I was recently contacted by a member of the RPF who had read about our exploits with the original Sony Ecto at Cinema Vehicle Services back in December of 2010. He was curious if I knew where the car was now and how one might go about visiting it. I told him what I knew from clues like Twitpic updates, which was that the E1 was stored at CVS until sometime in the spring of 2011, when it was moved back to Sony and stored near one of their offices.
So the E1 is now outside. In the sun. Again.
But, at least it has company!
That’s right, the Ecto-1 is now stored next to one of the showier versions of the Black Beauty from The Green Hornet. I’m almost positive that this is the touring version used for display at SDCC.
So yeah, for those of you wondering, there it is. It doesn’t look like it’s secured at all, just sitting out there. Anyone who can wander the Sony Lot can probably just walk right up to it.
E1A was repo-ed by Sony after restoration had started, so my guess is that it is partially disassembled, with all the rack parts shoved inside it, in storage somewhere.
Okay, so I know that movie props are regarded by studios as just that – props. A means to an end, throwaways. But seriously, with all the money that is spent creating, and in the case of E1, restoring these cars, does it really make any sense to let them rot?
These people need a lesson in taking care of their shit. There was a time when if you owned something, there was pride in taking care of it. This is the Hollywood equivalent of the classic car rusted out on blocks in a redneck’s front yard.
This is the same car they spent all that time and resource on totally refurbishing? The one they did the short doc on for the blu-ray? That’s boggling to me.
No, I didn’t mean it like we snuck in…I meant it like nobody besides 5 or 6 people knew about the whole plan. Yes Borz, I will call you next time to make sure you can come
I was at Sony last week on the tour and that’s exactly where the Ecto was, next to the BB. I simply asked to see the Ecto and the awesome guide said it was no problem and I took a bunch of photos.
Apart from the tape around the windshield and the missing dome she seems to be in pretty good condition still.
Oh and Boomer you were right when you said she doesn’t look secured…the doors weren’t even locked.
Here’s some photos I snapped on Monday (02 July 12) when I went on the Sony tour. The tour guide didn’t say much about the cars, just “here are some famous movie cars”.
