What is up with Heston's character driving around what looks like a messed up Chevy Suburban, then saying to the cop it has 8 forward gears and 3 reverse. any truck driver will tell you, it would be ridiculous to put that transmission in that truck. If not impossible. Why would they put that in the script? It's pointless and stupid. Any ideas?
shareThe truck was a '74 Chevrolet Blazer (essentially a two door Suburban). It was a factory built car, which was customized for the film. As you said, it's ridiculous to have a transmission like that in what appears to be Heston's character's commuter car, but without that plot device (and it was only a plot device), there was no reason why George Kennedy's character would have needed Heston's character to drive the car. Kennedy's character would have just taken it.
"It's people..."
A simple manual tranny would have sufficed for the plot, many city drivers, including cops, only know how to use automatics.
But maybe macho Chuck Heston wanted a more "impressive" description.
I posted in another topic, chevy actually had column mounted manual shifters, and being a 4wd, it has a transfer case making the idea of it being custom, "as in ordered from the factory" this way in line with his comments about the vehicle.
My current jeep has 12 forward speeds and 2 for reverse. It's not stupid, you just have to understand vehicles, and the concept of the 4wd transfer case and the mode of shifting.
Most people with all these modern vehicles have no idea what a transfercase on a 4wd is, no less remember what was called 3 on the tree, which was column operated manual transmissions.
Your comment makes sense. If you consider the "hi/lo" of the transfer case, mated to a 4 speed column shifted manual (or an auto with overdrive), the eight forwards speeds makes sense. The three reverse, on the other hand...
"It's people..."
The 3 reverse speeds, I didn't quite get that part either, because I was trying to figure out my own transmission, which is a 6 speed with reverse, and you just end up mutiplying the gears times 2 because of the transfer case. I was just thinking of the most legit reason possible for what was stated by Heston in the film. On one website, I saw mention of a 2 speed reverse, and the 2nd sped was for winter driving which would be like starting a car in "2" instead of "D". This means more torque and less slipping UNLESS traction is finally broken, then the tire actually spinsd faster.
Many people don't realize exactly how a transmission works. While "1" actually is first gear and remains in first gear, and "D" starts in "1" shifts to "2", and the "D" or "OD", when you shift into "2", it actually skips "1" and starts in "2" and remains in "2". It's a winter mode slippery conditions gear.
Sorry to get so involved, but it appears a LOT of people have no clue about cars seeing this day and age is mostly automatics with all electronic gadgets for traction and most vehicles no longer have a transfer case when it comes to "all wheel drive" which seems to have replaced 4wd.
The 3 reverse speeds, I didn't quite get that part either, because I was trying to figure out my own transmission, which is a 6 speed with reverse, and you just end up mutiplying the gears times 2 because of the transfer case. I was just thinking of the most legit reason possible for what was stated by Heston in the film. On one website, I saw mention of a 2 speed reverse, and the 2nd sped was for winter driving which would be like starting a car in "2" instead of "D". This means more torque and less slipping UNLESS traction is finally broken, then the tire actually spinsd faster.
Many people don't realize exactly how a transmission works. While "1" actually is first gear and remains in first gear, and "D" starts in "1" shifts to "2", and the "D" or "OD", when you shift into "2", it actually skips "1" and starts in "2" and remains in "2". It's a winter mode slippery conditions gear.
Sorry to get so involved, but it appears a LOT of people have no clue about cars seeing this day and age is mostly automatics with all electronic gadgets for traction and most vehicles no longer have a transfer case when it comes to "all wheel drive" which seems to have replaced 4wd.
[deleted]
The worst part is he NEVER SHIFTS IT!
Hilariously, he talks on the phone for many minutes in city traffic, makes low speed turns around corners, and never shifts once. Plus he puts it in gear with an obvious column mounted AUTOMATIC transmission lever when he leaves the basement garage of the hospital building!
The whole "multi-gear" trans thing fascinated me when I first saw the movie, but I think the writers saw a 4x4 set up in something and got confused about the gear setup.
This entire movie was disjointed crap, and you notice his truck!?! Haha.
share