saanzacs (October 7, 2008 at 11:56 pm)

WHOA!!!! Talk about a lucky miss!!!

242HP (October 7, 2008 at 4:36 am)

That's exactly what I was thinking! I was trying to figure out what kind of car that was that Roy Scheider was driving... thanks!

adm7007 (October 6, 2008 at 12:25 am)

That Pontiac Ventura sounds like the Mustang from Bullitt,lol.

retrojoet (October 4, 2008 at 11:46 pm)

Minor corrections: 455, "normal" size for the day, and pretty darn good handling. My aunt had one, and if she were still alive, would attest to what a great car it was. That Bill Hickman knew what he was doing when he picked that GrandVille - compared to other cars of its day in the full-size class, it handled like a sports car. He picked that '68 Charger R/T for Bullitt because it had a heavy-duty police package and stayed glued to the pavement, no matter how hard it was pushed.

moejr1974 (October 4, 2008 at 11:35 pm)

GrandVille's came standard with a 455 and turbo 400 trans. The Ventura was a 350 Pontiac motor with a 4bbl and dual exhaust which was added to that car as only the GTO got the dual exhaust 350 in 74.Bill Hickman is definitely one bad ass driver. Anyone who can get a luxury boat like that GrandVille to corner like that is amazing.

ke228 (October 4, 2008 at 4:13 pm)

Yeah, the GrandVille was a perfect car for this chase, 350, huge, and shitty handling.

retrojoet (October 4, 2008 at 2:27 am)

I've been doing some talking around amongst former GM employees. They're familiar with this chase scene. I get the same story from all of them, which is: the Ventura was "doctored up" to sound badass, but the GrandVille was 100% REAL (combination of Radial-Tuned Suspension, widest track of any full-size car in the industry, lots of weight, and a tough-as-nails stump-puller engine). You can see how it stays stable, never bottoms out, and always "corrects" itself out of a sway.

ENCOMAN (October 3, 2008 at 5:52 am)

Look ma!! Good old real american cars made in the U.S.A. and not assembled in Mexico.

ENCOMAN (October 3, 2008 at 5:47 am)

Ya and the air bag deploys

dooktango (October 1, 2008 at 5:21 pm)

bill hickman was one bad assed driver.