Paul Feig, director of the upcoming Ghostbusters movie, tweeted out a few pictures of the revamped Ecto-1 that the lady Ghostbusters will drive. It’s, uh, a lot different than the old one.
-- -#whattheygonnadrive http://pic.twitter.com/bBLEhrfTEQ
-— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) July 8, 2015
Even to someone who hasn’t memorized the entire Ghostbusters canon, this is very obviously a completely different animal from the iconic 1959 Cadillac ambulance that was the vehicular star of the original 1984 movie. For reference:
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Stylistically, the two vehicles couldn’t be further apart: The original Ecto-1 was the automotive embodiment of 1950s swagger, loaded down with chrome and sporting tail fins that looked like they came off a NASA experiment.
-- -@szewcik_james Okay. http://pic.twitter.com/sHkx1Soj6p
-— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) July 8, 2015
The new Ecto-1, a 1989 Cadillac Brougham (you can tell by the grille), is a design study of 1980s fashion: Slab-sided, right-angled, with a minimum of chrome and definitely no two-foot tail fins.
-Some fans, of course, are freaking out. The original Ecto-1 was a deft choice in the 1984 movie—a wacky and offbeat machine running through gritty 1980s New York City outfitted in hilariously untrendy Happy Days style. As with just about every other aspect of this reboot, some people are taking the changes made to Ecto-1 as an affront on their childhood icon.
-- - -Not blocking or deleting. I hear you all and appreciate all your input, good or bad. Thanks. https://t.co/pxZsWGeNyL
-— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) July 8, 2015
Here’s the thing: The way we look at a 1959 Cadillac today is very different from how it looked in 1984, when it flashed across the screen in the original Ghostbusters. Today, it’s a 1950s icon, a rare and highly collectible vehicle that’s coveted as a symbol of postwar jet-age flair.
-But back in 1984, the Ghostbusters weren’t driving around in a prized collector car. Their big-bodied Caddy was just a 25-year-old jalopy. Just look closely at how it blazed across the screen in that movie; it was a rusty, crusty old clunker, spewing smoke and wallowing around turns as if it were one flat tire away from the scrap heap.
- -In that sense, maybe a 1989 Cadillac is a more logical choice than you’d first expect. Like the original Ecto-1 was in 1984, this new Ghostbusters ride is basically just a junky old car whose collector value is essentially zero, and whose styling is too old to be cool but too new to be considered classic.
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Yes, it’s different. Yes, Paul Feig is messing around with the Ghostbusters you knew and loved and memorized and quoted throughout your childhood. Will it work? We’ll have to wait until the movie’s release on July 22, 2016, to find out.
-This story originally appeared on roadandtrack.com.
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