Thoughts from the Curb

Nov 1, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: Quantum of Solace

I was on pace for my final blog in the Countdown to Bond series to correspond with the opening week of "Quantum of Solace." Then they moved the start date to Nov. 14. Oh well.

"Quantum of Solace" picks up a half hour after "Casino Royale" left off, which technically makes it the first sequel in the series. The much ridiculed title comes from an Ian Fleming short story and refers to the "the amount of comfort...All love and friendship is based in..." Ah hell, go see the damn movie. Hopefully it'll explain why the movie's called that.

Anywho, the Aston Martin DBS returns in this movie, and if the trailer is any indication, it will play a bigger and longer-lived role in QoS than it did the last flippin' go around. Of course, there's been lots of media coverage regarding the accidents involving the DBS suffered during the making of the film's car chase. I'd love to tell you more about them, but I've honestly not read a single thing about it since I've been avoiding anything that could possibly spoil the movie for me.

What I can tell you about is the DBS itself, which I drove last year in Dallas. Even the ignition in this car is breathtaking. "The dormant DBS fires alive, its vicious 510-horse V12 awakening with a sharp blip and a mighty roar like the crack of a whip inciting an avalanche," I wrote. "Your heart skips a beat, your grin widens, you start humming "Rule Britannia." If this ever got old, it would be time to sell everything off and pursue a higher calling." That pretty much sums up the entire, thoroughly awesome automobile.

Am I biased because of my unfettered Bond love? Well, yeah. But it's a safe bet the DBS would still be the answer to the oft-asked question "what's the coolest car you've ever driven?"

Hopefully "Quantum of Solace" is just as cool.

-James Riswick

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Oct 28, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: No Frills, All Thrills in 'Casino Royale' and DBS

Last week, I described in detail why "Die Another Day" was a heap of cinematic crap and closed with how wonderful the next film was. But if you've seen it, you probably already know why "Casino Royale" was not only a brilliant Bond film, but a brilliant film, period. So let's talk about the cars.

Back in the Brosnan movies, Bond is shown driving a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 -- but there was no explanation why a 40-something secret agent would own a car created when he was 13 years old. It didn't really matter. But "Casino Royale" (like so many other 007 aspects) explains how the modern Bond got his 1960s toy -- he wins it in a poker game. Of course, unlike the past DB5's this one was a left-hand-drive model (I guess they couldn't scrounge up a proper right-drive one).

While the DB5 is the nostalgic ride, the real Bond car in "Casino Royale" is the Aston Martin DBS "gift" Bond receives from M in Montenegro. Unlike the fully spy-loaded Vanquish in "DAD," the DBS is light on gadgets (only a gun and highly convenient defibrillator machine). But it's still gorgeous and a truly magnificent performance machine. Unfortunately, this happens...

However, like James Bond, the Aston Martin DBS Will Return in "Quantum of Solace."

I've only driven two James Bond cars. My own car is one of them, the other is the DBS. I know, I know, I'm awesome. The car is more awesomer, though. More on it next week.

-James Riswick

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Oct 21, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: Die Another Shi**y-A** Day

The above title is how I've referred to "Die Another Day" since it arrived in 2002. I walked out of the theatre thinking I was just slapped in the face. "I waited three years for this?"

If you've been paying attention to these Bond blogs (who am I kidding, of course you have), you may have noticed I prefer the movies that stick closer to the novels' more serious tone. Well, DASAD couldn't have distanced itself further from that. It borrowed heavily from the two most outlandish adventures -- "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Moonraker" -- then threw in some cheeseball CGI graphics and Matrix-like speed-up editing.

Here's some of the outlandish gems. Bond big wave surfs into North Korea. He parasails away from a glacial tsunami. There's a humongous hotel made of ice. People are made to look completely different by DNA resequencing (they did this on "Alias" too). There's a giant space laser powered by diamonds (yep, that was the plot of "Diamonds Are Forever"). That satellite is operated by a mechanical suit worn by the villain.

Perhaps the most outlandish aspect (and wow, there were plenty) was the Aston Martin Vanquish driven by Brosnan's Bond. This was 007's triumphant return to the brand after 15 years away. But the car was not the problem, the Vanquish is a spectacular car. It's what the Bondmakers did to it. Sure, there were the typical missiles, guns and an ejector seat, but it also ventured deep into the realm of "Star Trek." Q Branch apparently entered into a technology exchange with the Romulan Empire and installed a cloaking device on the Vanquish, thereby allowing it to completely disappear to the naked eye. Only its tire marks in the snow gave it away. I can still remember the groans in the audience.

Part of the Bond allure is the outlandishness, but DASAD took it too ridiculous levels. But even though the movie did supremely well at the box office, like "Moonraker" before it, the Bondmakers wisely knew they could only venture so far away from the Fleming source material before they lost the essense of Bond and it became a self perody. The result was the absolutely brilliant "Casino Royale" -- more on that next week.

-James Riswick

You can see the invisible car, plus some of that cheesy speed-up editing crap in this ice chase video.

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Oct 13, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: The World is Not Enough BMW Z8

If the Z3 in "GoldenEye" was a pretty face with no teeth (in terms of engines and gadgets), the car 007 drove in "The World Is Not Enough" came through on all counts: the BMW Z8.

Like the Esprit before it and the DBS after it, the Z8 was in its nacient stages when its respective movie was in production, but BMW was desparate for it to be the Bond car. Only 16 cars were in existance and they were all prototypes, so BMW donated one of those prototypes and the Bond team cooked up several duplicates to use and abuse during filming. They took exact molds and applied them to Cobra kit car chassis.

On screen, it featured small missiles hidden behind the Z8's signature 507-inspired side gills. It could also partially drive itself. So it was no killing machine like its 750iL predecessor, but we at least saw what it could do -- at least for a bit.

I love this car; it is simply gorgeous and an instant classic.  I have a Bond movie model of it in my bedroom (complete with shooting missiles) and a black-on-red 1:18 model of it on my office desk. In 20 years, I'm targeting one to join my Z3...I can only hope it lowers a bit in price. Nearly 10 years later and they're still north of $100,000.

-James Riswick

Check out the Fifth Gear Bond car special featuring the Z8 and the ever-dorky Tiff Needell.

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Oct 7, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: BMW 750iL from Tomorrow Never Dies

As if to make up for the fact "GoldenEye's" BMW Z3 didn't show off any of its supposed gadgets, the Bondmakers threw just about everything but the kitchen sink into the next Bond car and to do it, they'd need something big. Enter the BMW 750iL from "Tomorrow Never Dies."

Off the top of my head, this thing had 12 rockets in the sunroof, trapezoidal spikes in the bumper, reinflating tires, cutting saw in the hood roundel, electrified body and tear gas for security, sledge-hammer-proof glass, voice responses, and a remote control built into Bond's cell phone. The latter allows Bond to pilot the 750 from the back seat and from outside the car itself.

Although the huge 750iL isn't exactly the stereotypical Bond car, it's pretty darn cool and is probably the most lethal automotive weapon wielded by 007. Plus, it pays homage to a brilliant car that would shortly thereafter be attacked by Chris Bangle and iDrive.

The full sequence inside the parking garage in Hamburg be seen below.

-James Riswick

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Sep 30, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: GoldenEye, The One That Started It All

It was November 1995. I was 12 years old and sneaking into my first movie. The ticket girl asked in what year I was born and I fumbled out "1981" since the movie was rated AA14 in Canada. This was the first Bond movie made in six years and the first one I ever saw in theatres. Sure, I had seen a bit of "Live and Let Die" and "Thunderball" before, but I was not hooked. The movie was "GoldenEye" and it started a 007 obsession that continues strong to this very day. But "GoldenEye" started another obsession, one that currently sits downstairs in the Edmunds garage.

"Your new car. BMW. Agile, five forward gears, all-points radar. Self-destruct system and as usual, all the usual refinements. Now, this I'm particularly proud of. Behind the headlights, stinger missiles."

Of course, we saw none of that on the BMW Z3 in the movie. New Bond Pierce Brosnan just briefly putters around the Caribbean with the Bond girl before handing it over to a C.I.A. ally. And with a measly 1.9-liter four banger, it was hardly the high-performance machine Bond was accustomed to.

But I didn't care (and neither did the people who sat on waiting lists to get one). The Z3 was simply stunning, especially in its "GoldenEye" color of Atlanta Blue. This was the car I yearned for the rest of that decade. When my father had to sell his Miata because of U.S. safety standards, I begged him to get a Z3. I still remember the day the saleswoman from Dreyer & Reinbold BMW in Indianapolis let him take me down the street in a new-for-'97 Z3 2.8 (in Atlanta Blue). I'd never been in a car that quick before. Sadly, we couldn't swing it at that time.

Years later,  "GoldenEye" remains amongst my favorite Bond movies even though I've now seen them all countless times (including the four subsequent adventures). And even if I've now driven the latest and greatest Bond car, the Aston Martin DBS, the Z3 holds a very special place in my heart. When I decided my TSX was uselessly gathering dust and depreciation down in the garage, my search for a less expensive and more collectable automobile began and ended with one choice. I found a 1998 Z3 with a mere 38,900 miles on her. It was of course Atlanta Blue with a tan interior, just like Bond's. It didn't have the stinger missiles, but it does have the sweet 2.8-liter straight six. I'd call that a push.

So that's why I own the car I do and why I feel compelled to dedicate one blog per week to a Bond car until "Quantum of Solace" opens. And it all started with "GoldenEye."

-James Riswick

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Sep 23, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: Licence to Kill's Mighty Kenworth Trucks

After the awesome Aston Martin Q car in the "The Living Daylights," Timothy Dalton went rogue as 007 in "Licence to Kill" and therefore went without any special transportation from Q branch. He did get to drive a Lincoln VII around Miami, but he doesn't like to talk about that. The bad guy drives a Maserati in the movie, but it also sucks.

That leaves the Kenworth W-900 big rig trucks used to haul tankers filled with cocaine-laced gasoline. In the films climactic chase and Bond-Villain battle, the trucks perform wheelies, fly off cliffs and go up on 9 wheels to avoid a Stinger missile (on its side). It's an amazing sequence and one filmed with great difficulty on a haunted road in rural Mexico -- the sight of multiple prior vehicle deaths, including a bus-full of nuns.

The trucks themselves went through a number of modifications to make the movie's stunts possible, including turbocharging their engines up to about 1,000 horsepower. The typical 1989 W900B had only 425 hp. Several were also given new suspension, steering brakes and modifications making it possible to drive remotely or using a second, hidden driver.

Unfortunately there's no YouTube rip of the chase, but it's worth checking out. If you like the grittier style of "Casino Royale," you'll also probably like "Licence to Kill" which is widely regarded to be the darkest film in the series. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that "Quantum of Solace" will surpass it.

-James Riswick

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Sep 16, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: The Living Daylights Aston Vantage

"The Living Daylights" is a big deal for a number of reasons. It was the first Bond movie not to star Roger Moore in seven films and 14 years. It therefore was Timothy Dalton's first appearance as 007, a last-second replacement for Pierce Brosnan. It was a return to a more serious, literary-style Bond rendition. It has an apt connection with today as Bond allies with Afghan mujahadeen rebels against a rogue Russian general. It's a great movie.

It was also the return of Bond's original car brand -- Aston Martin -- as well as a Q car.

Bond's Aston Martin V8 Vantage is arguably a more formidable automotive weapon than its DB5 ancestor. It has a rocket booster, outrigger skis, hub-mounted lasers, heat-seeking missiles, bulletproof windows and retracting tire studs (picture here). It also has the amazing ability to be "winterized" -- where the Aston Martin V8 Volante (badged Vantage) is magically transformed by Q's workshop into a Vantage coupe. This is obviously impossible, especially given the C pillars, but whatever. Bond did drive a Gondola with wheels after all.

Here's the end of the ice chase.

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Sep 11, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: Ford LTD and Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud

"A View to a Kill" is the rare Bond movie where 007 assumes multiple aliases. As super wealthy race horse owner James St. John Smythe (prononuned Sin-Gin Smythe), Roger Moore is chauffered about in a 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. This car was actually the prized possesion of Bond producer Cubby Broccoli. Naturally, they used a lesser example when it came time for Grace Jones to push the Rolls into a lake with Bond aboard. As a side note, if you've seen that Mythbusters where Adam attempts to breath underwater using a car tire, they got the idea from this scene in "A View to a Kill."

Later, as journalist James Stock, 007 drives a 1985 Ford LTD. And thus, the series reached a new low. Sure, that AMC Hornet was pretty lame, but it least it could do this. And that Citroen 2CV certainly sucks, but it was used ironically. The LTD is just lame beyond belief -- even if he's supposed to be a lowly journalist.

But I suppose this is fitting since "A View to a Kill" is pretty lame beyond belief. It has the coolest/creapiest on-screen couple ever thanks to bleached-blond Christopher Walken and amazonian Grace Jones. But the rest of the movie bounces back and forth between boring and just plain stupid.

And thus, the Moore Bond car years are over (and I didn't even get to talk about the "Octopussy" company taxis). They're about to get a whole lot cooler.

-James Riswick

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Sep 2, 2008 - Countdown to Bond: Citroen 2CV For Your Eyes Only

In 1981 James Bond literally needed to come back down to Earth. Like "You Only Live Twice" before it and "Die Another Day" after it, "Moonraker" took 007 to such outlandish heights, the producers knew there would be no way to top it. So, they went back to the books. While there was no similar novel adventure as the film "For Your Eyes Only," the tone was much more in line with Ian Fleming's Bond adventures. There would be few gadgets, the mission would be realistic and the characters were smugglers and Communist traitors, not master villains in space.

Nothing exemplifies this new direction better than the below scene. Bond grabs the girl and leads her to his white Lotus, gearing the audience up for the type of high-speed histrionics they saw in "Spy Who Loved Me." Instead, a baddy tries to break into the Esprit and it explodes. Bond's gadget-filled car is gone, now he must rely on the girl's. To his chagrin, it's this yellow Citroen 2CV (aka Deux Cheveux). A great gag to be sure, but it shows that this time around, Bond needs to use his wits, not his gadgets.

It's a fun scene, and although "For Your Eyes Only" features a pair of Lotus Esprits, including this ski-adorned one, the little Deux Cheveux steals the show.

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