From the tail end of the 1970s era of car crash cinema, ‘Used Cars’ is a forgotten film with a lot of cool cars. Directed by Robert Zemeckis before his breakout hit ‘Back to the Future’ (1985), this movie stars Kurt Russell as Rudy Russo, an unscrupulous car salesman who wants to move into a career in politics, where his skills could really pay off.
The opening scene tells you everything about Rudy. While crammed under the dash of a 1973 Buick Centurion convertible, he rolls back the odometer on the car, then places a large ‘LOW MILEAGE!’ sign on the windshield to cover a huge crack. That’s the kind of guy he is.
Rudy works at New Deal Used Cars, a dumpy dealership owned by Luke Fuchs (played by Jack Warden), a loveable old-timer in the car game. Luke is a good guy who helps the community by selling cars to the local driving school on the cheap. He’s also got a deep love for old American cars and spends some of his scenes rebuilding his prized possession: a 1957 Chevy 210 sedan. That car represents the high point of the American automotive business, and Luke was part of it.
Right across the street is a dealership run by Luke’s evil twin brother, Roy L. Fuchs (also played by Jack Warden). Roy is a greedy businessman who will stop at nothing to destroy his brother.
He calls the consumer protection agency on New Deal and sends his mechanics in disguise to trash Luke’s cars during test drives. The clearest indication of Roy L. Fuchs’s amorality is the fact that he sells imports. Yes, the star of his car lot is a 1977 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL, a symbol of wealth and status. But it isn’t even American; no loyalty.
Good guy Luke is an old man with a bad ticker. He’s not married, and he’s been estranged from his daughter for 10 years. When Luke unexpectedly dies of a heart attack, his employees plunk him into the front seat of his 1959 Edsel Ranger and bury him behind the dealership. All this to prevent Roy L. Fuchs from claiming New Deal while Luke’s daughter is nowhere to be found. Later, when rumour has it that police are going to dig up the dealership to find Luke’s body, the car salesmen dig up the Edsel. They tie the dead man’s hands to the wheel, place a cinder block on his right foot to keep the throttle pinned, and point the Edsel at a high-voltage transformer. Car crashes, fire results, evidence destroyed.
Luke has kept a photo of the Edsel from when it was new on his desk at the shop. In the framed old B&W picture, Luke’s young daughter can be seen sitting on his knee. Like the Edsel, the relationship between father and daughter wasn’t the greatest, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a beautiful thing when new.
If there’s one thing ‘Used Cars’ shows its audience, it’s how insane the US auto industry had become. Automakers convinced the buying public that we all needed massive 18-foot-long, two-tonne, V8-powered land yachts. Through the lens of history, those cars all seem so wasteful and preposterous today. The only car that makes sense is the 1971 Toyota Corona driven by Luke’s recently returned daughter Barbara. The car is probably supposed to look like a joke compared to ‘real cars’ from America. It makes those luxo-barges look like dinosaurs.
Not to say the movie has aged badly, but times have changed. There were silly T&A scenes to titillate the audience, and slimy salesman Russo’s treatment of Black and Latino customers is a little cringeworthy. But what’s really shocking is that used cars considered disposable in 1980 are desirable classics today. Even that crappy Edsel has become collectible! One of the real shockers is an early scene that has a suicide-door 1962 Lincoln Continental crashing into a 1964 Ford Thunderbird as the drivers get distracted by disco-strippers in front of the used car lot.
Eagle-eyed viewers will get a kick out of the final scene. In a TV commercial, New Deal claimed to have a mile of cars. When the claim threatens to get the dealership shut down for false advertising, Rudy recruits an army of student drivers to deliver 250 cars across the desert. Automotive absurdity at its finest! It’s a rolling parade of Detroit iron, with so many cool cars on screen, including multiple Mustangs. For gearheads, the background is sometimes more entertaining than the action in the foreground.
For all its outrageous stunts, the movie is also a commentary on consumerism, dishonesty, and the curious intersection of car sales and politics. Rudy’s political ambitions make perfect sense: after learning to sell people cars they don’t need, why not try selling them political promises? Goes to show that a sleazy used-car salesman is only a stack of cash away from becoming a senator.
Silly, fun, and gloriously ridiculous, ‘Used Cars’ is a treasure for gearheads and car spotters. There are so many wonderful old automobiles that pressing pause is practically part of the viewing experience.