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Invincible Classic Car
- 130 statements
- 23 feature instances
- 21 referencing feature instances
| Invincible Classic Car | type |
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| Invincible Classic Car | label |
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| Invincible Classic Car | comment |
So, your character has an older car. It may be a Cool Car, the Alleged Car, or somewhere in between - but it has a slight gimmick. It can survive harsh crashes that would maim a modern car - it's the Invincible Classic Car. While old cars tend to survive crashes better than new ones, this trope usually exaggerates it. Only applies to classic cars (classic = 25+ years old at time of production) and the cars do not have to be completely invincible, per se. Commonly overlaps with What a Piece of Junk. Contrary to popular myth, this is not Truth in Television. While pre-war manufacturers would go to extreme lengths to build cars that could survive extreme abuse - even to the extent of throwing them off cliffs and seeing if they still worked - this was simply because the uses of a car were much different. Indeed, the Model T was designed to operate in a world without paved roads outside of cities, and was often even used as a stationary engine for farming. As the world modernized in the post war period, manufacturers traded agricultural ruggedness for style, refinement and planned obsolescence. While a 1950's yank tank may look large and imposing, the rapid yearly style changes left little time for structural engineering - they simply focused on creating the most fashionable coachwork and placed it over primitive ladder frames. The biggest reason for this trope in real life, however, is the "crumple zone" misconception. Modern cars use are designed to dissipate crash energy by spreading it across the frame as evenly as possible, and into sacrificial areas. The energy of the impact is thus spread throughout the car and not into the passengers. The idea of a "crumple zone" is misunderstood to mean the car collapses like an accordion; since vintage ones don't have them (and are built in a much heavier-looking way), they are falsely assumed to be stronger. The reality is quite different. In fiction of course, the heroes are Made of Iron or wear Plot Armor, so the Invincible Classic Car surviving treatment that would shred a modern car just goes to show how cool it is. Compare/contrast They Don't Make Them Like They Used To, Break Out the Museum Piece, Chronically Crashed Car, Watch the Paint Job and The Precious, Precious Car. Examples |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_1bebcea7 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_1bebcea7 | comment |
In Need for Speed II, there's a bonus car (accessible by a Cheat Code) called the "Bomber BFS", which is a Hot Rod based on a 1957 Chevrolet. Not only is it capable of surviving damage, but it also apparently has the ability to ram traffic cars out of the way. | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_1bebcea7 | featureApplicability |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_2212773a | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_2212773a | comment |
Angel's '67 Plymouth managed to survive multiple collisions and various forms of abuse, including a trip to a Hell dimension without so much as a scratch. | |
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| Angel | hasFeature |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_222c2051 | type |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_222c2051 | comment |
Chuck Casey's Crown Vic just falls under "classic" at the time of filming (it's an '85, and the series began in 2007). While his first car does get blown up, the replacement is just as Made of Iron as Casey himself. In one episode it survives being crashed through the middle of a restaurant and drives off again. The '71 Challenger Chuck and Sarah use early in "Chuck Vs. the Colonel" is no less rugged. Although it does get its windshield blown out in a gunfight, Chuck is able to run down a Fulcrum agent with no visual damage, and any return fire that hits the grill and chassis just plinks off. |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_2675c915 | type |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_2675c915 | comment |
Zig-zagged in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the Ghost Rider's '69 Dodge Charger. The car is practically invincible when the Ghost Rider is behind the wheel. However, when Daisy is behind the wheel of the car while Robbie is in a ghost realm, the car can be damaged. But when he comes back to the normal realm and making a new deal with the Rider, the car becomes invincible once again. | |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_2e645086 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_2e645086 | comment |
Balthazar's 1935 Rolls Royce Phantom in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. | |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_31ca9925 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_31ca9925 | comment |
The Dukes of Hazzard's '69 Charger surely counts. To be sure, the reality was that they destroyed so many of them that towards the end of the series they began to have difficulty finding any more to smash up, but the on-screen portrayal (truckload of continuity errors notwithstanding) is of one single car that survived no end of Ramp Jumps and other comparably destructive stunts. | |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_3feddd5f | type |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_3feddd5f | comment |
Boko Fittleworth's car in Joy in the Morning is an early example: | |
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| Joy in the Morning | hasFeature |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_43576f5 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_43576f5 | comment |
Supernatural has a 1967 Chevrolet Impala that may or may not be intelligent. She (referred to as their baby) is indestructible even after a major crash in the first season, and had a hand (wheel rim) in saving the world. Although in a slight aversion, Dean is shown to spend a lot of time working on repairing the car when it receives major damage. |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_5916ae31 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_5916ae31 | comment |
Inspector Gadget (1999) has the Gadgetmobile, a 1964 Lincoln Continental. | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_5916ae31 | featureApplicability |
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| Inspector Gadget (1999) | hasFeature |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_5d00b56c | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_5d00b56c | comment |
Stephanie Plum occasionally is forced to drive her grandfather's 1953 Buick, which has damaged many other cars but has never been dented or scratched. The Buick is the only car Stephanie has driven not to get stolen or explode. Constantly lampshaded, hilariously. |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_5f78b9c7 | type |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_5f78b9c7 | comment |
In highway-based Tokyo Xtreme Racer installments, the True Final Boss "???/Unknown" drives a 1970 Nissan Fairlady Z with a souped-up engine, which is a really tough car to push off the highways. | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_5f78b9c7 | featureApplicability |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_86f433bb | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_86f433bb | comment |
Parodied in The Fourth Bear, when Jack Spratt buys a self-repairing 1979 Austin Allegro (not a car most people would consider a "classic", but Jack does), with a portrait of a beat-up old wreck in the boot, from a man named Gray. Eventually the damage he inflicts on it is too much for the picture to handle, and the whole thing implodes. | |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_876cd173 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_876cd173 | comment |
Watch_Dogs: At the start of one mission, Jordi mentions an experience from a past job of his, where he was driving a vintage '70s muscle car ("Y'know, when an 'automobile accident' was still called a fuckin' car crash") when some rival hitmen in a "plastic, eco-friendly shitbug" tried to ram him off the road. Jordi recalls only feeling a small "ping" as they rebounded off his car entirely and totaled themselves on a parked van. | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_876cd173 | featureApplicability |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_99e34c2a | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_99e34c2a | comment |
Shot and Chaser: While loading up Olly's hail dented 1990 Oldsmobile he jokes that the cruiser will last longer than he will. | |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_9e876c22 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_9e876c22 | comment |
Justified in Good Omens. Crowley's car is a Bentley from the 20s, which still is in perfect condition when the book (which takes place some time in the late 80s) starts. Of course, Crowley is a fallen angel, and when he decides he wants something around him to be a certain way, reality usually realigns itself accordingly. That's why the antique can do 90 miles an hour, and has a tape deck. | |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_b78ae0b5 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_b78ae0b5 | comment |
The Blues Brothers: The Bluesmobile survives incredible abuse amidst ridiculous stunts until it literally comes apart once the boys finally reach Daley Plaza. Though unusually for this trope, it was only five years old at the time of filming. It was on a Mission from God, though. | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_b78ae0b5 | featureApplicability |
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Invincible Classic Car / int_b78ae0b5 | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_bf0d02ec | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_bf0d02ec | comment |
A common point in Regular Car Reviews is how 1950s-70s American cars' rigid construction meant that in a collision with a modern car, the classic car would survive but the driver would not. From the review of the 1956 Oldsmobile Super 88: | |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_d68df17d | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_d68df17d | comment |
Top Gear purchased an ancient Toyota Hilux pick-up truck which they proceeded to drive down a set of concrete stairs, crash into a tree, submerge in the sea, drive through a shed, set on fire, drop a caravan on it, hit with a wrecking ball, and place on top of a 22-story building just before it was demolished. With minimal repairs (the only part they replaced after being damaged was the windshield, and that was so they could continue abusing the truck without risking harm to the driver), it re-started every single time. It now has a place of honor in the Top Gear studio. On top of that, when they drove it into the studio, the frame (normally the sturdiest part of the car) was held together by the body (there to streamline and make it look pretty). Since body-plates are usually not held on by much (making them easier to replace), that really says something about the Hilux's construction. When driving to the North Pole, guess which model of car they chose. Toyota Hilux is the basis for both the Finnish Army Engineers' minelaying vehicle and minesweeping vehicle - tasks usually reserved for specialized tanks. Hilux is far cheaper than a tank and can do most such tasks as well as any tank. Additional bonus is that it is also lighter than a tank and will not detonate undetected anti-tank mines, while it is durable enough to stand the explosion of anti-personnel mines. |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_ee384546 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_ee384546 | comment |
A variation appears in Cyberpunk 2077, where the 50 year old Archer Hella is described as so reliable that most customers never bought another car, almost bankrupting the company. In-game, the Hella is also very sturdy, able to survive a considerable amount of abuse before throwing in the towel. | |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_f1514117 | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_f1514117 | comment |
Subverted in Mafia II. Cars don't crumple as hard as their real-world counterparts, but any major collision would either seriously injure Vito or kill him outright, similar to the Mini as described in the Real Life section where the car was mostly intact yet it was still a rolling death trap to its occupants due to rapid deceleration and the steering column impaling the driver. | |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_f4e799ee | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_f4e799ee | comment |
On Burn Notice, Michael drives a 1973 Dodge Charger that his father had owned. This car has survived being blown up twice and shot repeatedly while the more modern cars owned by everyone else have generally been destroyed. In the pilot, this trope is discussed. Michael specifically picks a classic car without airbags so that after a collision when his opponent will be disabled and distracted by his airbag, Michael will be free to get out and tie him to his steering wheel. |
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| Invincible Classic Car / int_fcfa72e | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_fcfa72e | comment |
In Drive (2011), the Driver's 1973 Malibu survives enough abuse to render it undrivable during his Roaring Rampage of Revenge, yet emerges unscathed, even after he rams a late model Lincoln Town Car off a cliff. | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_fcfa72e | featureApplicability |
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Invincible Classic Car / int_fcfa72e | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_ff7b68ba | type |
Invincible Classic Car | |
| Invincible Classic Car / int_ff7b68ba | comment |
Night Court: Christine's father buys her a 1958 Buick Roadmaster. She gets in an accident and the car flips several times; the only injury she or the car suffers is that she chips a nail. | |
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