Summary

Jason Barlow (X; Biography) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the iconic James Bond vehicles. Jason is the longstanding editor-at-large at Top Gear.


What You’ll Learn

Intelligence


  • How the “Bond car” phenomenon came to be

  • Ian Fleming’s love for cars

  • The different “nationalities” of Bond cars

  • What it’s like to be behind the wheel of some of these iconic cars 

Reflections


  • The making of pop culture

  • The “personality” of cars

And much, much more …


Quotes of the Week

“Something strange happens in popular culture, where worlds kind of collide and cars assume these sorts of statuses far in excess of what they're actually doing in the movies. I find it fascinating as a process. Nobody can predict how these things are going to go and it's wonderful when these things do happen.” – Jason Barlow.


Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

Spotlight Resource 


  • Bond Cars: The Definitive History, Jason Barlow (BBC Books, 2021)

SpyCasts

Beginner Resources

DEEPER DIVE

Cars Mentioned

Wildcard Resource


  • “Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz …”

  • We’ve now firmly established that film can immortalize cars for decades to come. Well, it’s the same in music – Think “Little Red Corvette” by Prince, or “Ol’ 55” by Tom Waits. Perhaps one of the most iconic cars in music is Janis Joplin’s 1964 psychedelic Porsche, now remembered fondly through her 1971 song “Mercedes Benz.” 

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