Cartoon Car Toons!

I was at the mall with a friend when he quoted this movie line. As we descended the escalator, he said, “It’s not who I am underneath but what I do that defines me.” It was later on that I discovered that he was was referring to the words of his favorite superhero Batman in the 2005 movie Batman Begins.

According to Wikipedia, Batman started as a comics superhero but he was breathed into life by Christian Bale in the movie when he played Bruce Wayne, a revengeful man who later on plotted a one-man war against the corrupt system. It was in this state that he transforms as Batman, a caped Crusader with an armored suit and a prototype armored car.

In the movie, the Batmobile was called the “Tumbler”, an all-black car with a tank-like appearance (actually designed with a bat-design concept), 9 feet wide and 15 feet long with a maximum speed of 110 miles per hour. The Batmobile, designed by Nathan Crowley and Christopher Nolan, is also capable of rampless jumps up to 30 feet.

According to batmobilehistory.com, a Chevy 350 V8 capable of producing 500 horsepower that runs on unleaded gas with four 44 inches Super swamper tires via titanium axles gave power to the Batmobile. It can accommodate only the driver and one passenger. It was aesthetically appealing though it lacks fender flares that add more gorgeousness to cars. The Batmobile is noted for its ability to transform into attack mode thus making it a car oozing with performance and protection. It is also equipped with two machine guns placed between the front wheels.

According to www.imdb.com, the production of the Batmobile has an estimated cost of half a million pounds.

Aston Martin. By the way it sounds, it already depicts elegance, premium-class performance and, you got it right, mystery.

Just a perfect match for the silver screen’s legendary secret agent, James Bond, also known as M16.

The Aston Martin DB5 was promoted through the James Bond movie Casino Royale along with the Aston Martin DBS.

According to lifestyle.monsterandcritics.com, the DBS as shown in the movie features bulletproof front and rear windscreens, front wing machine guns, smoke screen dispensers and other extra components that distinguish it from its original design - a sports car. Bond used the DB5 as a personal vehicle upon winning a poker game.

Ever wonder what else does it takes to be a celebrated agent’s car? Well, take it from Aston Martin’s DB5 that according to my source is equipped with tire shredders that can extend from the wheel hubs, retractable bullet shields, revolving number plates (that can make the car legal and valid wherever it goes), a passenger ejector seat and oil slick dispensers.

The Aston Martin DB5 was used in three of James Bond’s missions including the Goldfinger where the car helped him beat Tilly Masterson. In his Thunderbolt mission, the DB5 served as Bond’s getaway vehicle and finally in Goldeneye where he used the DB5 to race against Xenia Onatopp’s Ferrari that probably matched with the power of an Acura Legend steering rack.

Would you believe that the Aston Martin DB5 is as legendary as Bond himself? The DB5 has been existent for over 40 years.

Casino Royale, according to Wikipedia, is the 21^st among a series of James Bond movies, starring Daniel Craig as M16 agent, released in 2006.

Who does not love Monsters Inc.? Well, if you don’t, then too bad because you’re definitely missing out on a lot.

Anyhow, I read just today that aside from Monsters Inc., our two main characters Mike and Sulley has a short animated video titled “Mike’s New Car”. The story, as the title says, is about a new car that Mike has and this car is a six-wheel drive.

Here’s a quick view of the summary of what “Mike’s New Car” is all about courtesy of Wikipedia:

Mike is obsessed with his new six-wheel drive car, and insists on showing it off to his pal Sulley. Sulley’s first words when he sees the car were, “What was wrong with your old car?” Unfortunately for Mike, everything that can go wrong does go wrong, for instance, getting caught in the engine cover and contacting Sulley by phone to tell him to “PUSH THE BUTTON!” (when he eventually does and walks to the door, he leaves a trail of smoke behind him.), pressing so many buttons that the car malfunctions and goes wild. Afterwards, Sulley notices the rear-view mirror is out of alignment. After breaking it off accidentally, Mike says for Sulley to get out of the car, furious with Sulley’s and his own antics. Mike drives off and ends up wrecking the car completely. Sulley says that the airbag didn’t go off. It then does: Mike is blown back by the explosion, Sulley catches him and Mike says, “I miss my old car…” (possibly due to paranoia) and in the end the two monsters are left with only their own two feet for transportation.

So okay. Reading that, I did realize that maybe those rumors I heard from my friend that Mike also had some trouble with the vehicle’s running boards were not true. Or maybe it is true. Well, I’ll have to go for now for I think I may want to find a copy of that short animations.

Honestly, I miss Mike and Sulley now.

Remember the line, “If we all reacted the same way, we’d be predictable, and there’s always more than one way to view a situation. Overspecialization leads to death?”

That explains why Major Motoko Kusanagi chose Togusa, the least cyberized human in the animated film Ghost in the Shell which is directed by Mamoru Oshii.

A sequel of the 1994 movie Innocence, Ghost in the Shell was based from Shirow Masamune’s graphic novel of the same title and was released in 1995 where it featured two concept vehicles - the Nissan Sport Concept and Infiniti Kuraza which both debuted at the 2005 New York International Auto Show.

The characters mentioned earlier were part of the Section 9 team members who used the concept cars.

According to Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, president of the film producer Production I. G, , Ghost in the Shell is a product of the collaborative efforts of creative people on both companies (refererring to Production I.G and Nissan).

“The zealous effort by our highly motivated creators, from the director right down the staff roster is noticeable in the film. Take a close look at the cars in the film. I’ll bet you find them every bit as cool as the actual cars,” Ishikawa added.

The Nissan Sport Concept, a three-door hatchback, has a youthful appeal with its dynamically-shaped fenders, spoilers and large wheels while the Infiniti Kuraza symbolizes comfort, luxury and high-technology.

Ghost in the Shell is said to be an influential concept to Hollywood movies such as The Matrix and Kill Bill.

If there’s one awesome and hot female Autobot in the Transformers First Generation, I say it’s Arcee! She belongs to a group called Maximal Female Autobots, and her vehicle alternates are Futuristic or Cybertronian Convertible Car and Transmetal Spider. How cool is that?

Even though a bunch of Female Autobots had previously been characterized in one episode of the original cartoon series, Arcee instantly turned into the most well-known female character because of her position as a chronic cast member next to her first appearance in The Transformers: The Movie.

In the Season 3 introduction, “Five Faces of Darkness”, she went together with Springer on a crucial assignment to find a sleezoid ship. The mission finally reunites them with Grimlock and Rodimus Prime.