History Main / ImprobablyCoolCar

* Dylan's ''pristine'' classic Ford Bronco in ''Series/MareOfEasttown'' stands out as an Improbably Cool Car so glaringly that [[https://jalopnik.com/hbos-mare-of-easttown-has-a-huge-car-casting-fail-1847049467 Jason Torchinsky of ''Jalopnik'']] wrote a full article about the matter. Today, 60's SUV's are hard to find, let alone in that condition, fetching over $50k at auctions.

* This trope can be played quite subtle. ''Film/TheTransporter'' needs a fast and reliable car that's luxurious enough to impress his clients but unsuspecting enough to not stand out in the crowd at the same time. For these reasons, the German luxury cars he drives are a perfectly sensible choice. What doesn't make sense is that he always chooses to drive the biggest and best flagship models. He'd do a better job at not getting caught if his producer and his contacts in the industry stopped getting him into the most exclusive models available.
* While his original form is a neglected Beetle in his [[Film/{{Bumblebee}} solo outing]], in ''Film/{{Transformers}}'', he comes into Sam's ownership as a crusty 1977 Camaro with a suped up engine under the hood. It gets worse when he [[ProductPlacement turns into a car that's not even out yet...]]

* Series/MrBean's lime green/yellow Mini Cooper is a weird sort of inversion; they're quite rare and sought after ''now'' thanks to BMW going the InNameOnly ContinuityReboot route with the brand, but in TheNineties when the show was being made it was a fairly reasonable choice of car for a lower-middle class bachelor who doesn't do much motorway driving. Creator/RowanAtkinson, who played Mr Bean, is actually a CoolOldGuy with Improbably Cool Cars, including an old but pretty [[WhatAPieceOfJunk McLaren F1]] whom he crashed twice before he repaired twice and ''sold it''!

* ''The Fast and the Furious''
** ''Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift'': The high school JerkJock who tries to take on Sean's secretly awesome Monte Carlo drives a Dodge Viper. The Viper apparently belongs to the jock's very rich father. Sean's Monte Carlo almost seems to be played straight, having a full roll cage, racing slicks and a completely stripped down interior. Apparently Sean likes to drive his race car to school.[[note]] Sean's Monte Carlo is based on an ''amateur drift car'' that the crew saw[[/note]] It's more justified later in the movie, since the crew/gang Sean joins, and the jocks he races against, finance their highly customized cars through shady deals with the Yakuza.
** In the original ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', Brian's superiors suspect Dom's crew of hijacking transport trucks because it would explain how they can afford all the expensive cars they drive. [[spoiler:They're right.]]
** In ''Film/FastAndFurious6'', After discovering Owen Shaw's crew have gadgets that can hijack modern cars, Tej and Hobbs go to a car auction to buy bespoke classic muscle cars to take them on. For the abuse they were willing to put them through trying to stop Shaw's convoy heist, slightly newer cars(or simply less rare ones) would have sufficed.

-->-- '''Ms. Hatzilakos''', ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'' [[note]]to her ex-husband who had done exactly that.[[/note]]

* In the ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' games starting with 2008's ''Undercover'' and especially 2010's ''Hot Pursuit'', the police force is loaded with all kinds of rare, expensive, high-class cars, such as Bugattis, Lamborghinis, Porches, Pagani's, and even Bentleys. Ostensibly, this is because street racing has gotten so bad in the area that they pull out all the stops and crack down hard on the racers, but really, it's just a HandWave for [[CoolVersusAwesome extremely high-speed supercar police chases]].
** It even exists before that as well. In many ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' games, at least those that take place in America, you can drive cars that were never exported to the states such as the Nissan Skyline, Holden Monaro, Opel Speedster, and Renault Clio to name a few.

* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' has, in our only view of the local high school, an obnoxious student with a mint 1967 Chevy Camaro despite being sixteen and in a town full of poverty. [[spoiler: the school staff Earl tries to teach to fight back against him accidentally blow it up while trying to sabotage it.]]

** Of course she might have inherited it from her father.

** If said officer was assigned to JAG, he probably just appreciates the irony of his car's and his job's abbreviations being spelled and pronounced the same way.

* Averted on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E15OhBrotherWhereArtThou when Homer's half-brother Herb asked him to help design a car]]. Turns out that [[IdiotHero his]] ideas of what makes a car "cool" differ from what the regular automobile industry designer (and client) deems "cool", including such details as aerodynamics or an accessible price range. To call "The Homer" an EpicFail is to be too lenient... and as a result, Herb's company went out of business.

* Inverted in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Harry's Blue Beetle is very much TheAllegedCar, even though it's pointed out more than once that as a wizard, Harry could easily get a much better car through various means.
** Justified in that Harry is WalkingTechbane (known side effect of magic) and anything more up-to-date than a Beetle would die horribly as soon as he got within 10 feet of it.
** His choice of car is further justified with his preferred Everyman mindset, as he started out as the only wizard in the phone book and, given his druthers, would gladly return to that given what he went through getting to and continues to (barely) survive in his current situation.

** Averted by the original film, which used classic Mini Coopers because they were reasonably sporty with good acceleration and handling but quite cheap, which was TruthInTelevision.

** Possibly justified in Pickford's case as he's shown to be selling pot to his fellow students, so he does have an income source.

** Even this can be excused as part of Frank's personal cover; a serious car enthusiast. As such, he'd be almost expected to want the newest version of his preferred class of toys.

** This is something of a meta-example as the car was irreversibly physically modified for the movie rather than simply mocking up a hearse-roof piece lightweight enough to sit on top of an open roadster.

* Any movie featuring David Spade will probably have a rare vintage Chrysler muscle car somewhere.

** In the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls first film]], Flash Sentry is seen with a black sports car which resembles a modern Chevrolet Camaro or Dodge Challenger complete with custom decals of his cute mark (which in human form he wears on his shirt).

** ''Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift'': The high school JerkJock who tries to take on Sean's secretly awesome Monte Carlo drives a Dodge Viper. The Viper apparently belongs to the jock's very rich father. Sean's Monte Carlo almost seems to be played straight. [[note]] Sean's Monte Carlo is based on an ''amateur drift car'' that the crew saw[[/note]] It's more justified later in the movie, since the crew/gang Sean joins, and the jocks he races against, finance their highly customized cars through shady deals with the Yakuza.
** In the original ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', Brian's superiors suspect Dom's crew of hijacking transport trucks because it would explain how they can afford all the expensive cars they drive. [[spoiler:They're right]]
** In ''Film/FastAndFurious6'', After discovering Owen Shaw's crew have gadgets that can hijack modern cars, Tej and Hobbs go to a car auction to buy bespoke classic muscle cars (including a Shelby Cobra that is never driven)to take them on. For the abuse they were willing to put them through trying to stop Shaw's convoy heist, slightly newer cars(or simply less rare ones) would have sufficed.

* The brothers Winchester on ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' roam around the States in a 1967 Chevy Impala. It's absolutely ''gorgeous'' -- and should have gotten them caught a dozen times over, considering that they're wanted men. In season seven they finally have to leave the car behind as the new BigBad made sure that all his minions all over the US are on the lookout for it. It is heartbreaking. When Dean resorts to StormingTheCastle in the season finale, he decides they can forget stealth. "Dick knows we're coming, so we're gonna announce ourselves big."

* Dylan's classic Ford Bronco in ''Series/MareOfEasttown'' stands out as an Improbably Cool Car so glaringly that [[https://jalopnik.com/hbos-mare-of-easttown-has-a-huge-car-casting-fail-1847049467 Jason Torchinsky of ''Jalopnik'']] wrote a full article about the matter.

* In the ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' games starting with 2008's ''Undercover'' and especially 2010's ''Hot Pursuit'', the police force is loaded with all kinds of rare, expensive, high-class cars, such as Bugattis, Lamborghinis, Porches, Paganis, and even Bentleys. Ostensibly, this is because street racing has gotten so bad in the area that they pull out all the stops and crack down hard on the racers, but really, it's just a HandWave for [[CoolVersusAwesome extremely high-speed supercar police chases]].

* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', Franklin's car is a BlandNameProduct Dodge Charger... while he complains about having to live with his aunt. Probably should've spent your ill-gotten gains on a deposit on an apartment instead, dude... [[spoiler: Though, he later gets a nicer house up on the hills to move away from his aunt.]]

** ''Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift'': The high school JerkJock who tries to take on Sean's secretly awesome Monte Carlo drives a Dodge Viper. The Viper apparently belongs to the jock's very rich father. Sean's Monte Carlo almost seems to be played straight, though. Its' more justified later in the movie, since the crew/gang Sean joins, finances their highly customized racing cars through shady deals with the Yakuza.
** In the original ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' Dominic's crew are suspected of hijacking transport trucks because it would explain how they can afford all the expensive cars they drive.

* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' has, in our only view of the local high school, an obnoxious student with a mint 1967 Chevy Camaro despite being sixteen and in a town full of poverty. [[spoiler: Our heroes blow the car up at the end of the episode, albeit unintentionally.]]

* Suitably, Las Vegas NV has Police Drag. (No, not the chorus dancers, but [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the police cars modified as drag cars]].) To cut down on dangerous drag racing down the famous Strip, the Vegas police, fire department, and other city authorities maintain tricked-out and modified cars they challenge the youth of the city to pit themselves against on a track.

* ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' features another inversion with George Bailey, a prominent citizen and owner of an (albeit small) financial institution in 1946 driving a circa-1920 open car. Granted that having a flashy car isn't a priority for him and no new cars were made from 1942[[note]] There were 1942 models, made during calendar 1941 and just into the new year[[/note]] to summer 1945[[note]]Always referred to as 1946 models[[/note]]; still, a 1938-41 Ford, Chevy or Plymouth would've been more likely.

* Dylan's classic Ford Bronco in ''Series/MareOfEasttown'' stands out as an Improbably Cool Car so glaringly that [[ https://jalopnik.com/hbos-mare-of-easttown-has-a-huge-car-casting-fail-1847049467 Jason Torchinsky of ''Jalopnik'']] wrote a full article about the matter.

* Dylan's classic Ford Bronco in ''Series/MareOfEasttown'' stands out as an Improbably Cool Car so glaringly that [[Jason Torchinsky of ''Jalopnik'' https://jalopnik.com/hbos-mare-of-easttown-has-a-huge-car-casting-fail-1847049467]] wrote a full article about the matter.

* ''Series/FamilyMatters'': ExtravertedNerd Urkel's AllegedCar ''could'' have been a [[EveryCarIsAPinto Ford Pinto]] or Chevy Vega, rusty and dented examples of which inhabited high school parking lots in America circa 1990; but that just wasn't weird enough for Urkel. Hence [[CoolCar the Isetta]].

Another variant seen mainly in high-concept youth oriented comedies from TheSixties were characters who would more likely have a normal family car or old clunker driving an [[TropeMobile elaborately customized showrod]] (usually done by George Barris, one of the few builders of such things willing to work on Hollywood's hurry-up-and-wait schedule on a repeat basis) and inevitably [[TheMerch available as a scale model kit]] from AMT or Revell (sometimes still, if the original molds survive).

* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', Franklin's car is a performance variant of Dodge Charger... while he complains about having to live with his aunt. Probably should've spent your ill-gotten gains on a deposit on an apartment instead, dude... [[spoiler: Though, he later gets a nicer house up on the hills to move away from his aunt.]]

* The brothers Winchester on ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' roam around the States in a 1967 Impala. It's absolutely ''gorgeous'' -- and should have gotten them caught a dozen times over, considering that they're wanted men. In season seven they finally have to leave the car behind as the new BigBad made sure that all his minions all over the US are on the lookout for it. It is heartbreaking. When Dean resorts to StormingTheCastle in the season finale, he decides they can forget stealth. "Dick knows we're coming, so we're gonna announce ourselves big."
** Them owning that cherry a car is [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in two ways. One, the car was handed down to Sam & Dean from their father, who bought it in TheSeventies when it was just another used car in a lot. Dean is also shown to take ''meticulous'' care of the car, even down to practically rebuilding it from scratch a few times. Having a friend/father figure who owns a junkyard makes that easier. He's so anal about keeping it in its original state that he practically wept when Sam installed an [=MP3=] player in it.
** Three ways; it's also a four-door which, in American collector-car circles makes it worth substantially less than an otherwise identical two-door (as in, start with half as much and go down from there).

* ''Series/FamilyMatters'': ExtravertedNerd Urkel's AllegedCar ''could'' have been a [[EveryCarIsAPinto Ford Pinto]], rusty and dented examples of which inhabited every HighSchool parking lot in the land circa 1990; but that just wasn't weird enough. Hence [[CoolCar the Isetta]].

** Or even dishonest ones? A million dollars is a ''lot'' of bribes.
*** Not so improbable for a crooked individual with some [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord financially worthwhile dirty laundry on someone powerful.]]
** On the show, it's established that the 'Cuda used to belong to his brother. Now the question is how ''he'' got it.

* Many movies where the female protagonist drives an early Ford Mustang, presumably as an allegory for her own untamed character.
** Like Niobe from ''Film/TheMatrix'' with an early Pontiac Firebird.
*** Being the Matrix, any car in it is an AllegedCar. Niobe was clearly making herself noticeable if she chose that. Covert Matrix drivers end up in Yugo vehicles, one assumes.
*** The Operator can get her any car he can conceivably code in the Matrix, the only limit is how much Agent attention the chosen model would attract.

* TruthInTelevision - In high schools for rich neighborhoods, there are sometimes two parking lots: one full of nice cars, one full of crappy ones. The crappy ones belong to the teachers, and the nice ones to the students.
** This trope is even more noticeable on college campuses, particularly those with a high concentration of international students. A common stereotype is that the Chinese students drive Bentleys and Lamborghinis while the American students drive Hondas [[note]] although in a slight aversion, quite a few of them are GT-R'S... [[/note]] and Toyotas.

** This trope is even more noticeable on college campuses, particularly those with a high concentration of international students. A common stereotype is that the Chinese students drive Bentleys and Lamborghinis while the American students drive Hondas [[note]] although in a slight aversion,quite a few of them are GT-R'S... [[/note]] and Toyotas.