QOTD: So Now What Do You Do?

You had to expect it. This QOTD, that is, not the reason for it.

As yours truly basks in the smugness of having stocked up on at least a month’s worth of food, toilet paper, and disinfectant two and a half weeks ago, thus sidestepping the panic-buying hordes picking supermarket shelves bare like buzzards on still-fresh roadkill, his self-satisfaction is nonetheless tempered with an edge of dread.

Frankly, I’m freaked out. Prepared and informed, yes, but worried all the same. For many of us, there could be plenty of days — and maybe even weeks — ahead where we’re not allowed to leave our homes. Your author’s prime minister already finds himself in just such a situation.

How would you pass that time?

Let’s be clear: many of you will have kids and family to take care of, but there’ll surely still be plenty of personal downtime when under quarantine (or self-isolation). Passing two weeks or maybe more locked inside means there’ll be plenty of time to touch up the grout in your shower or catch up on light reading.

Maybe a bender is in order.

Yes, as we prepare to distance ourselves from humanity, entertainment will be key. Many of you won’t have a project car to work on, nor will there be anything in the backyard shed or even the basement to tinker with. There might not be a garage, shed, or basement. After the events of Thursday, professional sports is out. That leaves TV and film, and maybe (very) brief forays into the more artistic side of electronic media.

So, that all said, what are the top three (a good number, I feel) car-centric or car-adjacent movies/TV shows you’ll watch — or would like to watch — to while away those long, pensive hours? If you can’t think of three, pare the list down.

You author’s personal list, as always, starts with Duel, a move I’ve seen maybe 15 times and could watch every week without getting bored. Imagine that Dennis Weaver and his six-cylinder Plymouth Valiant are me and you, and the menacing Peterbilt is the coronavirus. Next up is The French Connection — hardly a car movie, per se, but a great flick with an exciting chase that I normally watch on Christmas. This past December it didn’t happen. Third place is a toss-up. I’ll probably forgo a specific film and tune in to some 1950s, ’60s, or ’70s cop show, where sidewalls are tall, drum brakes abound, and right and wrong fall on either side of a crystal-clear demarcation line.

Comforting, predictable.

Have at it in the comments.

[Image: Murilee Martin/TTAC]