5 'Car Movies' You Have to See

What would the movies be without cars? There’d be no dramatic chases… fewer climactic explosions… and a lot more endless scenes of people just… walking around.

While certain films depend on cars, like the Fast & Furious franchise, there are plenty of others that celebrate automobiles in less obvious ways.

Below, Team Lemonade shares some of our favorite ‘car movies,’ from the kid-friendly to the plain bizarre… and we take a look at how a Lemonade Car policy might (or might not) apply.

Speed Racer (2008)

“Who doesn’t love an underdog story? Speed Racer has it all: adventure, intrigue, danger, explosions, an evil collective trying to ruin something pure, teamwork, mystery, a pet monkey, a hero we can all get behind… plus the Mach 5.

There’s the excitement of Formula 1 racing combined with technology you would expect to find in an Inspector Gadget cartoon. Who hasn’t dreamed of having the ability to push a button and have your car be able to jump clean over the car in front of you?”
—Dillon Topal, Senior CX Manager (Car)

INSURANCE FACTCHECK: Our dear Speed Racer would be a little stuck. Lemonade Car doesn’t cover high-performance vehicles, nor do we cover cars used for racing, or damage caused by an intentional act (like smashing a competing vehicle into a wall). 

Titane (2021)

“Girl gets in car accident. Girl has a metal plate inserted into her head, and develops a strange erotic affinity for automobiles. Girl grows up and becomes a woman who earns her living as an exotic dancer who writhes on the hood of muscle cars. Woman goes on a murderous rampage for little apparent reason, and then eventually disguises herself as a young boy and gets herself adopted by a fireman who—

You know what? Let’s not get bogged down in the NSFW plot here. Suffice it to say that this French film is one of the most viscerally strange ‘car movies’ ever made. If you’re not down to watch someone in delirious sexual abandon with a car—later becoming, um, literally auto-impregnated and lactating motor oil—you’ll probably want to sit this one out.”
—Scott Indrisek, Editorial Lead

INSURANCE FACTCHECK: If you’re experiencing any of the things that occur in this film, no amount of coverage is going to help very much. 

Sorcerer (1977)

“Sorcerer is really a crown jewel in the Golden Age of 1970s cinema; it couldn’t be made today. The film’s about a group of desperate men who’ve escaped to an undisclosed, poverty-stricken region of the Dominican Republic and are given the task of transporting hundreds of pounds of unstable explosive through hundreds of miles of treacherous jungle terrain as a list ditch effort to extinguish an oil well fire—which is exactly where my mind goes when I see a car on the highway sporting a ‘baby on board’ sticker.  

Come for the white-knuckle suspense, gorgeous locations and ‘70s grit, stay for the three-minute montage of our heroes fixing up a batch of abandoned trucks, with Tangerine Dream’s perfect score…”
—Patrick Daly, CX Homeowner Sr. Expert

INSURANCE FACTCHECK: Unfortunately, our heroes would be out of luck when it comes to basic car insurance here. First of all, Lemonade Car doesn’t extend beyond the US. Secondly, this high-risk gig is a paid job, which means they’re driving for business purposes. And lastly, “car blew up due to the bombs in the backseat” is not a covered peril. 

Cars 2 (2011)

“Forget everything you thought you knew about the original Cars, because the game has changed: It’s now a spy thriller. Moreover, Cars 2 features a number of details that may seem nothing more than surface-level visual gags, but give way to a rabbit hole of bizarre lore about the Cars-verse. For example, a Pope Car makes a brief cameo appearance, but this begs questions such as: does this mean there’s car Christianity? Was there a car Jesus, and if so, what make and model was car Jesus? Was there a car Crusades? 

The film’s hero, Sir Tow Mater SG, lives in a junkyard surrounded by car parts. But since cars are sentient in this universe, is this the car equivalent of living amongst human body parts? Am I thinking entirely too hard about a family-friendly cartoon marketed towards kids? Probably. But questions like these are enough to keep you up at night.”
—Natalie Kriz, CX Specialist

INSURANCE FACTCHECK: Custom parts are only covered up to a total of $1,000. Regardless, the modifications in Cars 2—including jet packs and/or missile launchers—would not be eligible. 

Christine (1983)

“Look, no one is saying that Christine is the best John Carpenter film (unless you think that, then it’s totally cool and you’re absolutely right), but it is the best Carpenter film about a sentient, murderous 1958 Plymouth Fury that loves to hunt down and crush greasers to death.

This one’s for anyone that ironically named their red 2002 Toyota Camry ‘Hellraiser.’ That’s me, I’m that person.”
—Matt Morris, Insurance Operations Senior Associate.

INSURANCE FACTCHECK: Intentional acts of destruction or violence are not covered by car insurance. And if your ride is possessed by a malevolent spirit, Lemonade won’t cover the cost of vehicular exorcism (we can’t speak for State Farm). 

Honorable mention

Jean-Luc Godard’s 1967 film Weekend includes what’s likely the longest tracking shot of a multi-car pile-up in the history of cinema. We’d hate to be doing the claims paperwork for this one…