If you’re anything like me, you’ll watch part of a Fast & Furious movie if it happens to be on the channel you flipped to. You’ll patiently wait for the sometimes painfully bad dialogue to cease so that you can see some straight-up car porn.
Seven installments of the franchise have been made since 2001. The website National Numbers decided to turn a series that’s a guilty pleasure for some into a source of automotive information by documenting the important vehicles in each movie. They range from Japanese cars to specialty models to European exotics to, of course, high-powered domestics.
Some of the American entries include a beat-up NOS-pumping Monte Carlo, a 300-horsepower replica of the 1973 Camaro F-Bomb built by Nelson Racing Engines, and a sexy red Chevelle SS454. A few of the non-GM cars featured in the movies have even used engines from the automaker. For instance, National Numbers states that the 1970 Dodge Charger used in “Fast Five” had a Chevy small-block V8 under its hood.
You can check out some of the GM vehicles in the F&F movies in the mini gallery below or hit the National Numbers link at the end of this post to see all of the cars from the blockbusters.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
