This is like seeing an old friend again.
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a lot of things off, from car shows to auctions and more. While we’re not crying too much over delayed movies, the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife looked promising. Columbia Pictures doesn’t want anyone to forget the movie is still coming out, although it’s been delayed from this summer to probably March of 2021, but that could change again. To keep us all excited during the delay the studio has released a featurette about restoring the original Ecto 1.
Out of all the beloved TV and movie cars the Ecto 1 is up there. Like the whole tone of the original Ghostbusters, it was over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek without going overboard. The 1959 Cadillac Series 62 was actually built by Miller-Meteor and was used not only as a hearse but also an ambulance, ironically.
Repainted and with a roof rack containing an array of instruments designed by Dr. Egon Spengler, the Ecto 1 is truly a unique car. It has the old ambulance siren and flashing blue lights to signal it’s responding to a ghost emergency.
Most people don’t remember that the Ecto 1 was in horrible shape at the beginning of Ghostbusters II. The backfiring, plumes of smoke coming from the tailpipe, and other mechanical problems weren’t movie magic. Instead, the Cadillac really was in a state of disrepair. In fact, during filming for the second movie the car broke down on the Brooklyn Bridge. Since it was blocking traffic, the film crew was fined by the police.
Seeing such a legend get brought back to its full glory is definitely satisfying. We can see in the trailer for the Ghostbusters movie there are some new modifications on the Ecto 1, plus no doubt there are some secret features we don’t yet know about. But considering in the trailer the Ecto 1 in Ghostbusters: Afterlife looks really rough, we’re sure it’s a different car than the one which was painstakingly restored in the video.
