Cars in the Trilogy

Great examples FFC's fanatical attention to detail are the period cars he shows in the films. I've been a car nut since I was a little kid, and the Fifties are my milieu. Here are my two favorites for authenticity in GFII:

--The car drives Michael in Havana is a '57 Mercury Montclair. Not a very rare car when it was filmed, but totally authentic: original green/cream two-tone paint job, bumper slightly askew from hard use (hence not a collector car borrowed for the movie). Nice touch: it has a tinny, European-style horn--just what a Cuban driver of that era would have put in his car.
--The car that brings Michael back to his Tahoe estate after Cuba is a '58 Chrysler Imperial Crown Ghia limo, one of only about a dozen made in that year and, with body by Ghia of Turin (Italy), the most expensive US car ($13k). He could have chosen from one of many, many Cadillac limos of that era. But, trust FFC: He gets one of the rarest cars ever--and shows it for maybe 10 seconds.

My favorites in GF are the '43 Alfa Romeo 6C2500 sports sedan that Apollonia gets blown up in; the '54 Chrysler Imperial limo that brings Michael to Moe Green's hotel, and the '54 Packard Patrician that Michael gets into after the christening. Other faves in II are: Frank Pentangeli's '57 Cadillac Eldorado coupe; Fredo's '57 Mercedes Benz 300SL gullwing coupe (in a deleted scene at the beginning of Anthony's party--worth well over $1M today); '58 Chrysler New Yorker driven by Johnny Ola on the way to Roth's home in Miami (probably Roth's car--exactly what a rich Jew would have owned), and the '57 Ford Custom 300 driven right behind it by Michael (exactly what Avis would have rented to him,in original two-tone red and black). I also liked the enormous '58 Lincoln Connie that hit Willie Cicci in the shootout outside Richie's bar.

Any faves of yours?

More detail...

In a deleted scene Clemenza talks about his new car coming with wooden bumpers because of the war. There is another scene that shows outside the Corleone compound and you can see some of the cars having wooden bumpers.

TB, what was Sonny's car, my favorite?

If you're ever in the Dayton Ohio area,it's worth the trip to the Packard Museum. Aside from the amazing vehicles and history on display,they have the 1948 Henny hearse used to take Vito to the cemetery.

'41 Lincoln Continental

They're still driving the 50's Ford Fairlanes in Cuba.

We were in Cuba in December '18. I went bat-shit crazy over the Fifties cars I saw. Most in great shape Cubans love their cars. Few were original, though. I took dozens of photos. My fave: me behind the wheel of a '58 DeSoto Diplomat (actually a Plymouth Belvedere made in Canada). Try to find one in the US.

the cars were added treat

The embargo may have hurt the economy but it kept the cars cool as shit. The island was untainted by distinctively trashier models being exported out of America in ensuing decades.

See ... Communism works!

TB, when I visit Cuba, I seen a green 1957 Mercury Montclair outside Camaguey.

Were Michael Corleone and his bodyguard riding in it?

Lol, no. It would have been something if I had seen it in Havana. I saw it between Camaguey and La Villita years ago.

Now I have the following interesting tidbits [even for a non-car buff like me] to look out for, next time I watch the movies
1. '54 Packard Patrician that Michael gets into after the christening [I hadn't noticed Michael getting into a car after the christening]
2. Frank Pentangeli's '57 Cadillac Eldorado coupe; [presume during Michael's unannounced visit]
3. '58 Lincoln Connie that hit Willie Cicci in the shootout outside Richie's bar.

The car Carlo was garroted in, looked pretty ordinary in comparison! Wonder whether this particular car was sourced specifically for the occasion
Carlo even had someone pack a suitcase for him

Was the car being driven around the Corleone compound? It looked like the driver was steering even when the driver's side windscreen was shattering

It was pretty ordinary. It's a '51 Plymouth, a low-priced model in its day, and without any collector value when GF was filmed. What's noteworthy is that Carlo kicked out the real windshield, which was made of safety glass--laminated so it wouldn't shatter and send sharp shards of glass into anyone. That tells me the production crew bought it at a junkyard, and probably junked it after that scene was filmed, because replacing the windshield would have cost more than the car was worth at that time. By comparison: in an early scene in Goodfellas, young Henry Hill breaks windows of cars in a parking lot,pours gasoline into them, and torches them. Those windows "shatter"--the production crew removed the real windows and replaced them with "movie glass," which isn't real glass and thus gives a shattering look. They would have replaced the real windows after that scene (they weren't really torched).

he was driven to Bonasera funeral parlour

Many years ago, when I was active in collecting Cadillacs. I had a chance to buy Barzinis 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood. It was listed in Hemmings Motor News I called the owner and they were hazy about the use of the car. I passed.

I just noticed that a model of the '55 Fleetwood is offered as a model. Sort of inaccurate as I don't think Vito ever had a '55 Fleetwood. I already have the Godfather '40 Cadillac model. It came with Vito sitting in the back and his bodyguard Paulie (?).

Barzini and a couple of his guys passed (on), too.

I posted a photo of me in the '58 DeSoto Diplomat in Cuba that I mentioned in an earlier reply in this thread. It's in "What We Look Like."

You are right Turnbull The sugar glass! for movies I should have said perhaps starred or similar not shattered

Where do I find "What We Look Like." Thanks

If you go to "General Discussion/Other" and click on "Other," you'll find "What We Look Like." Here's the link to my photo:
http://www.gangsterbb.net/threads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showgallery&Number=989179#Post989179

I would have never thunk it. TB helping the Commies. Madonne!

"Certainly the cruise line that took us to Cuba can present a bill--after all, they are not Communists."

The car was ordinary because they didn't want Carlo to foul up a rare one!

I reckon Gianni Russo was good acting his fear, torment to admit his part, so relieved he was just out of family business he never even suspected why Clemenza would be sitting in the back seat of the car taking him to the airport

What leads you to believe its a '51 and not a '52? The picture I attached is a '52 Plymouth Cranbrook. Of course, the '51's and '52's are very similar. The best I could use as a point of reference was the shape of the taillights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wit1vpOXftg

Update: Further research has shown me that in all probability you are correct. It looks like only the '52 had the chrome on the leading edge of the rear fender.

Why we are on the subject. Who owned the Plymouth? One of the soldiers or was it bought just for the occasion?

My reference was "Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946 -1975." The shape of the taillights was the decisive factor. (BTW, Johnny: this is required reading for car buffs like us--endless source of fascinating facts.)

Logically, either scenario would have been consistent with Mob practice. They probably would have taken it to a junkyard to be crushed, with Carlo in it, or simply have abandoned it in some remote spot, as with Paulie after Rocco shot him.

[/quote]
Logically, either scenario would have been consistent with Mob practice. They probably would have taken it to a junkyard to be crushed, with Carlo in it, or simply have abandoned it in some remote spot, as with Paulie after Rocco shot him.
[/quote]

I used to wonder why they just left Paulie in the car, not realizing it was his car. I wonder who they got to get the mattresses, now that Paulie was out of the picture.

I wonder who they got to get the mattresses, now that Paulie was out of the picture.[/quote]

Mattresses R Us.

Thanks for the link Turnbull Nice car The driver is not bad either!

Gosh...