From Herbie to Bumblee and from the Bandit to James Bond.
For most people, choosing their favorite movie car comes all down to sentiment. But for the folks over at Forbes, it's all about making wise financial sense. For that purpose, Forbes' list of the top 10 movie cars has nothing to do with which car was the coolest or which movie was better; instead, it's all about which movie cars created the most value. As the article points out, though, it's not a science.
It's easy to agree that cars like the Pontiac Trans Am and DeLorean benefited greatly from their starring roles in movies, while other movie cars like Thelma and Louise's 1966 Ford Thunderbird or Animal House's 1964 Lincoln Continental (aka, the Deathmobile) acted as more of a prop than a supporting role. Still, Forbes points out that these latter cars actually have higher market prices today compared to their original MSRP.
The 1977 Chevrolet Camaro saw a noticeable uptick in popularity following the introduction of the GM-backed Transformers franchise, but the movie definitely acted as marketing buzz for the fifth-gen Camaro. The starring roles for the Ford Mustang in both Bullitt and Gone In 60 Seconds have certainly increased popularity and value for these cars.
The Fast and the Furious franchise has definitely helped increase the value of import vehicles, and even though third-gen Toyota Supras are commanding prices higher than the 1970 Dodge Charger, the Charger is still experiencing an impressive value (over 2,000 percent) compared to its original sales price. Even without the existence of Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle would surely hold its same value it has today, but it's always fun to see one of these cars painted in white with red, white and blue racing stripes. The same goes for the Aston Martin DB5; this car would still be worth 11,000 percent more than it was brand new, although with James Bond movies, there would be no martini references.
