Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/12/30/documentary-on-the-black-ghost-detroits-legendary-street-racer.html
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It’s a sleek car, but I’d rather not glorify street racing, the “sport” of dangerous arseholes.
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I have no use for muscle cars, for me a car is to get around in, to haul stuff, etc.
But I have to admit they are beautiful pieces of machinery, art and engineering combined, and I’ll take a classic American muscle car over most European sports cars, even of the same era.
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There should be an anime.
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Reminds me of the eighties when they would drag race down Oakland Ave in Highland Park, which–like nearby Hamtramck–is completely surrounded by Detroit. It’s also where Chrysler’s headquarters used to be, and I worked third shift there for a couple of summers.
We’d also hear the occasional gun shot, and there were at least two crack houses I can think of. Highland Park was not a great place to be then, and I don’t think it’s improved significantly. Nearby Hamtramck, also surrounded by Detroit, seems to be doing much better.
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Street racing aside, I think it’s a nice doc that shows a sense of community and familial bonds.
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And while the movie is “cult” status, I suspect Vanishing Point has contributed a small bit to it’s enduring mind-share.
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I thought it was the fumes coming thru my screen that made my eyes a little teary… guess not. Very touching piece - especially the grandkid at the end. 
+:blush:
Oh and that engine sound…wow.
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Is that from… Phantasm?
Beautiful '71 Plymouth Cuda, regardless.
(I think I need to revisit drawing classic cars…)
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Yes! Good eye! That car is kind of a character in the films, isn’t it?
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Great pic about an awesome car. It’s likely worth several million dollars to the right buyer and it’s pretty dang awesome that Qualls’ son is keeping the car in the family and wants to pass it down to his son.
One wonders at what point the draw of the money will overwhelm nostalgia.
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I love classic muscle cars, but I also always have to remind myself that they are, at the end of the day, terrible cars. Drum brakes, leaf springs, solid axles, bias ply tires, pitman arm steering boxes, fussy carburetors that only work right on a warm day at sea level, lumpy cams that don’t idle properly, rotary distributors with mechanical points that get dirty, single coil ignition, the list goes on and on. In every single performance test, a 2019 Kia grocery getter can mop the floor with a 1970 Challenger R/T, except one- the Challenger is slightly quicker in a straight line in ideal conditions. Meanwhile the Kia (or any modern car) will start first crank in -30° and runs circles around it while getting 30mpg on unleaded gas (and will last 200k miles). Engineering has come a looooong way since 1970.
Neat old cars, but the imagined performance of them is all nostalgia, especially from people who aren’t old enough to have driven cars from the 70s. 
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Totally.
Sinister as fuck, yet seductively beautiful at the same time.
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I’m no expert, but a lot can be said for people who are taking those old muscle cars and dropping modern suspensions, brakes, axles, transmissions and engines into them and producing much more reliable machines than they ever were out of the factory.
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This is called restomodding, and it is great, but bring your chequebook. A well executed restomod will set you back $100k. They are 1%er toys.
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Oh yeah, I have no doubt it’s expensive to do, but I enjoy watching the guys on youtube who put those sorts of projects together.
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My daughter & I love those films. Our favourite line is ‘it wasn’t a gopher!’
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That was a great documentary! Thanks for posting this.
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