"The Last of the V8's" Theory
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Mad Max
GatorMouth — 11 years ago(October 16, 2014 11:24 AM)
People have speculated for a long time about the comment "the last of the V8's" talking about how did the barbarians have all the V8's for their rides. I just paused netflix to share what I just realized.
- Night rider stole a similar car for his chase and eventual death. there is a line about how that car is one of two (I think)
- Max asks how it was put together (a piece from here a piece from there) probably because the force is struggling for money and he knew it would never be officially approved from the budget.
- the scene in the office, after Max views the black falcon interceptor for the first time the two men are talking about enticing him to stay with a hotrod the "candy". talking about a waste of money.
it had occurred to me, just now and probably embarrassingly so the V8's were not the last V8's in the WORLD they are the last V8's the force could afford to own because of the budget issues. the night rider car chase showed their yellow cars getting torn up. repairs and replacing their own cars plus what damage happens from the car chases probably eats up a lot of their budget, not even considering injuries and death benefits for officers.
so I don't think its necessarily a plot hole or a mistake that the car is so prized and people look at it like its an impossibility. people that know the financial situation of the force probably couldn't fathom how (or why) it happened.
just my thoughts on it. I have watched it so many times I am embarrassed that just now caught it.
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beavanjb — 11 years ago(November 05, 2014 04:42 PM)
Um, Max's car isn't just a V8, it is a Super Charged V8. That is rare no matter how you look at. Look at the price of a Super Charged V8 today. They said Max's car has over 600 horsepower, that is amazing power even in 2014.
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GatorMouth — 11 years ago(November 10, 2014 11:04 AM)
from a certain perspective that statement is true.
I took the black interceptor Falcon to have been assembled from used parts that were gleaned from other cars. "a piece from here, a piece from there" depending on who you are it could seem pretty common and not that big of a deal. you don't even need a supercharger to get 600 these days if you have the right engine. 600 is too much for a lot of used engine blocks to handle. I have seen 350 chevy and 302 ford engines split down the middle from too much power stressing them and probably flaws in the casting.
in the world of Mad Max it was probably a bigger deal than our world of 2014. -
Kruleworld — 11 years ago(November 10, 2014 05:42 PM)
I wouldn't take that '600 horse' literally (is it even in the movie?)
V8 engines are definitely on the way out. Ford is stopping production of theirs and most other manufacturers don't even offer one.
People perceive them as wasteful and inefficient, but i get as good mileage as a six cylinder engine on the highway (urban kills it), with power on tap should i need to overtake.
Gimli: Youll find more cheer in a graveyard. -
TerraFirma69 — 11 years ago(December 20, 2014 08:18 PM)
Yeah, the mechanic says '600 horsepower through the wheels!', so I guess he'd tested it.
Sadly I think V8's are becoming a thing of the past, jeez even f1 cars are hybrids now. Before we know it internal combustion engines will be a thing of the past.
then whoa, differences -
KingOfUtah — 10 years ago(May 05, 2015 07:30 AM)
"Yeah, the mechanic says '600 horsepower through the wheels!', so I guess he'd tested it.
Sadly I think V8's are becoming a thing of the past, jeez even f1 cars are hybrids now. Before we know it internal combustion engines will be a thing of the past.
then whoa, differences"
Luckily, it seems muscle is still poular, and even the import companies are still offering nasty power in their V8's.
I LOVE your signature!
Signed, Me. -
TerraFirma69 — 10 years ago(May 05, 2015 05:14 PM)
I also watch 'Flight' just to hear John Goodman say to the nurse (referring to her in the third person), "She's offended. She should be, I'm a pig". Just so beautifully delivered. It might be my next signature when I'm sick of this one.
then whoa, differences -
DonVito25 — 10 years ago(May 18, 2015 08:26 AM)
In Road Warrior I remember someone referring to Max's car as the "last V8 Interceptor", so maybe they meant that when they said "the last of the V8s" in the original movie, as all the other Interceptors around were probably not V8.
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mobocracy — 10 years ago(May 15, 2015 01:18 PM)
The only reason forced induction V8s are so expensive is that the only cars that have them are super expensive luxury cars, like AMG Mercedes S class, Bentley and so on.
I don't think as a technology, a forced induction V8 is necessarily that expensive considering the number of cars that have forced induction V6s and 4 cylinder engines. -
GatorMouth — 11 years ago(November 10, 2014 11:29 AM)
I take the car to have been built from salvaged parts "a piece from here, a piece from there".
The V8 351 Cleveland was really no more technologically advanced than any other standard push rod V8 engine. even the supercharger is old technology for that car.
the weiand supercharger is an aftermarket part. you can put it on just about any V8 of similar size with the right manifold, distributor, and compression ratio to get good power.
having watched it again since the OP I made a few weeks ago I am thinking that its possible that they didn't even build the engine, they took the engine in one piece from a different car and put it in the Falcon. if they were living in a time of limited resources they would not be able to just "find" proper pistons rings and rods on a crankshaft that would take the supercharger.
if the engine was already built and in a wrecked car they could take it because the hard part was done.
I am not saying my theory is right, it's just how I see it.
the guy at the junk yard with the used tires he offered Max, "I don't know where I got em, but I got em" makes me think that scavenging for car parts from the wrecks on the highways, is pretty common. -
paulhfromthedeep — 11 years ago(November 10, 2014 11:01 PM)
Yeah its deliberately vague. I know that the ACTUAL engines in real life are largely comparable, but within the 'movie lore' the suggestion is that there is something final and special about this last one. The last and the best. I think theres a risk of interpreting it too closely to what we now actually know of the engines of the time. As such its a sorta 'parallel universe' sort of movie. And yeah, scavenging has now become the norm. I actually live about 30-40 ks from Fat Nancy's (the roadhouse Goose started from), I know its a bit of a wreck but I might pop up there and take some photos.
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tenantennae — 11 years ago(December 02, 2014 02:17 PM)
You are correct; The line means it is just the last of the MFP Interceptors outfitted with a V8. This is confirmed in Mad Max 2 when the mechanic at the compound gushes "The last of the V8 Interceptors!"
