A Look At The 1979 Chevy Monte Carlo 'Training Day Car'
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo has been featured prominently in many movies and television shows, from "Trailer Park Boys" and "Breaking Bad" to several of the "Fast & Furious" films. Late '70s models, in particular, have a long hood, sweeping lines, and crisp angles, making them particularly camera-friendly. The Monte Carlo's use in NASCAR also earned many television and movie roles, including in "Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby" and the 2018 drama "God Bless the Broken Road."
Its powerful engine and race-ready suspension also made it popular with police forces, including undercover officers like the ones portrayed by Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in the 2001 buddy cop movie "Training Day."
Washington won that year's Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Alonzo Harris, a detective who habitually reaches outside the bounds of traditional police procedure. In the film, he shows rookie detective Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) his ethically compromised policing style, which includes dosing Hoyt with PCP and stealing money from drug dealers. The two spend much of the film driving around Los Angeles in a black 1979 Monte Carlo that features a hydraulic suspension that Harris uses to raise and lower the car.
The Monte Carlo was stolen during production
When Hoyt first lays eyes on the Monte Carlo, he points out that it obviously didn't come from the police motor pool, to which Harris replies, "Sexy, isn't it?" Along with the hydropneumatic suspension that could make the car jump and dance, the movie car also had Dayton wire rims, a custom Flowmaster exhaust system, and a sunroof that was not available on the stock 1979 Monte Carlo. All of these add-ons made the car enticing to thieves, however, as director Antoine Fuqua recalled during a panel discussion at the 2021 Toronto Film Festival.
"It was back, I think, within 24 hours polished and cleaned, by the way," Fuqua said. "Those guys down there said, 'Don't worry about it. We got it.' It was back in the exact same spot they stole it from, too." (via Entertainment Weekly)
By "those guys down there," Fuqua was referring to the local gang members who flocked to the set each day, either to show their enthusiasm for the film or to try and manage a few quick frames of screen time.
"We got Latino gangs, the Bloods, the Crips, really open arms to come into these areas and film with all their support," he recalled. "They were really excited about it."