Written by Don Logay

Hollywood stars and their famous rides are forever intertwined with one another all throughout the annals of television and motion pictures.

 Say “Hi Ho Silver” and the Lone Ranger poised on his white stallion comes to mind. Roy Rogers rode “Happy Trails” on Trigger and Hollywood’s first big cowboy star, Tom Mix, galloped across the silver screen in 1909 riding his talented wonder-horse Tony.

But these were simply “one-horsepower” co-stars. A second generation of memorable rides came soon after in the form of lovable four-wheeled “beaters” – like the piled-high scruffy 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 Roadster in the “Beverly Hillbillies” and the torn-and-tattered 1959 Peugeot 403 convertible driven by “Columbo.” 

However, it didn’t take long for Hollywood to begin teaming up stars with cool rides that sometimes actually stole the show… like the red 1961 Ferrari 250 GT in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the 1969 Dodge Charger (General 01) in the “Dukes of Hazard” and the hot road-racing 1977 Pontiac Firebird in “Smokey and the Bandit.” 

Then came the era of “super rides”… that blazed across the screen and took star cars to a new level. Who could forget Steven McQueen’s car chase through the streets of San Francisco behind the wheel of his 1968 Ford Mustang GT-390 Fastback in “Bullitt”… or Sean Connery fending off SPECTRE in his specially-equipped 1964 Aston Martin DB5 (with machine guns, rotating license plates and awesome 007 spy gear) in “Goldfinger.”

These all were, however, still pretty much just “cars” – at least on the outside. The “best-of-the-best” was yet to come. Yes, Hollywood still had one more Ace up its sleeve.

SUPERSTAR CARS

Along with one-off custom oddities – like the “Batmobile” – came a few highly-modified, custom-purpose, extremely memorable super-cars that soon earned their place as the all-time “superstars” of Hollywood rides.

First, is the undisputable number-one biggest hit of them all… the tricked-out DeLorean “Time Machine” from “Back to the Future.” Film designers went all out to enhance both the sleek 1981 DeLorean DMC-12’s stainless-steel exterior and the compact two-seat interior with an incredible array of dreamed-up gadgetry that defies one’s imagination.

Photo Courtesy of Videobob Moseley

The exterior is draped in a maze of inexplicable wiring, tubing and electronic “stuff,” the rear features two mammoth exhausts to facilitate rapid time-travel acceleration and the interior (accessed by the dramatic gull-wing doors) is jam-packed with ooh-and-ahh push-button/flashing light electronics… including the all-time Grand Daddy of dreamed-up memorable Sci-Fi gizmos: the Flux Capacitor !

The second most popular and memorable movie car of all-time… is the ECTO-1 “Ectomobile” from “Ghostbusters.” Originally a fairly-rare 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Hearse/Ambulance, it too was thoroughly enhanced with all sorts of imagined equipment needed to combat and defeat unworldly entities. With flashing police lights, a distinctive red and white paint job and catchy Ghostbusters logo… the ECTO-1 was etched into the memory of movie-goers as the second-most beloved Hollywood car of all time.

Other less ostentatious, yet highly memorable and recognizable superstar cars, were the sleek black 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am “KITT car” from “Knightrider,” the gaudy 1963 yellow Cadillac Convertible (with cringe-worthy tiger upholstery) from “Scarface” and the beat-up, dusty 1974 Dodge Monaco Police Car seen in “Blues Brothers” to name but a few.

These famous automobiles, and numerous others, are seen as equal-billing co-stars along with the real-life actors that drove them… and in many cases, they actually outshined the lead characters around them. 

WHERE ARE THEY TODAY?

While the popularity of aging movie stars may fade, the interest in these iconic Hollywood rides not only remains – but continues to grow year-after-year – with fans flocking to see them whenever and wherever they appear.

Fortunately, many have been faithfully restored, preserved and lovingly cared for in famed automotive museums and by numerous private collectors. For example, both the original DeLorean Time Machine and ECTO-1 Ghostbusters Cadillac Hearse were rescued and fully restored to their initial movie premiere condition. 

The DeLorean Time Machine is now on display at the famed Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles and the Ghostbusters Hearse is on location at Sony Studios in Culver City, California.

But as they say in infomercials… “Wait, there’s more!”

These original superstar Hollywood rides are not only all-time fan favorites and big-time attention-getters… but they have also created a unique and surprising “secondary industry” of sorts.

Today, there are a handful of enterprising individuals around the country that specialize in faithfully “recreating” these iconic automobiles – in every respect – with no detail (no matter how miniscule) left undone. 

Photo Courtesy of Videobob Moseley

WHERE’S YOUR FLUX CAPACITOR?

One such leader in producing these top-to-bottom clone duplicates – referred to as “replicars” – is Robert “Videobob” Moseley, the creative mastermind behind a unique business that recreates these iconic movie cars for all to see and enjoy many times over.

He began this venture – and replicating Hollywood rides – quite by accident. Bob Moseley loves cars – all types of cars – and one of his early fascinations was with the flashy gull-wing doors of the DeLorean. So, when one became available for $15K in 2003, he bought it… and, while his dream car garnered attention wherever he went,

there was always the obvious accompanying question: “Hey McFly, where’s your Flux Capacitor?” 

After being asked this repeatedly, he decided to foil the inevitable with his accumulated  knowledge of electronics and set-out to build an authentic-looking “Flux Capacitor” for his DeLorean. 

While it drew great attention as intended, it also whetted Bob’s interest in further recreating and adding still more replicated Time Machine gadgetry. He began carefully researching and studying the DeLorean created for the movie… and even made numerous trips to Universal Studios in Hollywood to see and absorb all aspects of the original car.    

With each intricate facet faithfully reproduced… and expertly installed, one-by-one, both inside and out… he ultimately turned his POD (plain old DeLorean) into a dazzling show-stopping 2.0 superstar. 

He fired it up and dialed in a date… gizmos beeped, lights flashed, the speedometer hit 88 mph… and it was “On to the Future!”

SEND IN THE CLONES

Bob’s eye-catching DeLorean Time Machine garnered a lot of attention as he cruised the streets of Dallas/Fort Worth. So much so, that in 2004, Dallas Cowboy Quarterback, Roger Staubach, asked if he could rent it to promote his newly-formed real estate company. It was Bob’s first real commercial “gig” and use for his car.

That first DeLorean Time Machine was later sold to an entrepreneur in the toy business in 2009. Bob used some of the proceeds to open a small restaurant in downtown Dallas… and the rest went to funding the idea of possibly doing this as a business.

In 2010 Bob set-up shop in a small garage in suburban Dallas, Texas and – drawing on his extensive background in electronics, video production and gadgetry learned over the years (that earned him the nickname “Videobob”) – he began looking for a second DeLorean to reimagine… and, as they say, the rest is history.

As a result, and to date, he and his “Bob’s Prop Shop” crew have completed and sold an amazing total of 43 DeLorean Time Machines (for as much as $200,000 per car), as well as three authentically-restored Ghostbuster ECTO-1 Hearses, eight Knightrider KITT replicas and eight Blues Brothers movie cop cars… plus a copy of the yellow Scarface Caddy Convertible, a couple of A-Team trucks, two Scooby-Doo vans and a cool Jurassic Park Jeep reproduction… with over 100 “Star Cars” completed so far.

Bob’s Prop Shop was also featured as a reality TV series – called “Screen Machines” – which can be found on YouTube, along with hundreds of videos that chronicle his car-building experiences, that is currently followed by over 110,000 subscribers.

NEXT STOP LAS VEGAS

While the original “Bob’s Prop Shop” will continue in Dallas, his penchant for replicas now extends to creating a second production facility and personal residence on a newly-purchased expansive compound on the East side of Las Vegas. 

You may also start seeing his superstar Hollywood cars at local events around town, as his 43rd completed DeLorean Time Machine was recently on display at the Shelby Automotive Museum, just off the Strip, for the kick-off of the 2nd Annual Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance.

Robert “Videobob” Moseley is an interesting character… and easy to spot, with his shaved head, Fu Manchu Beard and signature black outfit with red suspenders… and while building these authentic recreations of iconic Hollywood rides is “his thing,” you just might also see him around town performing as a singer with his rock band – “Videobob and the Radio Stars.” 

Whether cruising down the Strip in an authentic DeLorean Time Machine or the eye-catching Ghostbuster ECTO-1 – or perhaps driving his silver Rolls-Royce – it’s apparent that, for Videobob Moseley (and others), recreating these fascinating iconic Hollywood rides is today a big-time, lucrative, booming business. Who knew?

As the sign says, “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas.” It’s your kind of town.