While cars have appeared in movies since the 1920s, cool rides and powerful ponies have been action stars since Steve McQueen raced the hills of San Francisco with his 1968 Mustang in “Bullitt.” James Bond’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5 might have beaten it to the screen, but Fords have been movie stars for more than 50 years. Recently, the movie “Ford vs. Ferrari” featured more than 30 different Ford race cars, but the cars in the film were Cobra Replicas from Shelby American and GT40MkIIs from Superformance Cars as well as replica Cobra Daytona Coupes. The 1960 Ford Country Squire in green was genuine.

So let’s get back to real Fords on screen.

We all have our favorite movie cars. Top 10 lists are arbitrary and you may have your own favorites… so send them in … but here are mine:

I like Pony cars, so my tops on the list are Mustangs. Arguably, the most filmed car in movie history is the Ford Mustang. In its 57 years of Pony Car might, the Mustang has starred in more than 500 movies. Here are 32 of them:

Amityville: The Demon (1965-6 Mustang coupe)

Batman and Robin (1964 Shelby 289 Cobra)

Beverly Hills Cop III (1966 Mustang convertible)

Bullitt (1968 Mustang Fastback)

Curse of the Black Widow (1968 Mustang convertible, 1967 Mustang coupe)

Diamonds Are Forever (1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1)

Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (1967 Mustang Fastback)

Fast Food (1966 Mustang coupe)

Fast Lane Blues (1966 Mustang convertible)

Fatal Beauty (1965 Mustang convertible)

Gas Pump Girls (1966 Mustang coupe)

General's Daughter, The (1965 Mustang coupe)

Goldfinger (1964 Mustang)

Gone in 60 Seconds (1967 Shelby GT500)

Grand Prix (1966 Shelby GT350H)

Hitchhiker Vol. 3, The (1971 Mustang Convertible)

Hollywood High (1968 Mustang coupe)

I Am Legend (2007 Mustang Shelby GT500 )

Immortal, The (1968 Shelby GT500KR Mustang)

Implicated (1966 Mustang convertible)

In a Cat's Eye (Classic Mustangs)

In Crowd, The (1966 Mustang coupe)

Incubus, The (1967 Mustang coupe)

Independence Day (1965 Mustang convertible)

J. F. K. (1965 Mustang convertible)

Jocks (1967 Mustang convertible)

John Wick and John Wick 2 (1969 Mustang Mach 1)

Last American Hero, The (1967 Mustang Fastback)

Last Boy Scout (1965 Mustang convertible)

Last Don, The (1965 Mustang coupe)

Transformers (2005 Mustang)

War of the Worlds (1966 Shelby GT350H )

Getting down to cars that made the list …

1. “Bullitt “– 1968 Ford Mustang GT390 Fastback: Highland Green, 325 hp, 395 c.i.  Camera angles had you feel as though you were in the driver’s seat as Steve McQueen chased the bad guys. One of the two Mustangs used during filming was auctioned for $3.7 million.

2. “John Wick” -- 1969 Ford Mustang: A Mach 1 that is identified in the movie as a Boss 429, is driven by Keanu Reeves in the stunts. Fishtailing and slamming into other vehicles … the assassin didn’t like anyone messing with his vehicle.

3. “Grease” -- 1948 Ford De Luxe Convertible: Greased Lightning: Chopped fenders, Plexiglas hood, and Kandy Red, John Travolta sings about it. Though he sings of “four on the floor,” this is an automatic.

4. “Thelma and Louise” -- 1966 Ford Thunderbird: Two outlaw ladies jump off  a cliff and into the Grand Canyon is as hot as the action on the screen. Brad Pitt and Geena Davis signed the armrest and sun visor, respectively after the shoot.

5. “American Graffiti” -- 1932 Ford Coupe: This Deuce Coup is a Canary yellow highboy is powered by a Chevy 327 V-8, and sits a little tall in the rear. In a drag scene, Paul LeMat beats Harrison Ford’s ’55 Chevy off the line.

6. “Starsky and Hutch” -- 1976 Gran Torino: Two cars, a 1974 and a ’76 used in the film. An original from the 1970s TV series was used as the template. Mag wheels, custom paint. Led Ford to produce 1300 Starsky and Hutch replicas for sale. Original was 435-hp 360 c.i. beast.

7. “Jurassic Park” -- 1992 Ford Explorer XLT UN46: In the park scenes that took on a T-Rex, the cars that appear to be Jeeps are really Ford Explorers, customized by Hollywood legend George Barris. Hey, it took on a T-Rex.

8. “Gone in 60 Seconds 1974: -- 1967 Shelby GT500, Eleanor:  Dupont Pepper Grey 1967 Ford Mustang fastback is depicted as a Shelby GT500. Powered by a 400-hp Ford V-8 31 c.i. crate engine. Completes a 128-foot jump.

9. “Mad Max” -- 1973 XB GT Ford Falcon: A supercharger (cosmetic and nonfunctional) sticks out of the hood. A 351 c.i. V-8 powered the Interceptor and it featured a new nose on the front end, huge side flares, and fat tire.

10. “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift -- 1967 Ford Mustang: Yeah, one more Mustang, but powered by a turbocharged Nissan RB26, engine. Faced bad guys, bullets and action … lots of it.

Honorable mention:

Diamonds Are Forever - 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1: Driven by Sean Connery as James Bond. With 429-cubic-inch Cobra Jet V8s … tilted on two wheels in one scene.

Take This Job And Shove It / Roadhouse – Bigfoot 1 and 7: Monster truck. Just cool.

Dumb and Dumber -- 1984 Ford Econoline, Dumb and Dumber – The Shaggin’ Wagon: Tan carpet was added inside and out, along with a tail, floppy ears, legs, nose, whiskers, and tongue. The van’s windshield functioned as the driver’s and dog’s eyes, and you had to lift a rear leg to reach the gas cap.

The Big Lebowski -- 1973 Ford Gran Torino: A redesign of the ’72 model with a longer, over-exaggerated front nose. Also used in an episode of The X Files.

National Lampoon’s Vacation -- 1979 Ford LTD Country Squire: Pea-green paint, faux-wood paneling, and eight headlights.  Made a 50-foot jump in the desert.

Since cars can be the star of a movie or show and HAVE ALWAYS been recognized as the stars at the Carlisle Ford Nationals, presented by Meguiar's, 2021 brings the stars together with Carlisle Comic-Car-Con.  At Carlisle in June you can see your favorite Comic, TV, and Movie cars pop off the pages or out of the screen and into one of the special displays in Building T.  Event planners are still gathering cars for the showcase, but if you have one that fits the theme, be sure to visit the event page direct at CarlisleEvents.com to learn more, apply for consideration, purchase tickets and more! 

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.

Want to contribute to All About Cars?

E-mail Us