedere dressed up to look like one. Still a nice car though. And be glad that they left out the part from the book where the bullies take a shit on the dashboard too.
