THX 1138 ART, Grease Hot Rod, Barbarella & Alabama Slamma

Good morning you VILE VADERLETTES and welcome to today’s underground AUTOMOTIVE POP CULTURE! New Art is breakin’ free and today… it’s the badass LOLA T70 from the George Lucas Student Film THX 1138!

DID YOU KNOW?? THX 1138 is a 1971 sci-fi film that was George Lucas’s directorial debut. Fun facts include that its title is based on Lucas’s college phone number, the film used extras from a drug rehabilitation center and featured shaved-head actors as a publicity stunt, and character names often have hidden meanings like “LUH” for “love” and “SEN” for “sin.” The film’s setting is a dystopian future where citizens are under constant surveillance and forced to take drugs to suppress emotions.

The Lola T70s in THX 1138 were real sports cars that were modified for the film, and one had a racing history with actor James Garner. Because the Lola T70s were outdated and relatively inexpensive by 1971, they served as perfect, affordable stand-ins for the movie’s future-tech cars, despite their powerful V8 engines. The car chases were filmed in the real, unfinished San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) subway tunnels, and the V8 sounds were later replaced with jet engine noise for the final cut.

And meanwhile, ON PLANET FIREBALL… GREASE IS THE WORD!! Residing now at the Petersen, this 1948 Hot Rod has tremendous history in the show. The Cast and Music were awesome and now it’s IN THE GARAGE!! Check out the Mugshots and Art!

Today’s MOVIE POSTER ART is the Scifi Epic BARBARELLA, Art by the Brothers Hildebrant. Prompted by Star Wars, the Hildebrandts’ Barbarella poster was created for a 1979 re-release of the film, which was originally released in 1968. The reissue was an attempt to capitalize on the success of Star Wars, which had made science fiction and fantasy popular again.

Fireball’s ALABAMA SLAMMA is part of his Zany Zipsters Book! Who out there is from ‘BAMA!?? And the 2026 MUSCLE CAR ART CALENDARS ARE IN NOW!!

And lastly, today’s BEST OF SHOW features Fireball whipsnappin’ the James Bond LOTUS ESPRIT TURBO from “For You Eyes Only!” PLUS, don’t forget to watch this week’s CAR SHOW SAFARI for upcoming Cars Shows and Action Movie News!

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