Ever since the obsessive impulsive Mr. Toad first laid eyes on the horseless carriage, the world of literature has been enamoured by the automobile, with some protagonists known as much for their cars as for their actions, and in some cases the cars themselves the centrepiece of a story. In The Wind in the Willows (1908), Toad becomes obsessed with motorcars when one came upon his horsedrawn carriage and spooked the horse, causing a crash. Toad later steals a car, drives recklessly, crashes it, ends up in hospital and then prison, only to escape and do it all over again … with the same car. It is revealed that in his brief interaction with motorcars, Toad has crashed seven of them, having been hospitalized three times, been imprisoned and paid a fortune in fines.
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In the early days of the automobile, there was a lot of curiosity about how revolutionary the horseless carriage could become. Set in 1922, The Great Gatsby is a novel about social interaction, decadence, idealism, excess and The American Dream during the Roaring Twenties. The titular character’s “rich cream” coloured Rolls Royce is central to the story for helping to bring guests to his summer weekend parties, and for its role in the climactic car crash that brings about the death of three characters. Although it’s never stated outright, the most plausible theory is that it’s a 1922 40/50 Silver Ghost according to the description narrator Nick Carraway offers — “swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields.” (Credit: Wikipedia/Malcolma)
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Around the time that Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, British-Chinese author Leslie Charteris was developing Simon Templar, a good-hearted thief nicknamed The Saint, who acts like a modern-day Robin Hood. Charteris made up car models for his stories, including the Saint’s fictional Hirondel, described as “a snarling silver fiend that roared through London on the wings of an unearthly wind.” Artists asked to depict the 2.5-ton, 8-cylinder powered car showed it as similar to a Mercedes-Benz SSK from that time period. (Credit: Wikipedia/Lebubu93)
Many times, we remember the screen versions of vehicles, even though they are often just easy props used to depict fictional literary vehicles. Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang’s backstory has it as the only Paragon Panther — described by author Ian Fleming (yes, that Ian Fleming) as a “12-cylinder, 8-litre, supercharged” car — to come off the production line before Paragon went out of business. The car is purchased and restored by inventor Caractacus Pott, and renamed by the Pott children for the sound of its starter-motor and backfire. A big, powerful long-hood, 4-seat touring car, it shows itself capable of flying, hovering over water and even to reason. (Wikipedia/Paul Slade)
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Of course, Ian Fleming is best known for his secret agent 007 James Bond, whose car is known to a generation of viewers as an Aston Martin, and particularly the gadget-filled DB5 from the film Goldfinger (DB III, in the book), which happens to be the first and only appearance of the Aston Martin in Fleming’s books. As it plays out, Bond was a Bentley man, starting off in 1953’s Casino Royale driving his hobby-car — a battleship-grey supercharged Bentley 4½ Litre that he drove “hard and well and with an almost sensual pleasure.” It was written off in the third book, Moonraker, and swapped for a Mark II Continental for the rest of the books. (Credit: Wikipedia/Sfoskett)
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Donald Stanwood’s The Seventh Royale is a mystery thriller based on the fact that there were seven Bugatti Type 41 (commonly referred to as the Royale) cars made, of which six are accounted for and the seventh, a prototype, reportedly crashed by Ettore Bugatti himself. Spanning four decades, it tells the story of filmmaker Alan Escher, who plunges into an intriguing world of vintage automobiles, Nazis, Bugatti fanatics, Mormons and other shady types in his search for the connection between the missing Royale and the suspicious death of his friend Elio Cezale, a former Bugatti works driver. (Credit: Wikipedia/Andrew Bone)
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Sometimes the vehicles in stories are not just tools but symbols of something important to the protagonists. In John Steinbeck’s classic The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad’s Hudson pickup (a past sedan converted for farm use, as was customary of used cars of the time) becomes their symbol of hope for a new life away from the failure of their Dust-Bowl farm in Oklahoma. It carries all their belongings along with all their dreams and some likeminded friends to the work-rich promised land of California, and along the way shares in the family’s tragedies — the death of their dog and grandparents, and the abandonment of the teenage daughter by her immature husband and then the stillbirth of her child, among others. (Credit: Wikipedia/GPS 56)
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Gumdrop is an actual car, owned by author and illustrator Val Biro. At the request of his publisher, Biro took up writing a children’s book, and chose his vintage car as the protagonist. Biro says “each story tends to be based on personal experience and, equally, each tends to grow out of that into the imagination.” Starting off with Gumdrop - Adventures of a Vintage Car, the series counted 37 titles before the author’s death in 2014. Among his adventures, Gumdrop has sheltered the Loch Ness monster from exploitation, and helped Santa Claus deliver presents. (Credit: Wikipedia/Notagoodname)
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Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman uses the difference in car models to further the notion of protagonist Willy Loman’s living life in the past and present. Willy mentions to his wife Linda how on the day’s trip he drove in the country, “opened the windshield and just let the warm air bather over” him. When Linda suggests they take a weekend trip to recreate the feeling, Willy says modern cars like their current 1940-era Studebaker don’t have those windshields, and that he must have been remembering his 1928 Chevy — probably the last time in his life he was truly happy. (Credit: Wikipedia/Lglswe)
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Befitting a mode of transportation, car journeys are a popular literary theme, with some classic examples of stories. Perhaps the best example is Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, which revolves around four long-distance trips the protagonist, Sal Paradise, takes at various stages in his life after he meets the carefree and adventurous Dean Moriarty. Part 3 details the pair’s journey from Denver to Chicago to deliver a 1947 Cadillac, making the trip in 17 hours due to Dean’s speeding in excess of 110 mph (over 177 km/h, causing the speedometer to break), and despite several crashes and stop-overs to flaunt their pretend wealth. (Credit: Wikipedia/Alfvanbeem)
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The Weasley’s Ford Anglia was converted by Arthur Weasley in an unconventional manner — it flies, and it can also render itself invisible (so non-wizards don’t see a flying car). We first meet the car when the Weasley boys borrow it to free Harry Potter from his guardians’ home. The Weasleys later use it to transport eight people and six trunks to the train station to catch the Hogwarts Express the following month. When they miss the train to the wizards’ school, Ron Weasley and Harry end up borrowing the car again and flying it to Hogwarts, but it starts breaking down and eventually crashes into the Whomping Willow, after which it escapes into the Forbidden Forest. (Credit: Wikipedia/Alfvanbeem)
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The Car is a novel about an abandoned teenager who finishes his father’s Blakely Bearcat kit car so he can drive from his home in Cleveland to Oregon to meet up with an uncle he vaguely remembers from his childhood. Shortly after setting off, he meets up with Vietnam veterans Waylon and Wayne, who proceed to take him on a series of adventures and mentor him on the intricacies of Americana.
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Richard Foster penned his short story for Road & Track magazine as the world was an oil crisis. The story is set in 1982, when the world no longer has wars or cancer, and governments implemented regulations to make modern safety vehicles (MSVs) that could withstand 50 mph collisions, even though with traffic congestion, few cars could attain that lofty speed. The problem arose that people got used to cars that could go undamaged in 10 mph crashes, so they didn’t really concentrate on their driving or rules of the road, such as yielding the right of way. As a result, older cars such as the protagonist’s 1967 MGB roadster became a form of sport-hunting targets for MSVs. The protagonist takes his car out for a relaxing drive but soon enough soon comes up against an MSV on the hunt. He manages to avoid any serious damage to the car, but takes a long time to restore it, goes out only in the early morning hours when most are asleep, and gives up driving the classic car altogether when the government mandates 75-mph crash protection. The story inspired the 1981 Rush song Red Barchetta. (Credit: Wikipedia/DeFacto)
You might be thinking that Audi paid big bucks to have E.L. James include the marque in her bestseller, and subsequent sequels, but you’d be wrong. It turns out the author was just aware of the brands dedication to elegant design and unmatched performance, even though she did not drive an Audi herself. One of the car-stars of the book is Christian Grey’s Audi R8 Spyder, reportedly picked as his personal transportation for its sleek sexiness, excitement and performance.
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Considered by author Harold Robbins as his novel to receive the truest screen treatment, The Betsy is the story of an aging automobile company (Bethlehem Motors) patriarch Loren Hardeman, who in the early 1970s wants to create a tribute to his great-granddaughter Betsy. Despite the wishes of company president/grandson Loren III, who is tired of running an auto company, Loren the eldest hires young racecar driver Angelo Perino to develop the highly-advanced, fuel efficient car propelled by a turbine. Perino ends up romancing the great-granddaughter, who stands to inherit the family fortune that is dependent on the success of the new car named after her. (Credit: Wikipedia/Karrmann)
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No car model is listed for the Goosebumps novella The Haunted Car. In fact, that’s part of the story, when teenage car-nut Mitchell Moinian is scanning the car ads and comes across a low-mileage inexpensive sports car without a listed make and model. When Mitchell and his father go see the car, it reminds Mitchell of a Corvette, only it has room for four. At this point, it should be noted that Chevrolet did make a 4-occupant Corvette prototype, in light of the 4-seat Avanti that was supposed to become a rival, but Corvettes were already so popular, the 4-seater never came to production. Anyway, Mitchell’s car is possessed by the spirit of a 14-year old girl, which tries to kill Mitchell so he’ll join her in the afterlife, but it ends up accidentally saving him from a house-fire.
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Of course, if you’re going to talk about possessed cars, you have to start with Stephen King’s Christine, a 1958 Plymouth Fury with a penchant for murder and the ability to repair itself to not show any clues to the crimes. The car is possessed by the spirit of its owner Roland LeBay, whose daughter choked to death in the back seat and whose wife committed suicide by carbon monoxide in the front seat. The owner sells the car to nerdy teen Arnie Cunningham for a pittance, and then dies, reportedly transferring his spirit to the car, and then into Arnie himself, who changes his appearance to look more like LeBay, while also acquiring a more arrogant personality. (Credit: Wikipedia/Hylnder777)
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As in Christine, the car in King’s From a Buick 8 also has the ability to repair itself when damaged, and its body is always in mint condition as it repels dirt and debris. Unlike Christine, this car that resembles a Buick Roadmaster but isn’t really, doesn’t go around killing others. In fact, it doesn’t go around at all, since all its controls and connections are useless props, so it sits in a shed on the Pennsylvania State Trooper barracks. It turns out the car is a conduit to another world, and as people disappear from its vicinity, they are actually transported to another world. There had been thought of destroying it, but it was decided that it might actually be a safety mechanism separating our world from the darker one on the other side. So the Troopers just watch over it to make sure nothing happens to it. (Credit: Wikipedia/GTHO)
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Hover Car Racer is Matthew Riley’s sci-fi novel about a young racer in a futuristic racing environment. With the help of his autistic brother, Jason Chaser built, maintains and races his own hover car, Argonaut, in regional events with dreams of hitting the championship circuits. In one race, his skill and determination catch the eye of a racing school owner who brings the pair to Tasmania for racing development. The pair find the school a tough go, as their bullied and continually suffer parts failures, particularly in the magneto drives the cars use for propulsion. However, he overcomes the odds, ends up winning a championship series and secures a position with a professional team. A Disney movie titled "Hovercar" is reportedly in development.
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Robert Heinlein’s story follows the journal entries of four travellers among six dimensions — the three physical dimensions and three time-dimensions. The four are capable of travelling to various lands and worlds, including the land of Oz and the planet Mars. They use an air car called Gay Deceiver, which uses a continua device for propulsion to and between the various locations. The title of the book, in Heinlein style is a Biblical reference to 666, which is (66)6 — or 636 or 10,314,424,798,490,535,546,171,949,056 — the number of parallel dimensions accessible to the Gay Deceiver.
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