| classics & dramas |
| Taxi Driver (1976) |
| The Wages of Fear (1953)—four men drive two rickety trucks loaded with nitroglycerine across 300 miles of mountains in director Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic suspense |
| The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck |
| The Straight Story (1999)—David Lynch plays it straight with Richard Farnsworth's dramatic tractor drive across the country |
| Bonnie and Clyde (1967) |
| Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov—love-struck pedophile takes nymphet on the road |
| Unsafe at Any Speed, by Ralph Nader |
creepy cars |
| Duel (1971)—early Spielberg TV movie about a truck mysteriously chasing Dennis Weaver: lots of suspense and fear without special effects |
| Christine, by Stephen King |
| The Vanishing (1988)—while not exactly about cars, it is a couple's stop at a gas station that gets the drama started. And get the original Dutch film—it's far more atmospheric and frightening than the 1993 American remake. |
romantic/buddy flicks |
| Thelma and Louise (1991) |
| The Sure Thing (1985) |
| The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) |
| Boys on the Side (1995)—better and more moving than you'd expect from the silly title |
| It Happened One Night (1934) |
road trips gone wrong |
| "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Connor—what happens to a family vacation after one wrong turn |
| Badlands (1973)—Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen in a classic killing spree |
| Lost in America (1985) |
| The Sugarland Express (1974)—Goldie Hawn and William Atherton as fugitive couple attempting to regain custody of child |
| The Sweet Hereafter, by Russell Banks (made into a 1997 film by Atom Egoyan)—aftermath of school bus accident on small town |
something in-between |
| Something Wild (1986)—Melanie Griffith takes Jeff Daniels on a ride |
| The Daytrippers (1996)—Liev Schreiber, Parker Posey, and Hope Davis search Manhattan in a station wagon for possibly errant husband Stanley Tucci |
| "No Place for You, My Love," by Eudora Welty—two strangers meet in New Orleans |
| Repo Man (1984) |
| Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976)—Bill Cosby, Raquel Welch, and Harvey Keitel drive a cheapskate ambulance |
cool car chases |
| Bullitt (1968)—Steve McQueen does his own high-speed stunt driving through the streets of San Francisco |
| The French Connection (1971)—car chases subway |
| Rebel Without a Cause (1955)—James Dean plays chicken for Natalie Wood |
| Faster Pussy Cat! Kill! Kill! (1965) |
| Mad Max (1979) |
mad car races |
| It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) |
| The Little Golden Calf, Ilya Ilf and Yevgeniy Petrov—a hilarious road race in the "Antelope-Gnu" grounds this satire about con men who claim to be the son of a dead Soviet hero |
| Heart Like a Wheel (1983)—Bonnie Bedelia as record-breaking drag racer Shirley Muldowney |
| Death Race 2000 (1975) with David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone—so bad it's almost (but not quite) good |
documentaries |
| Roger & Me (1989)—Michael Moore's depiction of the auto industry's impact on his hometown of Flint, Michigan |
| Taken for a Ride (1996)—award-winning documentary about how Los Angeles became the car-dependent place it is |
| Hands on a Hard Body (1998)—film about a Nissan pickup truck giveaway contest in Longview, Texas—whoever can stand with one hand on a truck the longest gets to drive the truck home |
songs to drive by |
| "Born to be Wild," by Steppenwolf |
| "Little Red Corvette," by Prince |
| "Low Rider," by War |
| "This Highway's Mine," by Steve Earle |
| "Fast Car," by Tracy Chapman |
| "Little Old Lady from Pasadena," by Jan & Dean |
| "Ol' 55," by Tom Waits |
| "Baby, You Can Drive My Car," by the Beatles |
| "Be Thankful for What You've Got," by Tony Bryan |
| "Cars," by Gary Numan |
nostalgia trips |
| Convoy (1978)—join Kris Kristoferson, Ali McGraw, and their CB radios in a truck convoy |
| Smokey and the Bandit (1977)—one of the top hits of the '70s |
| "The Rockford Files"—a trailer home, a private detective, and pile-ups in every episode |
| "The Dukes of Hazzard" |
| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)—Dick Van Dyke in a flying car |
| Red Asphalt—the classic, graphic drivers ed film |
