Speed channel/Behind...lights, James Dean & Porche

[Broman]

Anyone see this last night (kinda late)?

I wasn't going to watch but nothing else was on at the time so I did. It was pretty cool. James Dean was a true RULER(tm). He had speed in his blood and he had the time and money to enjoy it. He died in his car at high speed on his favorite stretch of road. What else could be more fitting? It was tragic, true, but if he could have died any way he wanted I bet it would have been in his car.....

I was most impressed by how short his movie career was (life too as it turned out). But moreso how big an impression he left on everyone in that brief amount of time.

Porche wouldn't be the same company it is today without him I bet. He helped start the hype for the compact light-weight racer. If he hadn't been interested in those cars, the craze may not have taken off, and Porche could not have rode on the back of his popularity. It was because of him that so many people wanted in on these little rockets.

Legend....

[Broman]

Ohh the program was called Behind the Headlights, James Dean and Porche

Or someting to that likeness...

[BELLM]

I saw it, seems like they could have done same show in half the time. Cool looking shoebox he hit. Made me wonder about wisdom of having a small silver colored car, really couldn't see it too good, esp @ speed he was going. Wonder if the wrecked Porsche, owned by George Barris, will ever turn up?

[Tony]

Last i read, many of the parts that were still salvagable were sold to racers back then. A doctor bought the transmission from it, and it was traced using the numbers stamped on the case.
Somewhere around here i have a bunch of books on James Dean. In them theres a lot of info on the wreck.
The remains of the car itself have been missing for years though. Nobody know's what happened to it.
I've always been interested in the whole 'James Dean' story. Even made the trip to Fairmount Indiana back in '95
Thanks for the heads up on Speed Channel. i gotta see if it's going to be on again.

It's funny, i bought a 911 porsche when i turned 21..My only ineterst in Porsche's at first was because he had one. I wanted to know what they were about. It actually was a really fun, fast little car!!
And i still, at some point will build a replica of the car he died in..no mater how dumb that sounds.
I even borrowed the name "Little Bastard"..it's painted on the roof of my '33 pick up above the rear window.
Yeah, i need help..never said i was 'right' http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Rat........

[metalshapes]

I haven't seen the program and I don't think I will...
Probably the same old story done by a different narrator.
If you want to see an interesting twist on that story, go see the movie "Crash".
I have read that James Dean had bought a Lotus Eleven, but it arrived to late, he was already dead...
How different history would have been, if he had gotten killed in that...
Or would it?
Maybe not, Porsche has made a name for itself by being very succesfull in racing for a very long time.
Lotus has been too, but I dont think the streets would be filled with Lotuses instead of Porsches if James Dean had died in one.