Home » Buffy The Vampire Slayer Was Always A Mopar Girl And I Have The Evidence To Prove It

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Was Always A Mopar Girl And I Have The Evidence To Prove It

Buffy Mopar Ts
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Buffy The Vampire Slayer was a hit TV show that won legions of fans during its run from 1997 to 2003. Rich in vampires and demonic lore, it told the story of  16-year-0ld Buffy Summers as she fought to hold back the legions of evil. Much has been said about the themes of the show over the years, the storylines, and how Xander was basically a straight dupe of Chandler from Friends. What hasn’t been covered before is Buffy’s taste in domestic cars. I’m here to fix that.

Today, I will not just theorize on Buffy’s brand of choice amongst the Big Three. I will state—unequivocally!—that she is a Mopar girl through and through. It’s in her very blood—that same blood that Angel drank in Season 3, episode 22, in fact.

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You might think that this article took years of research, and countless hours spent pouring over episodes of the show. I’m sorry to say I save that time for rewatching Frasier. Everything you need to know about Buffy’s automotive preferences is in plain sight, right in season 1!

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Oh, that’s a neat shirt Buffy’s wearing. Is that some kind of graphic print? The light’s throwing us off.
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That’s better, but I still can’t quite make it out… let’s enhance… enhance…

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OH MY GOD!

What you are looking at, my friends, is a blurry image of the so-called Paint Chip ‘Cuda. This is a legendary Plymouth Barracuda that was to show off all the paint colors that you could get on the car in 1970. And Buffy is wearing it! ON A SHIRT!

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When I say the Paint Chip ‘Cuda is legendary, I mean that quite literally. The car never existed; Plymouth never built it. It was just a drawing created by the marketing department for use in a brochure!

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The visual was so striking that it eventually inspired someone to build a real version in 2016. Before that, though, it was cool enough to somehow end up printed on a t-shirt in California, where it made its way on to the set of Buffy The Vampire Slayer!

The shirt appears in the first season’s eleventh episode, Out of Mind, Out of Sight. It’s only in one scene, right at the end, as Cordelia is thanking the gang for saving her from a rampaging invisible attacker.

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Cordelia’s trying to be nice here, but she’s not part of the gang yet. She ends up being pretty rude.
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Joss Whedon: “I want Chandler!” Marcia Shulman: “We have Chandler at home!”
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Look at it! That’s the ‘Cuda!

Diving into the credits, we can see that Susanna Puisto was the costume designer for this episode, and Rita Salazar was the costume supervisor. I’ve reached out to Susanna to ask her about the shirt, where it came from, and whether it was an intentional choice to establish Buffy’s character as a dyed-in-the-wool Mopar fan. I’ll update this article accordingly if Susanna or Rita get back to me with the deets.

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Interestingly, we can see that the graphic of the ‘Cuda on the shirt has been edited from how it appears in the original brochure. The numbers above each paint stripe have been removed to create a cleaner aesthetic. The shirt also appears shiny from certain angles. It suggests this shirt may have been produced with a cheap heat transfer print. My headcanon is that this might have been a quick piece whipped up specifically for the show just to give Buffy something unique and original to wear. However, I can’t back that up at this stage. All I can say is I’m yet to find evidence of this shirt existing outside the universe of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

“But wait!” you cry. “That’s just one shirt! That doesn’t prove jack!” You might think I came here with a few blurry screenshots of an ancient television show, but no. I’ve got more than just that!

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Further supporting my argument is the XJ Jeep Cherokee that Buffy drives later in the show’s run. It was originally her mother’s car, but Buffy would eventually get behind the wheel herself. It rocks phone dial wheels and looks gorgeous in black; I don’t have to tell you that a few Autopian staffers would covet this proud machine.

There’s also one further link that’s incredibly subtle but also proves my theory without a doubt. Any Buffy fan could tell you all about her tumultuous relationship with the vampire Angel. He regularly stalks Buffy from the outset of the show and has an unhealthy obsession with the teen Slayer. At times, he’s shown to be incredibly jealous while coveting her attention. So what do we see him driving years later?

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He has a 1967 Plymouth Belvedere GTX! This is exactly the kind of car you’d go out and buy if you were trying way too hard to impress a Mopar girl. That kind of immature attention-seeking behavior is absolutely on-brand for Angel. Of course he’d pick a car that would catch Buffy’s eye! And a drop-top, at that.

So there you have it. Buffy Summers was a Mopar head all along. Feel free to pat me on the back for my excellent research below, and completely refrain from trying to tell me she’s a Corvette nut or dedicated to the Blue Oval. It’s done. Buffy says “Mopar or no car!”

Image credits: Buffy the Vampire Slayer via screenshot

 

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lastwraith
lastwraith
5 months ago

Didn’t think I’d be seeing an article on this topic anytime, well, ever…… but that’s the beauty of this website.
Good stuff as always Lewin!

Punkcat
Punkcat
5 months ago

This is the kind of content I come here for. Well, that and David’s cats. (Just realized that might sound snarky, but seriously, every time someone asks me why I subscribe to a car site, I say “it just speaks to me” and this article is one of the reasons–where else can I find the Buffy/car crossover content I never knew I wanted.)

Morgan van Humbeck
Morgan van Humbeck
5 months ago

A: Chandler is a ripoff of Xander. Look, time travel is real and just believe me

B: Xander is infinitely better

C: Everyone on Buffy is better than everyone on Friends(with the possible exception of Joey – more research needed)

D: I dunno. I just wanted to include some D in a comment regarding Buffy

SNL-LOL Jr
SNL-LOL Jr
5 months ago
Reply to  Lewin Day

Counterpoint: Ross is on Band of Brothers. No one else matters.

Lincoln Clown CaR
Lincoln Clown CaR
5 months ago
Reply to  SNL-LOL Jr

Countercounterpoint: Joey was on Top Gear.

Xpumpx
Xpumpx
5 months ago

i dont think that is the “point in his favor” that you hoped it would be

DONALD FOLEY
DONALD FOLEY
5 months ago

Autopian merch?

Kleinlowe
Kleinlowe
5 months ago
Reply to  Lewin Day

OK, but hear me out here: Instead of baracuda, one of the Autopian mascot cars. A changli. Maybe a Tracy jeep, but different kinds of rust pattern (coastal, roadsalt, pacific, etc) instead of paint. Etc.

Chris Stevenson
Chris Stevenson
5 months ago
Reply to  DONALD FOLEY

All the different shades of rust on one of David’s old Jeeps.

SNL-LOL Jr
SNL-LOL Jr
5 months ago

50 Shades of Dave

67 Oldsmobile
67 Oldsmobile
5 months ago

I love that you actually reached out to the costume designers for your research, hope you hear from them. That’s some good journalism.

Ben
Ben
5 months ago

It’s in her very blood—that same blood that Angel drank in Season 3, episode 22, in fact.

Spoilers!

Kidding, of course, since I’ve watched the first three seasons of the show multiple times. Strangely, I don’t think I’ve ever finished season seven though. From season four on it kind of went downhill for me (with the exception of a few notable episodes here and there) and by the time I got to seven I kind of checked out and have never gone back to finish it.

I suppose maybe I will someday, but on my last rewatch I finished season three and decided that was a good stopping point, maybe skipping ahead to catch the musical episode and the Dark Willow arc.

And regarding the actual article, I find your logic incontrovertible. Buffy is clearly a Mopar girl. I really hope (but do not expect) that you hear back from the costume people.

ColoradoFX4
ColoradoFX4
5 months ago

I’m sorry to say I save that time for rewatching Frasier.

I look forward to the upcoming article detailing the sibling rivalry that manifested itself in Frasier’s preference for BMWs while Niles was a Merc man through-and-through.

Dodsworth
Dodsworth
5 months ago
Reply to  Lewin Day

Please don’t spend your life trapped in an unhappy Merris.

ColoradoFX4
ColoradoFX4
5 months ago
Reply to  Lewin Day

One wonders what vehicle Niles and Daphne procured for their family after the series ended. No doubt she pushed for a Range Rover and he complied.

Shooting Brake
Shooting Brake
5 months ago

Loved this show going up, love this website now…this crossover episode is great!

Beto O'Kitty
Beto O'Kitty
5 months ago

Cool article. I was always in love with S. M. Gellar and once came close to meeting her.
Side note. Matt Hardigree won a national playwright contest (Ninth Annual Blank Theatre Company) and she was scheduled to star in a production but had to cancel due to unforseen circumstances.
I once owned a 1966 Chrysler 300L (yes it was an L) and it had a 383 4 barrell carb.
I bought it from the proverbial “little old lady” that only drove it to church and the grocery store.

Chronometric
Chronometric
5 months ago

I can’t believe I didn’t notice that after all the hours I spent staring at Buffy’s chest.

Jb996
Jb996
5 months ago
Reply to  Chronometric

Right?
I had forgotten Buffy-era Sara Michelle Gellar…

Chronometric
Chronometric
5 months ago
Reply to  Jb996

The original Sequential Manual Gearbox.

Col Lingus
Col Lingus
5 months ago
Reply to  Chronometric

Are you referring to the car or Buffy? /s

Last edited 5 months ago by Col Lingus
Chronometric
Chronometric
5 months ago
Reply to  Col Lingus

SMG – same initials. No double entendres implied.

Thomas Metcalf
Thomas Metcalf
5 months ago

Buffy killed a relative of mine in season 1. He was just minding his own business and trying to actualize his lifelong dream of opening a portal to Hell.

JaredTheGeek
JaredTheGeek
5 months ago

No lies detected.

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
5 months ago

Hell yeah, I love seeing this on her shirt…nothin’ sexier than a Mopar girl…Mopar or No Car! I was actually just recently reading about that car and the history of the Wellborn Muscle Car Museum…it’s so amazing and interesting…I’ve got to make it there eventually

David Cuccia
David Cuccia
5 months ago

Buffy killed Demons too. And like the Pacifica, she came back from the dead.

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
5 months ago

Chryslayer girl to the hilt. Sad that Plymouth is now among the dead, though hopefully not the undead.

Drew
Drew
5 months ago

I’d like to add her disdain for Giles’s BMW:
“Can’t this thing go any faster? ‘Ultimate driving machine’ my ass.”

(Though it does turn out that they are going plenty fast, but she doesn’t end up impressed by it.)

Last edited 5 months ago by Drew
A. Barth
A. Barth
5 months ago
Reply to  Drew

I believe Giles had a Citroën 2CV in the early seasons, so the BMW would probably be an improvement.

Drew
Drew
5 months ago
Reply to  A. Barth

Yeah, the BMW was definitely the faster and (ironically) more reliable vehicle for Giles, replacing his Citroen DS. It was a flashy red 325i convertible and presented as something of a mid-life crisis purchase.

Also notable: the BMW was an automatic, and Giles mentioned some trouble adjusting to an automatic after previously only driving manuals.

Last edited 5 months ago by Drew
A. Barth
A. Barth
5 months ago
Reply to  Drew

DS, thank you

Mark Tucker
Mark Tucker
5 months ago

And don’t forget that Spike arrives in Sunnydale for the first time driving a ’59 DeSoto.

Though I think all this proves is that Joss Whedon is a Mopar guy.

Rollin Hand
Rollin Hand
5 months ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

…and Chrysler sales drop preciptously.

Ben
Ben
5 months ago
Reply to  Rollin Hand

Is that even possible at this point?

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