Vehicular Lunatics

Vehicular Lunatics was the first Street and Track racing documentary that blurred the lines between legal and illegal motorsport by offering a realistic storyline of events to match the automotive and motorcycle stunt action. The guerrilla filmmaking used in producing this movie is also considered gonzo journalism due to its heavy reliance on sarcastic self-experience by its characters, production crew and Director. The filming and production took place from 2003-2005 in the college town of Gainesville, FL in Alachua County but quickly spread over a network of racers and enthusiasts across Florida, Texas, California and even Europe and Morocco. The film progresses from testosterone and adrenaline filled antics of beater car destruction and off road junk car rally, to enthusiast drag racing, street racing, Gumball 3000 Rally, motorcycle stunting, professional road racing, drifting and burnouts. Along the way, several characters are introduced with candor, intelligence and sarcastic humor - a fresh take on the generalized "Thug Life" or "Ricer" street racing attitude that was growing disproportionately after the release of The Fast and the Furious series.^[1]

A wide variety of featured vehicles in the DVD showcased each make and model's ability to perform under different racing and stunting activities. The filmmakers embraced the unique attributes of each vehicle and its owner by documenting them in reality. The film breaks down the barriers often seen in street racing movies or at car gatherings between Import v. Domestic, Exotic v. Clunker. Documenting motorcycle stunt riders also provided viewers with a well-rounded compilation. Since 2005, fans have been inquiring whether a full length sequel would ever follow. The producers at IMV Films, the company responsible for the DVD Vehicular Lunatics, have not gone public with any concrete evidence of a sequel, which further isolates the film as a self-standing unique story, rather than a series. The producers utilized two Canon GL2 video cameras and mostly shot on location whenever a "hot tip" or event was announced about a race, stunt or other activity such as a weekly car meet. Editing was performed using Sony Vegas on a PC.^[2]

Public response

The movie was generally well received by motoring enthusiasts. A fan base grew as the production company posted follow-up videos for free download and produced two other DVDs from side projects associated with Jerry Reynolds of Usenet and Torquenstein infamy. However, public attention from law enforcement became unrelenting yet obvious for these people brazenly disrespecting traffic laws in such an in-your-face manner as the movie exhibits. Sections of the film include the famous Gumball quote, "It's Not a Race it's a Rally" uttered during a reckless high speed run between a Toyota Supra and Porsche GT2 on Interstate 75. The vehicles reportedly traveled 48 miles in 17 minutes. Several scenes involving local police and racer interaction were included in the movie, with an added voiceover track that "editorialized" police action from what can be seen as a jaded production viewpoint. Other scenes glamorized high speed pursuits and running from cops. Local police have reportedly used IMV Films video footage to train patrol units, making law enforcement aware of vehicles or characters seen in the DVD.

A major incident that unwillingly placed Vehicular Lunatics into the public eye was the 2007 traffic crash involving Nick Hogan and his Toyota Supra. The Bollea family appeared at Supra meets in Orlando and in the Tampa/Clearwater/St. Pete area during 2004 and 2005. Linda Bollea was documented giving an impromptu speech about street racing, then filmed racing from a traffic light against another vehicle. These incidents appeared in the DVD extra called "Street Racing with Linda Hogan." Her sarcastic ad lib comments were perceived as being in support of street racing; though that was not her intent. This did not bode well for the family once the mass media^[3] got a hold of the DVD and the reporting spread.^[4][5]

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