Celebrities are always in the public consciousness, regardless if they’re talking up a new piece of work or drunkenly lawn-darting their vehicles into traffic. As car people, we don’t really care all that much about what Tom Hanks is doing today, but what about his car? What does Tom Hanks drive? Today, we’re asking about your favorite car driven by a celebrity. To keep this fun, I’m keeping this question open to vehicles driven by celebrities in movies and TV or vehicles owned by celebrities.
To answer my own question, Tom Hanks apparently has a pretty good taste in cars. He used to own a 1980 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, a 1992 Airstream Model 34 Limited Excella, a 2011 Ford F-450 Super Duty, and more. Hanks has even owned a Fiat 126P an electric Scion xB, and a ’90s Toyota RAV4 EV.
He sold the Airstream, Land Cruiser, a Tesla Model S, and the Super Duty. Sadly, I couldn’t find what’s currently in his fleet, but Hanks seems like a car guy.
My actual answer to this question comes out from left field. Are you ready? My favorite celebrity vehicle is the GM New Look driven by Sandra Bullock and saved by Keanu Reeves in the film “The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down.” Wait, I think that one was actually called Speed. Yes, my favorite celebrity vehicle is a bus. That movie’s bus is probably part of why I love buses so much today.
General Motors knew how to give transit buses a striking look. Sure, buses don’t need to look cool. Most of today’s transit buses are boring bricks that get the job done. But, it is nice when a builder goes the extra mile to make a bus nice to look at. I mean, public transportation doesn’t have to look boring.
When you think about it, Speed‘s premise is silly. A guy straps a bomb to a bus that arms at 50 mph and then triggers if the speed drops under 50 mph. It’s stupid, but it makes for some awesome high-octane fun. Or, maybe it’s high cetane since we’re talking about a diesel bus here? I mean, where else are you going to see a transit bus jump a gap in an elevated highway?
If you want to know a bit of a plot twist about Speed, it’s that the fuel gauge in the bus was unrealistic. I’m not talking about how quickly the bus lost fuel, but the existence of the fuel gauge itself. Many transit buses, even newer ones in service today, do not have fuel gauges. Buses have huge tanks, set routes, and they don’t run out of fuel during a shift. All of the New Looks I’ve seen at the Illinois Railway Museum do not have fuel gauges and neither does my far newer RTS-06 from 2002. I have a 120-gallon tank and a light that flickers on when the bus thinks it’s low. The driver of an older New Look didn’t even have that.
Alright, enough bus talk. What’s your favorite car, motorcycle, or other vehicle driven by a celebrity?
Bilionaire Yvon Chounard founder of Patagonia drives a 1988 Toyota Corolla All trac wagon. At least one celebrity practicing what he preaches.
Chevrolet was the corporate sponsor for Bewitched, and that meant there were some awesome GM cars (all convertibles): a 1964 Chevelle Malibu, a 1966 Corvair, a 1967 Camaro. On the other hand, Darren Stevens drove a 1972 Impala in the final season, sooo…
Tim McIntire, and Raul Julia’s 1972 Ferrari Daytona in Gumball.
I can’t answer it, Steve McQueen had such a good motorcycle and car collection
Kramer’s 73 Impala on Seinfeld
The plain and sturdy ’38 Plymouth Deluxe five-window coupe with a “B” ration sticker on the windshield driven by Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep, which was filmed in 1945 at the end of a span of over three years when new cars (or even tires) weren’t available for purchase. I remember reading somewhere that the national speed limit was set at 40 mph, and later reduced to 35 mph because everybody’s tires were bald. At those speeds, the Plymouth probably went a decent distance by contemporary standards with the eight gallons of gas it was allotted every week.
The original Batmobile as described in the show, atomic batteries, turbines and all.
Oh fuck wait, I change my answer. Doc Browns Delorean with Mr Fusion.
Magnum’s (er, Robin Master’s) Ferrari 308. I was aware of and loved that car before the series even began. Many many moons ago I saw a used one listed for about $12.5k. A wife and young kid(s) prevented that from being a possiblity, as the maintenance would have bankrupted me, but oh, what might have been.
The car used in the Magnum PI revival (objectively a much better and much more capable car) just didn’t do it for me. Not sure why.
Second place goes to the Daytona convertible Crocket and Tubbs drove early in Miami Vice. Yes, I know it was fake, but I loved the look of that car, too. Again, the follow up Ferrari wasn’t an improvement.
The cost of the Ferrari maintenance alone, or that plus the additional court-ordered separate maintenance that would have ensued from the purchase?
Likely either would have been sufficient.
As a Magnum fan from back when, it broke my heart when the reboot destroyed the original ROBIN 1 in the pilot.
My current favorite is a story I just learned recently: Jazz legend Herbie Hancock bought the sixth AC Cobra ever built brand new in 1963 and still owns it, making him the longest continuous original owner of any AC Cobra.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/people/herbie-hancock-has-rocked-an-original-cobra-longer-than-anyone/
Hero!
Conan O’Brien’s Taurus SHO! Sorry to embarrass everyone who somehow forgot this extremely obvious answer.
https://youtu.be/BoypGPXYYcE
If we’re talking cars actually owned by the person and not just something they drove for a movie or event, then it has to be Steve McQueen’s Jaguar XKSS.
I don’t know if it’s my favorite per se, but I’m always impressed by Lady Gaga’s car collection. The most recent source I could find included the much-reported SVT Lightening, a Corniche, and a W123 300D among other things.
THE GIRL FROM THE BUS!
“Two months ago, I saw a provocative movie on cable TV. It was called “The Net” with that girl from ‘The Bus’. -Frank Costanza
(I love Sandra Bullock…favorite actress)
Even though he has a McLaren (that he’s crashed twice) and tons of other amazing cars…I have to go w/ Mr. Bean’s MINI since it’s so funny & iconic in the show…also, read this about it & it was interesting
https://www.mini.com/en_MS/home/heritage/mr-bean-mini.html
“WHAT IS ALSO NOTABLE ABOUT THIS CAR IS THAT, EVEN TO THIS DAY, NOT EVERYONE CAN AGREE ON WHAT TYPE OF MINI IT ACTUALLY WAS.”
The motorcycle Steve McQueen rode in The Great Escape.
I second Lori Hille – Mr. Bean’s yellow Mini!
Gotta love the door lock!
Ludacris’ Acura Legend, and Post Malone’s 92 Explorer, because both of them kept the car that meant so much to them before they got rich and famous. And the Explorer is just hilarious. Keanu’s bike collection is also pretty epic.
Steve McQueen’s brown(!) Ferrari 250 Lusso. Such a beautiful car.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/1963-ferrari-250-gt-berlinetta-lusso-was-steve-mcqueens-daily-driver-230988/&ved=2ahUKEwiPzYunwvyGAxWjq4QIHZpjBYgQr4kDegQIFxAD&usg=AOvVaw3dUNsuITLtAyOEv_o_NG8h
Paul Newman’s V8 Volvo Wagons.
James May on a Honda 50 Super Cub.
The people’s vehicle.
Christian Bale’s 2003 Toyota Tacoma
This is the only correct answer, by the way.