Seinfeld fans out there will know that today, December 23, is Festivus, the fictitious holiday created by George Costanza’s father, Frank (played by Jerry Stiller), after having had it once an for all with the stresses that come with the Christmas season. Being Festivus, I couldn’t think of a better day to embrace my inner George Costanza and pay homage to a very prominent car he drove. Though the “short, stocky, slow-witted, bald mad” George mostly drove conservative, nondescript cars such as the Buick Skylark, Buick Regal, Chevrolet Impala, and Mercury Mystique over the course of the series, at one point he did spring for a more head-turning choice.
Season 6’s “The Mom & Pop Store” begins with George at a used car lot, about to pull the trigger on an ’89 Volvo 240. But then used car salesman directs him to an ’83 Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country convertible (mistakenly referred to as an ’89 in this episode), telling him that the previous owner was Jon Voight. Relishing the thought of driving around in a car which he believes was previously owned by “Jon Voight”, the actor, George decides to go with the LeBaron instead.
After George buys the car, no sooner does Jerry go through the glovebox to find the owner’s manual with the previous owner’s name written as “John Voight”. While attending a party thrown by dentist friend Tim Whatley (played by Bryan Cranston), George finds out that the car indeed did not belong to “Jon Voight” the actor, but Whatley’s friend, “John Voight” the dentist. Regardless, George continues driving the “Jon Voight Car”, and frequently tells women that it used to belong to Jon Voight.
George can be seen driving the LeBaron for the remainder of Season 6 and the beginning of Season 7. Somewhat confusingly, different models are used that vary in color and model year. In Season 7’s “The Gum”, while visiting his parents, George lets “Pop”, an elderly neighbor who used to own a mechanic’s shop, tinker around under the hood. Little does he know that the man is now suffering from mental illness and has previously been institutionalized.
Later in this episode, the engine bursts into flames due to Pops’s tinkering. Due to an earlier event in this episode, the nearby florist’s hose has been turned off, and leaving George unable to put out the flames, fire consumes the “Jon Voight Car”, completely totaling it.
Come to think of it, isn’t it funny how in the 1983-1986 LeBaron Town & Country’s two most famous film and TV roles (the other being Planes, Trains and Automobiles), it gets destroyed by fire?
In any event, here’s to George Costanza and the “Jon Voight car”, the most infamous vehicle featured on Seinfeld. Whichever holidays you celebrate (or don’t), may the season be warm and bright, and may everyone have a Happy Festivus… For The Rest Of Us!
N.B. – All Seinfeld images used are screenshots I took. I do not own the rights to Seinfeld, created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, developed by NBC and Rick Ludwin, produced by West-Shapiro Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment, distributed by Columbia Pictures Television, Columbia TriStar Television, and Sony Pictures Television
Jerry and Kramer lived in Manhatten and yet owned cars, used often in dates, shopping trips, ride to airport. Where did they park, though? Only Elaine didnt own one.
Jerry and George both did OK so they could probably afford a garage. I could see Kramer moving the ASSMAN 73 Caprice around everyday looking for a parking spot.
Didn’t Jerry employ an older neighbor to move his car on alternate street parking days? One time George filled in for him and chaos ensued.
At one point George discovers that the somewhat shady lot where he keeps his car is letting hookers ply their trade in the vehicle while it is parked. There is another episode where the unemployed George subs for the guy who moves his neighbors cars around to avoid parking citations. Needless to say George is not capable of handling the responsibility. I think this is the same episode where Woody Allen is filming a movie in the neighborhood (“these pretzels are making me thirsty”), which contributes to the confusion.
The first episode you mentioned about the parking lot hookers is also the one where Kramer borrows the technicolor dreamcoat and finds the cane and hat. Then he goes back to his car in the same lot and finds a woman “turning tricks” in his car, and of course the cops show up, thinking he’s a pimp.
If you look closely in this shot, notice Kramer’s 73 Impala has an Oldsmobile dashboard. That indicates it was one of the few 73 Impalas with airbags. I believe all of them were painted more of a lime/olive green. This car was obviously repainted as it wears aftermarket side moldings.
Looks like an airbag steering wheel there. ACRS.
There was the episode where George borrows Frank’s GTO to impress a girl by trying to be a badass until she finds an orthopedic pillow in the backseat. They referred to the GTO as a 1968 but it was a 66 or 67. There was an episode about Newman’s Diplomat too.
Jerry Seinfeld is a known car guy so it makes sense that he would work them into storylines.
And now its time for the airing of the grievances!
And later, the Feats of Strength!
“Why did the police man have to yell at me?” Great episode!
There was also Jerry’s 525i, which contracted such a bad case of B.O. from a valet that he had to get rid of it, although nobody would take it.
I rarely watched Seinfeld, and had so totally forgotten about this car, that when I saw one on CC a few months ago, I thought it was the first I’d ever seen.
Now I’m remembering – when I saw it on Seinfeld I assumed it wasn’t a regular model and that the “wood” was added for the show. I had seen loads of woody wagons (albeit not in real life unless you count Morris Travellers) but assumed nobody would actually do this to an 80s convertible.
Of course they both caught fire, what with all of the wood slathered on the bodywork…
Happy Festivus to everyone and may your Festivus pole be richly decorated!
*richly un-decorated – “I find tinsel very distracting”
Well of course, disciples of Festivus are strictly in the “less is more” camp. My bad!
Aluminum pole – high strength to weight ratio
My k-car caught fire as well! And I was honestly glad to see the last of it because it was such an unreliable p.o.s!
In the “Lost in parking garage” episode, Kramer has a brown ’84-ish Fox body Ford LTD.
In Planes, Trains, and Automobiles they were still able to drive the burnt out wreck until pulled over by the police .
I remember the late great John Candy saying the radio still worked
I notice you threw “stocky” in there.
BTW, I yelled, “Pop! Pop!!!” today. Does that count as a CC effect?
I’m preparing for my airing of greivances right now.
Speaking of CC worthy cars, don’t forget when George borrowed his dad’s mint Ford Granada which was subsequently destroyed by an angry mob because he parked in a handicap spot.
Frank Costanza’s pride and joy.
Mercury Monarch.
+1
Frank Costanza states so as well. “The Handicap Spot” was the first appearance of Frank, and it was originally filmed with John Randolph in that role, not Jerry Stiller. Here’s a clip of the original version.
Casting changes always interested me. Some of the original choices in movies were kind of “WTF were they thinking?”. I always liked John Randolph, he was good in everything he did, he played Roseanne’s dad on her show not too long before that. It’s hard to say if he would have been as good and/or strange as Jerry Stiller’s Frank ended up being.
My bad, thank goodness it wasn’t a Lincoln Versailles. That would have killed Frank.
I haven’t seen a RUNNING LeBaron of this vintage, or a Town & Country of any body style in nearly a decade. The last T&C wagon I remember seeing belonged to my aunt and uncle, who were life long Ford owners. Their wagon was a “custard” yellow with matching interior.
These were actually fairly rare when they were new.
Here you go. For sale in the South Bay as of Dec. 23rd
There’s a T&C wagon in my new neighborhood. The registration is current but I don’t think it’s moved since I arrived this summer, so I don’t know if it’s on temporary hiatus or if a major failure has occurred since the last inspection.
Last week I saw the episode when Jerry gives his parents a brand new Cadillac. If I remember correctly is one of the last Fleetwoods, built on the B-body platform. The last BOF GM cars.
Prompting this classic:
Jerry: “But it’s got the Northstar system!”
Morty: “I don’t know what that is. I don’t think I even use it.”
My favorite episode, Jack sparring with Morty over his gift “Cat’Lack!”
Morty: Hey Jack, how do you like my new Cadillac? My SON bought it for me.
Jack: It’s nice.
M: You wanna go for a ride?
[pause]
J: Nnnaahh.
M: Why not?
[another pause]
J: What…you think I’ve never ridden…in a Cadillac before!? I’ve ridden in a Cadillac hundreds of times!! THOUSANDS!!!
M: Aaaahhh!!
J: Aaaahhhh!!
M: [turns to Jerry] Do you believe this guy?
Jerry: Aaahhh!!
“You think you’re such a big shot now because you’ve got a Cat’Lack!
Obviously embezzling got Morty that “Cat’Lack”! The motivation to impeach him as condo president!
Watched “The Gum” Episode tonight. What a coincidence.
Lloyd: Am I crazy or is that a lot of gum?
Jerry (angrily): ITS ALOT OF GUM!!
George Costanza: Fire! Your hose! Where’s your hose?
Florist: Cop made me disconnect it.
Enjoy a feast of Meatloaf!
Man Brendan this cracked me up. My Festivus has just been a long chaotic work day and this hit the spot. 15 yrs ago l owned one identical to George’s. Personally I thought it looked like something only a termite could love. I just bought because the body was in nice shape yet it needed major engine repair. Since that’s my line of work I fixed it, flipped it and made some bucks on it. When I was detailing that car I was bothered by the unsightly curb bashed wheel covers on the right side and missing center cap or two. One day I’m driving down a county road and lo and behold sitting in a guy’s yard is a Lebaron with the engine compartment burnt out! I stopped in and bought the four nice wheel covers off it for forty bucks. Poor guy, maybe he had one of those “usta could PoP” mechanics too.
hmmm….engine compartment burned….how long ago was this seinfield episode filmed? maybe like 15 years ago?
maybe the jon/john voight car lives on….at least its hubcaps do! 😉
Longer than that. Seinfeld ended in 1998.
According to the commentary on the Seinfeld DVDs, that LeBaron actually belonged to one of the writers on this show.
Similar to how the Chrysler used in Trailer Park Boys actually belonged to one of the actors. However, once the script called for the car to fall into disrepair and be destroyed, they sourced a substitute as the owner wanted to keep his car intact.
Classic! In college, my buddies and I were all roomates and huge Seinfeld fans…a Festivus pole was in our apartment year round!
To date my favorite ep was where George was dating a woman and her mom kept catching him in situations making her think he was a bum. Wiping coffee (that he spilled) off a guys windshield, coming out of the bathroom shirtless into a crowd, and of course getting busted for eating a donut out of the trash. ‘It was above the rim!’
“Yadda, yadda, yadda.”. The best Festivus ever, not that theres anything wrong with that.
The Seinfeld episode where George tries to prove the Lebaron was actually owned by Jon Voight by comparing a pencil with teethmarks on Kramer’s arm where the real Jon Voight bit him is a classic.
With the hood open you can see the Mitsubishi 2.6L on the Lebaron. Jerry liked to own Saabs on the show too–bought one from Puddy High 5!!
I never understood the humor in that show, and rarely watched it. I will say that the Mark Cross leather in some Chryslers in that era felt very nice when it was new…not sure how well it held up.
A neighbor had a T&C wagon with the fake pseudo-wood trim…it was such a POS it got traded in on a Mercedes W123 300. The neighbor is still alive and has reverted to Chryslers…drives a candy-apple red Chrysler 300.
“The Jon Voight car is no more.”
I never knew George’s lebaron was a 2.6 4g54/g54b Mitsubishi powered model, it’s the same engine that was used in the Conquest/Starion sports cars,albeit with no turbo, it was also used in the Dodge raider suvs and the Montero’s, ram 50 pickup trucks and the Mitsubishi mighty max (i happen to own one) it was the highest displacement 4 cylinder of it’s time, and they were pretty reliable engines especially if you swap the head for a non jet valve cylinder head, and delete the balance shafts, after that basic maintenance and they run for a long time, they were so reliable that they converted them to run on propane and they powered everything from forklifts, tractors, earth moving equipment etc.
In the Lebaron they had to make some crazy placements for this engines accessory drive belts and water pump placement, because it was designed to be used in longitudinal rwd application, where in the Lebaron it was squeezed in transverse with the crankshaft pointing parallel to the front wheels, they also used this engine in transverse form in the early dodge caravans and chrysler town and country minivans, and when people see the setup in fwd form and know how it looks on rwd cars it just blows the mind to see what lengths chrysler went to in order to engineer it to fit their fwd models.