Vanishing Point - 1971 - 7/10

Cult drive-in favorite of cross country car chase.
Car delivery driver (repo maybe?) wagers he can get supercharged Dodge Challenger R/T (pure muscle) from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours.
Highway patrols in Colorado - Nevada - California soon in pursuit.
Sparse dialogue, diverse music selection, roaring V-8s.
While on surface a “chase” film, it is actually a sly character study, and observations of “freedom."
The driver’s (Kowalski) story is gradually revealed in flashbacks, newspaper clippings, and police dispatches.
Memorable side characters include a blind DJ, grizzled prospector, nude motorcyclist.
Hypnotic ride - Pointless remake in 1997 for spoonfed types.

Note - In the early 80’s, ten years after this, I met a retired guy who did this.
He returned repo’d luxury cars (Caddies, Lincolns, Beamers) back to home dealers.
He got paid for fuel, motels, meals, airfare home, as well as $300 for driving.
Nice gig for him (got him away from his loud, bossy wife).