{"id":19520,"date":"2022-11-07T07:42:20","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T07:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/?p=19520"},"modified":"2023-04-05T14:25:51","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T14:25:51","slug":"plymouth-valiant-the-cars-the-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/plymouth-valiant-the-cars-the-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Plymouth Valiant – The Car’s The Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of the cars we’ve featured in this series<\/a> so far have been pretty cool, let’s be honest. From the Pontiac Firebird and Aston Martin DB5 to the Bluesmobile and Ford Mustang, they have all had at least something inherently appealing about them. The third-gen Plymouth<\/a> Valiant, a compact grocery-getter for the masses from Steven Spielberg’s 1971 road movie Duel, however, doesn’t appear to have any redeeming features. But then that was the whole point, with Spielberg specifically choosing the car as a mechanical representation of the fundamental weaknesses of the film’s protagonist, portrayed perfectly by Denis Weaver. We’re sure the Valiant name also came into play at some stage, mirroring Weaver’s character’s eventual metamorphosis into the plucky and courageous victor at the end of the film (#spoilers).<\/p>\n

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The movie’s plot is a simple one. Based on the Richard Matheson short story of the same name it’s basically one long car chase, and we’re OK with that. As uncomplicated as it is it still managed to help propel the young American director to superstardom, despite being a made-for-TV movie and anyone who hasn’t heard of Steven Spielberg must have been living under a rock for the last half a decade. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the Plymouth Valiant.<\/p>\n