Episode 107 - Christmas 2025

Welcome to a very Wrenches Christmas

 On this episode of Throwin’ Wrenches…  

• Its Christmas…  You know we have something up our red velvet jacket and puffy white sleeves…

• Cars?  Christmas?  It's like peanut butter and chocolate!

• What will be our top 3 Christmas movie cars in our annual festive lists?

 

Thanks for listening.  Thanks for being a fan.  

Spotify Wrapped…  For podcasters

Dannyspoton says:

• Great episode- as usual! Fun to hear from your guest, Mr Irish again. And I always love the "cars of the weak" - like you both I am always imagining a virtual purchase of a great new project or even more likely - a great deal on an offbeat new daily driver. Keep on keepin' on
  
  

Projects

Eric: Toilet!

Went to Italy.  Drove a Renault Clio with more buzzers and alarms than any car I have ever driven in my life!  

 Ubigi for Cellular…  Love that.  No texts or calls… but I had data

Daryl: Highlander got fixed after my parking lot ding. Body shop didn’t clean the dust and there were foot prints on the seat. Zero pride? 

 

Favorite Christmas Movie Cars

Eric: 

Taxi Cab from Scrooged…  

 The taxi cab in the movie Scrooged belongs to the fictional Belle Cab Co.. The vehicle itself is an iconic 1978 Checker A11 Taxicab (though some sources mention a 1970 or 1974 model year, the A-series ran largely unchanged from 1959-1982).

 

This car zooms all over the skyline and slides through time in a decently fun twist on the ghost of Christmas Past.   RIP Buster Poindexter aka David Johanssen of the New York Dolls.  A role of a lifetime to be sure.  

 

I rode in one of these back in the early 80’s…  Took the plane from ohare to laguardia and had a taxi driver who I am pretty sure was bob hoskins.  My brother and I talked big stuff and declared that we would be running this town before our easter week was over.  Sat behind Dan Rather at Sunday Mass BTW…  

 

I love these cars becuase of the jump seats.  They are so damn big, but at first glace you think nothing of them.  Get in and you will be shocked at the space.  

Chysler Town and Country K CAr from Planes Trains and Automobiles.

 

The car driven by Neal Page (Steve Martin) and Del Griffith (John Candy) in the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a 1986 Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country convertible, not a Dodge Aries K. 

While the LeBaron is built on the same Chrysler K-car platform as the Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant, the specific model in the film is a LeBaron. 

This car is dead on what people were driving when I was a kid.  My great uncle worked for Chrysler from the 60’s to 90’s…  His Mom, my Grandma Giancarli, drove a 1985 Airies K Car after she drove my 1978 Volare.  I got the Volare, my brother got the Aries.  HE took it all the way to LA to go to MIT… Eventually driving it back from LA to Fort Meyers.  That car was pretty decent.  I recall the back suspension collapsing from him hauling drums all the time.  

 

3

Debate this It was going to be the camaro from Better Off Dead, but Angela did not agree that its a Christmas movie… she obviously had not listened to our older Christmas shows!

 

OK…  How about this…  George Bailys car from Its a Wonderful Life?

 

“The main car in It's a Wonderful Life is George Bailey's 1919 Dodge Brothers touring car, a black, open-top vehicle used for everything from family moves (with a goat!) to the iconic scene where he crashes it into a tree before contemplating suicide. The same car, with a specific studio tag (789), also featured as Ernie the taxi driver's vehicle and remains a famous movie prop, now owned by collectors and occasionally shown at events. “

 

Classic, iconic, and I would totally pull this out for a chug around the block during parade season.  The images I see online are morose and depressing from the black and white view… but this car is what scoots the story around Bedford Falls

 

The main car in It's a Wonderful Life is George Bailey's 1919 Dodge Brothers touring car, a black, open-top vehicle used for everything from family moves (with a goat!) to the iconic scene where he crashes it into a tree before contemplating suicide. The same car, with a specific studio tag (789), also featured as Ernie the taxi driver's vehicle and remains a famous movie prop, now owned by collectors and occasionally shown at events. 

Daryl:

3. Scott Calvin’s Ford Taurus SHO - The Santa Clause (1994)

The first generation Ford Taurus SHO was the real deal. Manual trans. Yamaha-built V6 with a crazy intake design and beautiful exhaust note. Tim Allen being a car guy helped make sure Santa had a cool ride in addition to his sleigh. I saw this film in High School gym class one day before Christmas Break because Mr. Petty was phoning it in. This car is the only thing I remember from that movie. 

 2. Billy Peltzer’s 1967 VW Beetle - Gremlins (1984)

In the beginning of the film Gremlins, our hero Billy Peltzer is portrayed as a mild-mannered young bank teller who drives a responsible car, a classic 60’s VW Beetle. Only it doesn’t want to start on the cold, snowy, Kingston Falls morning. This leads to a great soliloquy from the gristled neighbor, Mr. Futterman, who gives him a dig about those “foreign cars”. This is a great example of the cultural debates about American manufacturing and global competition being carried out across many parts of the United States in the 1980s. 

1. The Old Man’s 1937 Oldsmobile - A Christmas Story (1983)

From the classic tire changing “oh fudge” scene, to the Bumpiss hound attack in the driveway, and the final scene with the snowy Christmas night, the Old Man’s Oldsmobile in A Christmas Story is very much part of the Parker family. Ralphie describes his dad as “an Oldsmobile man”, brand-loyal to a fault, even when the car won’t start on the coldest Indiana mornings. It’s a fixture that gets the Parkers to and from all the important family functions, and hauls home the big Christmas tree from the downtown tree lot. If the Old Man only used the Oldsmobile to drive the kids to school, maybe Ralphie would never have gotten picked on by Scut Farkus. One will never know. 

 

Honorable Mention: Ellen’s Parent’s 1961 Lincoln Continental Convertible | National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) 

 

 We never see this car except after they come to visit and it magically appears on the street outside the Griswold’s house. It’s a clean machine, and is surprising to see for a so-called Chicagoland winter driver, even for a senior couple who might have bought it new. 

Cars of the Weak

 

Eric:

I cant find autobello anymore?!?!?  What happened there?  I know once place in the world that delivers…  Car from Japan.  Even when I am looking for a rough little italian workhorse… I can count on this site to take care of me!!!  

 

Its not a 4x4 but it is a stick… And the color is lovely…  Kind of a cinnamon milk thing with panels that have faded more than others.  Is that quaint italian workmanship or a second paint job from a battle wound from a roundabout in Pescara?  Hard to say.

 

Saw many of these cars on this past trip to Rome and Naples…  A few going 50KPH in the mountains and that was dangerously slow compared tothe cars trying to avoid them.  

 

Daryl: 

 

1927 Pierce Arrow Coupe - $48,000

1927 Pierce Arrow Series 80 Coupe with Rumble Seat.  There aren’t very many Series 80 Coupes out there.  Take advantage of this opportunity to add this well-crafted treasure to your collection.  Maintained and cared for by the current owner since 2006, always stored in a temperature-controlled building.  Previous owner was a long-time collector as well.  This stylish automobile is in very good condition and runs very well.  Starts right up with a pull of the Primer.  The coupe features 4-wheel disc brakes and drives straight down the road.  Aluminum body panels.  Body and roof are all in great condition.  The wood above the windshield could use some attention.  New tires, tubes and flaps in 2024.  Windows and doors open and close with ease.  Chrome shines beautifully. The interior is luxurious and comfortable.  From the solid wood steering wheel to the chrome trimmed gauges, the elegant features make this a joy to drive. Large storage area behind the front seat.  It is time for someone else to enjoy the beauty of this car with its distinct lines.  Always a head turner.

Marion, IA

Location is approximate