I don’t know, exactly, what unites these humble models from Fiat, Jeep, MG, Ford, and Chevrolet, but these made-in-period films are entertaining despite their subjects. Then again, putting an expert stunt man in a rear-drive Fiat sedan may just mean he’s able to drive along the top of a moving train. Sending a group of drivers and standard Jeeps to South America may be the start of adventure. And Sir Jackie Stewart may just love the Ford Tempo.
The stunt driver and performer Rémy Julienne was pretty great at making cars do incredible things. Here, using only humble Fiats and zero CG, these two modest cars and the chase from Le Casse make Fast and Furious look like a driver training film.
This is Sir Jackie Stewart praising the Ford Tempo. That is all.
The MG Montego Turbo was, on its debut, the fastest-ever vehicle to come from MG. Its top speed of 125 mph and relative performance for the time were promoted heavily in this dealer training film. After a few minutes of the most inane commentary—and mention of free “top quality” Swiss watches—racing ace Steve Soper is drafted in, “to back up the handover this superb car”.
Daring The Darien is an expedition film done by Chevrolet, when the automaker thought that having its divisive new car tackle a stretch of earth that no vehicle had traversed before. The outcome is decidedly mixed, just as you’d expect from an expedition done using Corsairs.
“To go from the bottom of the world to the top,” the narrator spits into his microphone, as six Americans in Jeeps set off to conquer a 21,000-mile journey across the Americas, in 1978. It’s a neat mini-documentary, and just 27 minutes long.
Rémy Julienne also did commercials. But of course. These are my two favorites.
Thumbnail image source: forums.mg-rover.org
