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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Information Exchange  |  What Was That Film?  |  Solved  |  Old "Popular Mechanics"-type educational short « previous next »
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Author Topic: Old "Popular Mechanics"-type educational short  (Read 9261 times)
GoHawks
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Happiness is a dancing beagle.


« on: October 20, 2007, 12:32:19 AM »

First, the scene that sticks in my mind:  Some people (at least 2, maybe more) are driving a car down an interstate highway.  I think the car was supposed to be a Ford Thunderbird.  There are very few other cars on the road.  The car is either driving itself or is being remotely driven.  The younger (teenager?) passenger gets on the radio and calls ahead to the city(?) they're approaching for clearance(?) to proceed.  The person on the other end replies, and throws in some information about the traffic and weather(?) ahead.

I saw this short probably in the early 1990s but definitely no earlier than 1985 and no later than 2000.  I think it was black and white, but am not entirely sure.  I think the short was one of those "the world of tomorrow" types, similar to the stuff that Popular Mechanics used to make.  I believe the scene in question was showing off how the highways (and cars) of the future would be automated and therefore safer and more reliable.

Now, what I don't know.  I have no idea where I saw this short, but it was probably (>95%) on TV.  I don't know how long it is, but I'm pretty certain it was a short and not a feature length film.  I thought I saw it on MST3K, but none of the online guides for that show that I can find list anything remotely similar to what I remember.  I once found a website that hosted all of the old PM shorts, but none of them matched this scene either.  I can't remember what any of the other scenes in this short were about.

The scene sticks in my mind because of the ludicrousness of it.  The side street I live on has more traffic than the interstate of tomorrow.  Yet despite (or because of?) so little traffic, cities have highway traffic controllers (ala air traffic controllers) that grant access.

I've no idea why, but I'm almost positive the car was supposed to be a T-Bird.  Maybe this video was produced by Ford?

Besides the name of the film in question, I'm also dying to remember just where the heck I saw this.
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"Please do not offer my god a peanut."  -  Apu
BixDugan
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« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2008, 08:08:21 PM »

"Design For Dreaming"?

A General Motors Future-world short.
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316zombie
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« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2008, 03:52:07 PM »

nope,i've got that one,it's a man and woman in the car at the end.great short,though,i love the car with the'teeth"grille!
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GoHawks
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Karma: 22
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Happiness is a dancing beagle.


« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2016, 08:41:52 PM »

I finally found it!   Smile Twirling Smile

Every now and then I browse around on YouTube looking for this and other things, and today I found it!  It's "GM Motorama Exhibit 1956".

At the 1:35 the teenager wonders what it would be like in 1976, and the scene changes to that "far future".  He refers to his car as a "Firebird", which is where I got the thought it was a T-Bird.  And just like I remember, there is a ludicrous lack of traffic on the highway, and an actual live person giving him detailed personalized directions.

I still have no idea where I originally saw this, though.

This one can be moved to Solved.
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"Please do not offer my god a peanut."  -  Apu
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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Information Exchange  |  What Was That Film?  |  Solved  |  Old "Popular Mechanics"-type educational short « previous next »
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