MovieChat Forums > Mad Max (1980) Discussion > "The Last of the V8's" Theory

"The Last of the V8's" Theory

posted 10 years ago by GatorMouth
54 replies | jump to latest

People have speculated for a long time about the comment "the last of the V8's" talking about how did the barbarians have all the V8's for their rides. I just paused netflix to share what I just realized.

1) Night rider stole a similar car for his chase and eventual death. there is a line about how that car is one of two (I think)

2) Max asks how it was put together (a piece from here... a piece from there) probably because the force is struggling for money and he knew it would never be officially approved from the budget.

3) the scene in the office, after Max views the black falcon interceptor for the first time the two men are talking about enticing him to stay with a hotrod the "candy". talking about a waste of money.

it had occurred to me, just now and probably embarrassingly so... the V8's were not the last V8's in the WORLD they are the last V8's the force could afford to own because of the budget issues. the night rider car chase showed their yellow cars getting torn up. repairs and replacing their own cars plus what damage happens from the car chases probably eats up a lot of their budget, not even considering injuries and death benefits for officers.

so I don't think its necessarily a plot hole or a mistake that the car is so prized and people look at it like its an impossibility. people that know the financial situation of the force probably couldn't fathom how (or why) it happened.

just my thoughts on it. I have watched it so many times I am embarrassed that just now caught it. <Mad Max has a PLOT? j/k>

[–] bass-player-blues 9 years ago

I'm glad you brought this up because I was just speculating about this the other day... It never made sense to me because; "last of the V8s" a 1974 car? That same body style Falcon with a V8 was made til' '76 and I don't they ever stopped making V8 cars in Aussie.

Your theory about the budget problems makes the most sense and that's probably something George Miller added to his world to sensationalize the fast cars even further.

[–] mcgmcgmcg 9 years ago

The phrase "last of the V8's" may relate to the time the film was made, 1979.
Oil prices were going up due to some Middle Eastern military conflict at the time. Might have been Iran and the Ayatollah if you remember him.
Anyway, it was said in the media that V8's were on the way out so the film makers probably used that (thankfully incorrect) forecast thinking no V8's in the next couple of years.

No cash here!! Here, no cash!!! Cash, no!!!! Robbo? No Cash!

[–] rp69 8 years ago

"Last of the V8s". I just took it as it's a post civilized world. Not much is still being manufactured, so people are living on used leftovers from a previous age. I don't think "last of the V8s" was literal. I think it was a rhetorical comment meaning their numbers are dwindling, and not many left.

[–] ban_one76 8 years ago

I'm going to add a different angle to one of your theories. When questioned by Max, Barry (the mechanic) says "It just happened, Max...you know, a piece from here and a piece from there." After Max still shows some skepticism, Goose says "Come on, Max. You've seen it...you've heard it...and you're still asking questions?" What Goose said, along with the fact he already knows about the Falcon, leads me to believe that Fifi talked the higher-ups in the MFP to spend the money to build the Falcon, because they were about to lose their best man on the road (referenced by Fifi's conversation with Labatouche). Barry was probably being vague on purpose so the real story of how the car came together stayed a secret. That's my take on it, anyway. I've probably read way too far into it, but I've watched and enjoyed this movie a LOT.

[–] gd5150 8 years ago

"A piece from here a piece from there" and he looks at Goose. It's alluding to they got the last of the V8's from nightriders car as it was totaled. The engine could still be salvaged. Stuck a super-charger on it. And fi-fi has the candy he needed. They knew Max was ready to retire and they had to pull out all the stops to keep him on the force.

The last of the V8s because they were probably banned due to an oil shortage.