Cars in literature

Whisky might have been involved, the fire burned low and the dog had gone to his bed. It was at this witching time that my brother posed the question: what are the best cars in literature? Not the stuff written by us hacks, you understand, but in novels, written by real writers…

So, settle back, then. Another log? Perhaps a splash more…

Greatest disappointment? There’s no car chase of any description in Bullitt.  Not a single sign of a Mustang versus Charger duel over San Francisco’s precipitous hills. In Robert L Pike’s hard-boiled 1963 novel (published as Mute Witness), Frank Bullitt is called Lieutenant Clancy and mostly takes cabs, only occasionally driving his own worn-out car. It took the intervention of Hollywood in 1968 and British director Peter Yates, together with a fastback Ford Mustang, a Dodge Charger and an economy-size box of hubcaps to make the greatest-ever movie car chase.