Anthony Zerbe, Billy Zoom, Citroen DS & SM, Fender Pro

Written by Joe D on January 22nd, 2008

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Mr. Z

A few years back( like 15) I was coming out of my friends apartment when I noticed a trashed Fender amp in the back of a pickup truck. I asked my friend about it, he said it belonged to his neighbor and would ask him about it. The guy said “your friend can have it.” It was a 1954 tweed Pro. I brought it to former X guitarist Billy Zoom.
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Another Mr. Z

He was living in Silver Lake and fixing amps to make some cash. A great guy by the way, generous, talented. He repaired my amp and it sounded amazing! Billy walked me out to my car, a Citroen SM. He said “My neighbor had a citroen.” “Yeah” I said. “He was an actor, Anthony Zerbe.” “Really.” I said. ” Yeah, I could always tell when he was working.” ” How.” said I. ” His car would be running, otherwise it sat there leaking hydraulic fluid.”
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Citroen DS Pallas, Francis Coppola has one of these
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My SM

Due to the Writer’s Strike, my car is sitting in my driveway, it needs a minor repair but I can’t fix it till I get a gig. The Eternal Hollywood Cycle. There my car sits, looking like a stranded UFO, waiting for the spare parts from Alpha Centuri to arrive. Anthony Zerbe, Omega Man co-star, I salute you!
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Here’s a clip of Burt Reynolds driving an SM from The Longest Yard.

Bullitt Mustang Hits The Streets

Written by Joe D on November 30th, 2007

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Yeah! Ford has built a 40th anniversary Limited Edition Bullitt Mustang based on the car from the Steve McQueen movie! It looks pretty cool, the closest thing to a 60’s muscle car combined with 21st Century technology to ever come out of Detroit. The chief engineer tells how he and his cohorts spent a long time listening to the sounds of the car in the movie and then tuning the exhaust of the new Bullitt Mustang to sound just like it! Now that’s my kind of R&D!
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This movie just keeps on gaining in popularity, I saw part of it recently on TV and it looks super cool, those 60’s colors, Steve McQueen, Mr. CobraHead, looking cool and tough but always under control. And maybe the greatest car chase in the history of Cinema, no wonder it keeps getting under people’s skin. I had the good fortune to work with Peter Yates, the director of Bullitt and Pablo Ferro, the title designer. Pablo told me that Steve saw Yates’s The Great Train Robbery and hired him for Bullitt based on that. Also Pablo did the titles and multi- screen montages for The Thomas Crown Affair, McQueen was impressed and insisted Pablo do the title sequence for Bullitt.It is SuperCool. Anyway, This movie has become such a cultural icon, the proof is in the pudding, Detroit is listening to the pulse of the car buying/movie loving public! Tell you what, want to make a good investment? Buy a 2008 Bullitt Mustang. Fill the engine with Marvel Mystery Oil, park it in a hermetically sealed garage for 30 years and then take it out and sell it! Better yet buy two, one to drive and one to preserve. Here’s a video of the car in action and a link to an interview with the chief engineer.

Click the link below to hear Mr. Engineer and watch the Bullitt Car Burn Rubber.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1287043167/bctid1294526637