Wheels: Goldfinger

There are all kinds of custom movie and television cars, and most belong to the heroes. Crime fighters like Batman had the unmistakable Batmobile. People of my generation can relate to a red Ferrari 308 GTS, a 1969 Dodge Charger aka the General Lee, and a black Pontiac Firebird complete with flashing lights and built-in AI before there was such a thing. For many, the cars were arguably more entertaining than the stars.

Super spy James Bond — I dare you to read it without saying “Bond, James Bond” in a Bond actors’ voice, my choice is Sean Connery — always seemed to have a gadget laden hot rod that, despite all that British ingenuity, still seemed to only delay Bond’s inevitable capture and attempt to eradicate 007 from the game in some outlandish way. Fans will surely envision the classic Aston Martin DB5 from the 1964 film "Goldfinger," but that’s not the focus of this column.