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Below is a list of U.S. Rent A Car’s top 7 car films. Please free to comment or add to the list.

1) American Graffiti (1973)

Director: George Lucas

Stars: ’32 Ford five-window, ’55 Chevy, ’58 Chevy

People: Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Charles Martin Smith,Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Candy Clark, and PaulLeMat

Why: The obvious choice. Despite all those Star Wars movies,American Graffiti is director George Lucas’ best film. Four friends incentral California face the future dusk-to-dawn one summer night in1962; cruising, hanging out, wreaking havoc, and ultimately streetracing. In 200 years people will still watch this movie to know what itmeant to grow up in an America obsessed with hot rods. And they’ll stillwant to drive Milner’s ’32 and Falfa’s ’55.

Look For: You know Milner is in trouble when he opens his car’sheaders.

Trivia: The license number on Milner’s car is “THX 138″ referringto Lucas’ first film, THX 1138.

2) Bullitt (1968)

Director: Peter Yates

Stars: ’68 Mustang GT 390, ’68 Charger

People: Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset

Why: The chase in Bullitt–the definitive movie car chase–hasbeen obsessed over for nearly 40 years and it still holds up. Sure, toomany hubcaps come off the Charger and McQueen upshifts the Mustang sooften he’d be in 16th gear by the end of the sequence, but it’sgroundbreaking film making and worth watching once a month. The moviealso has Bisset in her jaw-dropping prime and McQueen at his coolest.

Trivia: While McQueen did much of his own driving, it was CareyLoftin who piloted the Mustang during the hairiest stuff.

3) Smokey and The Bandit (1977)

Director: Hal Needham

Stars: ’77 Trans Am

People: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason

Why: For a certain generation, this is the definitive car movie.Reynolds is at his peak, Fields looks as good as she ever would, andJackie Gleason is funny as Sheriff Buford T. Justice. The plot? To go toTexarkana, Texas, pick up a load of Coors and return it to Atlanta,which was illegal back in 1977. The black Trans Am is iconic by now, andit lays out a coat of rubber every time it launches or turns.

Trivia: Smokey and the Bandit was the second-highest grossingfilm of 1977–behind Star Wars.

4> Gone In 60 Seconds (1974)

Director: H.B. Halicki

Star: ’73 Ford Mustang Mach 1

People: H.B. Halicki

Why: Halicki owned a wrecking yard in L.A.’s South Bay anddecided he wanted to be in the movie business. The result is amicro-budget movie whose story makes no sense and acting that makes any2x4 look like Sir Laurence Olivier. The movie also looks hideous. Butthe car chase goes on for something like 40 minutes with nearly 100 carswrecked. And it’s still better than the big-bucks remake released in 2000.

5) The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Stars: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel

Star cars: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Toyota Supra, Honda Civic, Mazda RX-7, Dodge Charger R/T, Volkswagen Jetta

The story: Cop goes undercover in L.A.’s import street-race scene to bust a ring of electronics thieves.

Why it works: It pushed the burgeoning import car culture into the mainstream. The cars were a little cartoonish but earned street cred for having been built by actual import tuners. It’s best during bumpin’ nighttime street races, even though we’ve never seen as much neon at a real import show. As unbelievable as the race and chase sequences are, they’re still pretty cool.

Quote: “I live my life a quarter-mile at a time.”

6) Cars (2006)

Stars: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Richard Petty

Star car: Porsche Carrera, Hudson Hornet, Willys MB, Ford Model T, Volkswagen microbus

The story: Racecar hotshot finds himself off the beaten track and learning life lessons from a bunch of small-towners. Did we mention they’re all cars?

Why it works: Tire crumbs flying and roof flaps opening prove this was animated by gearheads. Sharp-eared viewers will dig the insider cameos.

Quote: “Turn right to go left! Guess what? I tried it, and you know what, this crazy thing happened. I went right!”

7) The Blues Brothers (1980)

Stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd

Star car: The Bluesmobile — 1974 Dodge Monaco

The story: The Brothers raise money to save their childhood orphanage and put their old rhythm-and-blues band back together. Why? They’re on a mission from God.

Why it works: Is there any other movie with as much vehicular carnage? Maybe over-the-top stunts go on too long, but you’ve been talking about them driving through that mall for years, haven’t you? And the music isn’t bad either.

Quote: “It’s got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant; it’s got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It’s a model made before catalytic converters so it’ll run good on regular gas. What do you say — is it the new Bluesmobile or what?”

Troubled US carmakers GM and Chrysler have asked the US government for another $21.6bn (?15.2bn) in support, on top of the $17.4bn already received.

The auto giants also plan to axe 47,000 and 3,000 jobs respectively, as well as shedding a number of car models.

The moves form part of their drastic restructuring plans submitted to the US Treasury Department on Tuesday night.

It came as the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reached agreement with GM, Chrysler and Ford on contract changes.

The UAW is one of a number of stakeholders whose agreement is needed before the proposed plans can be pushed through.

Plant closures

General Motors said it would try to borrow up to $16.6bn more from the government, on top of the $13.4bn it has already received.

Its plan includes cutting 47,000 jobs and closing five more US factories, with about 26,000 of the cuts taking place outside the US

The job cuts would take place by the end of 2009 and are the largest work force reduction announced by a US firm in the current downturn.

GM has also put its Saab business up for sale, and “given the urgency of stemming sizeable cash demands associated with Saab operations” is requesting Swedish government financial support prior to any sale.

However, on Wednesday the country’s Enterprise and Energy Minister Maud Olofsson told Swedish public radio that “voters picked me because they wanted nursery schools, police and nurses, and not to buy loss-making car factories”.

GM says that it could be in profit within two years and fully repay its loans by 2017.

‘Lot of work’

In December, GM had said it would cut the number of plants from 47 in 2008 to 38 by 2012, but has now said a further five factories will be shut, which would leave it with 33 facilities.

The carmaker’s brands would also be reduced from eight to four – Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner said the company’s plan was “comprehensive, responsive, achievable and flexible”.

“We have a lot of work in front of us, but I am confident it will result in a profitable General Motors,” he added.

Models cut

The plan came after Chrysler, which was given a $4bn loan by the US government at the end of 2008, revealed its own survival plan.

Chrysler has asked for another $5bn funding, and plans to cut 3,000 posts.

The firm will also cut three car models in 2009 – the Chrysler Aspen and PT Cruiser, and the Dodge Durango.

Unveiling its proposals, Chrysler said it now expected the current downturn in the US car market to last another three years.

The US’s third-biggest carmaker said its radical surgery had the support of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, dealers, and suppliers.

The UAW said it had also reached tentative agreement with Ford and General Motors to help cut those firms’ labour costs.

Chrysler also said it planned to cut outstanding debt by $5bn and reduce fixed costs by $700m in 2009.

Analyst Lincoln Merrihew, of TNS Automotive Consulting, said: “I’m curious to see how the government responds to this plan, but Chrysler has said all the right things.”

Union talks

GM confirmed last week it would be cutting 10,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2009. About 3,400 jobs will go in the US under GM’s initial restructuring plan submitted to the government last December.

The US Treasury will be studying the survival plans for several weeks before making a decision whether to call in or extend the loans. The decision is due by the end of March.

GM and Chrysler received their first bail-outs at the end of last year, warning that without the support they risked financial ruin.

Ford, the third of the “Big Three” US carmakers, has yet to require any bail-outs, but says it may need funds in the future.

GM, Ford and Chrysler have all seen sales fall sharply in their home market.

While this decline reflects an industry-wide fall that has also hit European and Japanese carmakers in the US, the Big Three have also been criticised for not offering an attractive range of vehicles.

It is argued they have been too slow in responding to the growing popularity of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

‘Expertise’

Meanwhile, it has been reported that US President Barack Obama has decided to create a new car task force, designed to restructure the struggling industry.

However, no formal announcement has been made so far.

According to Obama administration officials, the force is an alternative idea to the option of a single “car czar” with far reaching powers.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and top presidential economic aide Lawrence Summers are said to head the multi-agency operation.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the task force would provide “a vast amount of expertise that crosses a number of governmental agencies and departments”.

The Detroit carmakers are considered to be too big to fail, as their collapse would trigger serious problems for suppliers, dealers and other businesses, potentially resulting in massive job cuts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7893574.stm