Dallas Drives: the cars used in the series

[Lastkidpicked]

Jock's Lincoln - although it perhaps looks dated now - did have considerable presence.

.
This car was a perfect Jock car. If you weren't around at the time, I'll describe it the best I can:

You are a man of means. Successful and confident. You want a car that shows your status in the world.

Do you drive a Corvette? No, that is for people on the way up-- but you've already arrived.

Do you buy an expensive European car like Mark Graison drove? Don't be silly. Those guys are trying too hard and that is simply not your style.

So, how about a loaded up Cadillac? Hmm... interesting, but no. You don't want a car that flaunts your wealth. You are successful enought that you don't NEED to impress people.

The fine and expensive car for a person of success is the same as a fine cologne. It doesn't jump out at you-- it waits to be noticed.

Just look Jock's Lincoln. Everything about it says "success". The hidden headlights hinting at technology baked into the car. The long hood hinting at the power on tap. The big grill, charging through the wind. Even the turn signals look like expensive coach lights, inviting you to look, but not quite inviting you inside.

Wait! That car is long, wide, and handsome. But a two door? Why, of course! No reason for the owner to sit in the back seat to be chauffeured around. A man of this much power prefers to drive himself.

Oh, yes. In Texas a man like Jock would drive a Lincoln and nothing less.

 

[Michelle Stevens]

.
This car was a perfect Jock car. If you weren't around at the time, I'll describe it the best I can:

You are a man of means. Successful and confident. You want a car that shows your status in the world.

Do you drive a Corvette? No, that is for people on the way up-- but you've already arrived.

Do you buy an expensive European car like Mark Graison drove? Don't be silly. Those guys are trying too hard and that is simply not your style.

So, how about a loaded up Cadillac? Hmm... interesting, but no. You don't want a car that flaunts your wealth. You are successful enought that you don't NEED to impress people.

The fine and expensive car for a person of success is the same as a fine cologne. It doesn't jump out at you-- it waits to be noticed.

Just look Jock's Lincoln. Everything about it says "success". The hidden headlights hinting at technology baked into the car. The long hood hinting at the power on tap. The big grill, charging through the wind. Even the turn signals look like expensive coach lights, inviting you to look, but not quite inviting you inside.

Wait! That car is long, wide, and handsome. But a two door? Why, of course! No reason for the owner to sit in the back seat to be chauffeured around. A man of this much power prefers to drive himself.

Oh, yes. In Texas a man like Jock would drive a Lincoln and nothing less.

Very good points indeed! Lincoln Mark V's were classy cars. One wonders what Jock would have been driving if he had lived to the end of the original series in 1991.

 

[Swami]

The worst cars during the show's run had to be the car Sue Ellen stole at the end of season 2, and Mark Graison's truly awful vehicle - how John Beck drove that with a straight face I'll never know.

Swami

 

[Lastkidpicked]

One wonders what Jock would have been driving if he had lived to the end of the original series in 1991.

This is the 1991 version of Jock's Lincoln. I can picture him driving it.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Mark Graison's truly awful vehicle - how John Beck drove that with a straight face I'll never know.

And this is exactly what's wrong with the later seasons. They wanted to establish that Mark Graison was rich so they had him in that rediculous car. WE UNDERSTAND THAT HE IS RICH. Trust your audience, writers.

 

[Michelle Stevens]

The worst cars during the show's run had to be the car Sue Ellen stole at the end of season 2, and Mark Graison's truly awful vehicle - how John Beck drove that with a straight face I'll never know.

Swami

I remember that brown Pontiac Le Mans with the keys in the ignition that Sue Ellen stole during her drunken attempt to escape the sanatorium.

I agree, Mark Graison's Zimmer was hideous. Neo-classic autos had a niche market in the 1980's but look really garish today.

 

[Michelle Stevens]

This is the 1991 version of Jock's Lincoln. I can picture him driving it.

Agreed! Carter McKay also drove the 1990-1997 generation Town Car during his time. I could see Jock doing the same.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Nice pic, Michelle Stevens. A perfect car for Carter Mckay.

So, many of you know that I do TV and movie lighting and I'm very much a geek about behind the scenes stuff. In fact, I drive my friends crazy by freezing a scene, or backing it up a million times when a behind-the-scenes issue pops up. Here are some things that I think are cool.

The Dukes of Hazzard shared a back lot with Dallas, and occasionally the producers would borrow cars from the Dukes lot:

Uncle Jesse's truck from Dukes of Hazzard driven by Wes Parmalee

Boss Hogg's Cadillac from Dukes of Hazzard parked in front of Southfork

Hazzard County 1977 Dodge Monoco with Braddock County decals

.

 

[Swami]

I always thought JR should have stayed with the Mercedes S-class although by 1990/91 the S-class of that era was not the finest, it looked bulky and ungainly. So I can understand why they ended up with JR in the Cadillac.

Swami

 

[Lastkidpicked]

So I can understand why they ended up with JR in the Cadillac.

You can tell that this was all filmed before product placement was such a big thing. Today, all of the cars would be Cadillacs, or Lincolns, or Mercedes.

 

[Bill Dilks]

Sue Ellen
"EWING 2"




Mercury Marquis Colony Park
1975+ model
Seen in: Mini-Series

Mercury Marquis Colony Park
1975+ model
Seen in: Season One

Ford LTD Country Squire
1979+ model
Seen in: Season Two

Mercury Marquis Colony Park
1979+ model
Seen in: Season Three

​

On the old Dallas chat site, we used call this wood-panelled car the Swellen Baggin' Wagon.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

I always figured Miss Ellie drove a ‘Ewing 2’ wagon, of course earlier models than what we saw Sue Ellen drive, until the point when Bobby was no longer a little kid.

Sometime after that, after Sue Ellen had been married to JR and living on Southfork for a while, she was expected to carry on the ‘Ewing 2 wagon’ tradition - to cart around the next generation of Ewing heirs, which of course were expected to start arriving as soon as possible, certainly not 7+ years into the marriage.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Do you buy an expensive European car like Mark Graison drove? Don't be silly. Those guys are trying too hard and that is simply not your style.

I don't picture Jock driving a car like Mark had either. I can picture him driving a Mercedes-Benz though. What do you think? Is there a specific reason Jock wouldn't have wanted a Mercedes?

And this is exactly what's wrong with the later seasons. They wanted to establish that Mark Graison was rich so they had him in that rediculous car. WE UNDERSTAND THAT HE IS RICH. Trust your audience, writers.

Mark had his own jet too. The Ewings only had a helicopter. Do you think they just didn't think they had any need for a jet?

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

.
This car was a perfect Jock car. If you weren't around at the time, I'll describe it the best I can:

You are a man of means. Successful and confident. You want a car that shows your status in the world.

Do you drive a Corvette? No, that is for people on the way up-- but you've already arrived.

Do you buy an expensive European car like Mark Graison drove? Don't be silly. Those guys are trying too hard and that is simply not your style.

So, how about a loaded up Cadillac? Hmm... interesting, but no. You don't want a car that flaunts your wealth. You are successful enought that you don't NEED to impress people.

The fine and expensive car for a person of success is the same as a fine cologne. It doesn't jump out at you-- it waits to be noticed.

Just look Jock's Lincoln. Everything about it says "success". The hidden headlights hinting at technology baked into the car. The long hood hinting at the power on tap. The big grill, charging through the wind. Even the turn signals look like expensive coach lights, inviting you to look, but not quite inviting you inside.

Wait! That car is long, wide, and handsome. But a two door? Why, of course! No reason for the owner to sit in the back seat to be chauffeured around. A man of this much power prefers to drive himself.

Oh, yes. In Texas a man like Jock would drive a Lincoln and nothing less.

interestingly, they changed up the cars a bit from the original pilot script. I'm not sure if it was out of necessity or a shrewd producer, but I really think, as you've laid out that they absolutely nailed it!

For instance, in the script Bobby had a 'Caddy' and Jock had a 'Fleetwood', which is not at all far off from the Lincoln Mark. I thought Bobby's red Mercedes convertible in particular was absolutely perfect for a young 'playboy' type who'd grown up with money and would have been more open to a foreign car than his dad, being more refined and 'worldly', but not nearly as flashy in nature as a Mark Graison. I think Mark's car was likely chosen as a prop to dazzle the newly nouveau-riche and forever tacky Cliff rather than as what someone like Mark would have actually driven day-to-day.

http://thetelevisionpilot.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Dallas.pdf

(who would have been officially in charge of picking out and obtaining the cars for a show like this in those days?)

 

[Lastkidpicked]

I don't picture Jock driving a car like Mark had either. I can picture him driving a Mercedes-Benz though. What do you think? Is there a specific reason Jock wouldn't have wanted a Mercedes?

A conservative Mercedes would have fit, but Mark's car would not be Jock's style. Can you imagine the ribbing that Jock would take from Punk Anderson if he showed up at the Cattleman's club in Mark's Zimmer?

Mark had his own jet too. The Ewings only had a helicopter. Do you think they just didn't think they had any need for a jet?

I'm glad you brought this up, because it was one of the subtle ways the writers were showing the difference between "old money" and "new money" in Texas.

Bobby rode bronc horses. Mark rode polo ponies. Old money vs. new.

Bobby drove a Mercedes. Mark drove a Zimmer. Old money vs. new.

Mark flies around the world, the true definition of a care free jet-setter. Bobby uses his helicopter to scout oil fields. New money vs. Old.

So it makes perfect sense that the Ewings would have a helicopter and the Graisons would have a jet.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

For instance, in the script Bobby had a 'Caddy' and Jock had a 'Fleetwood' which is not at all far off from Jock's Mark

You'll notice the early cars are all Ford products, especially Sue Ellen's much maligned wood paneled station wagons.

It reminds me of when Ford sponsored Charlie's Angels. The bad guys drove Chevys.

http://thetelevisionpilot.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Dallas.pdf

Thank you for posting the above link, Taylor! Very cool.

 

[Billy Wall]

This confused me too, but I came up with a rational explanation which also explains why Sue Ellen drove an estate car and fits in with your logic about who would have which plate:

What if - in the early days of the show - "EWING 2" was Miss Ellie's car? Miss Ellie never drove at that point, so Sue Ellen - as the dutiful daughter-in-law - drove Miss Ellie anywhere. It does seem like the kind of car Ellie would have chosen: practical, no nonsense and able to take her over the Southworth land.

By the time Ellie was seen driving, Jock had died so she got "EWING 1". In other words Sue Ellen got that plate by default.

As to why Sue Ellen drove Miss Ellie, I've decided it was mostly at JR's insistence to ensure Sue Ellen was always occupied and he knew where she'd be (I think that was implied in scenes showing the day-to-day routines in the Mini-Series). But perhaps it also showed Sue Ellen's desire for status in hopeful preparation for becoming the reigning queen of Southfork in the long term. That plate must have seemed like a real prize to her.

That makes a lot of sense. Sue Ellen even considered herself Ewing number 2 until Miss Ellie corrected her.

But considering Sue Ellen liked the finer things in life, I just can’t see her willingly driving around in some old station wagon.

 

[Michelle Stevens]

I always wondered why Clayton ditched his Rolls-Royce for a Cadillac Seville in the later seasons. This was about the time JR had the Allanté so General Motors must have had some pull.

 

[Bill Dilks]

I always wondered why Clayton ditched his Rolls-Royce for a Cadillac Seville in the later seasons. This was about the time JR had the Allanté so General Motors must have had some pull.

I remember seeing that as he arrived at Ray's house once or twice, maybe s07 s08. Watching s11 he's driving the rolls. Again, one of the many things that falls through the cracks...

 

[Lastkidpicked]

@Bill Dilks @Taylor Bennett Jr. @Kenny Coyote @Billy Wall

See if you can guess who is driving this particular Texas ride.