Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
-- ◊ 2005-01-27 14:18	En europe elle s'appelait AUDI 200... -- Last edit: vag...lover
audivorsprung ◊ 2005-08-20 16:50	The car belongs to the family that gives E.T. shelter and is used and seen quite a lot during the movie, I think it deserves at least 3 stars...
Julen_BMW ◊ 2006-05-04 19:42	It's a beautiful 5000 C2!
stronghold ◊ 2006-08-11 11:36
carobserver ◊ 2006-08-11 18:02	I think is a 1981 or 1982, maybe a 1982 5000 Turbo, because it had square headlights, and the first versions selled in U.S. (1978-1980) was with rounded headlights
Hiergehts ◊ 2006-08-11 18:10	Carobserver is right. This is a 1980-82 USA spec Audi 5000 as it has 4 square headlamps, revised/restyled bumpers and amber rear indicator lenses : http://www.chooseyouritem.com/parts/photos/68500/68737.jpg
Ford_Guy ◊ 2007-09-19 01:26	truck man wrote I can see this web site has changed the amount of stars for this vheicle from 3 stars to 4 stars.That makes me very happy,thanks for changing it to 4 stars. It doesn't deserve 4 stars. It is not seen too much and the mom was more of a supporting character.
truck man ◊ 2007-09-30 23:18	deleted comment
Ford_Guy ◊ 2007-09-30 23:30	If you insist...we'll take a vote. Other administrators and members are welcome to give out their opinions on the matter.
antp ◊ 2007-09-30 23:33	I do not remember that car being really used. And if it is mom's car it is logical: most of the movie is focused around ET and the kid.
truck man ◊ 2007-09-30 23:47	deleted comment
antp ◊ 2007-09-30 23:49	"a lot"? The bike used to carry ET was maybe more used Being parked in the garage does not cound as "used", by the way. -- Last edit: 2007-09-30 23:49:35
truck man ◊ 2007-09-30 23:53	deleted comment
antp ◊ 2007-10-01 00:09	background vehicle is kinda the opposite of "being used"...
truck man ◊ 2007-10-28 21:15	deleted comment
MBSL65fan ◊ 2007-10-28 21:32	But he said it deserves at LEASE 3 stars. The parents are not really the main characters and the car did not have an important role. 3 stars are good enough.
Ingo ◊ 2007-10-28 22:02	Wasn't the 5000 the model, which has caused Audi the big trouble and crushing down selling-rates in the U.S., because an idiot was going to the court and has complained, that the automatic transmission was "dangerous"? -- Last edit: 2007-10-28 22:03:44
antp ◊ 2007-10-28 22:26	Yes, so they started to use the same name as in Europe for 1989 model-year.
Buc84 ◊ 2007-10-28 23:22	Ingo wrote Wasn't the 5000 the model, which has caused Audi the big trouble and crushing down selling-rates in the U.S., because an idiot was going to the court and has complained, that the automatic transmission was "dangerous"? True.And nobody could ever reproduce that problem,either?? (Auto Trans/Cruise Control problem....."Allegedly" the Cruise would self engage to pre-set speeds from highway driving,when off the highway,like when parking or in traffic??)Only car I've ever seen/known do this was a --Buick--...and it was a switch...but hit the brakes,cruise disengages...fixed the switch,it never did it again??
CarChasesFanatic ◊ 2007-10-29 01:57	So what was the problem with the gear box of this audi? it changed gear when it should not or what?
Bravada ◊ 2007-10-29 02:33	It was an infamous media hoax or whatever you call it conocted by CBS's "60 Minutes" in 1987 - they have cobbled together a few reports of accidents or otherwise hazardous situations where the drivers, either openly or implicitly tried to blame their cars (Audi 5000s) for "unintended acceleration", i.e. that the car had accelerated when the driver did not want to. Further investigation has shown all the cases reported boiled down to driver errors (such as - horror! - mistaking gas and brake pedals [given that Americans have one pedal less to confuse, this is rather alarming]), and Audis were thoroughly tested with nothing found. This had pretty high profile in the US and hurt Audi sales a lot, though I cannot recall if CBS ever paid any compensation to Audi. More here -> http://members.aol.com/daserde2/libel.html (the text is rather overly enthusiastic towards Audi, but other than that, it summarizes the story nicely).
CarChasesFanatic ◊ 2007-10-29 10:49	How interesting ive read it all, so, then, it was cheeky people that did it although it was not true? and the 500 never really had that kind of problem?
Ingo ◊ 2007-10-29 20:26	The final result was in fact, that obviously the drivers were too stupid to handle the car. But when this was found out, it was too late for the truth. The repuation of Audi was gone (I'm sure, that the U.S.rivals were very happy about that), and noone of the media-industry was interested to make a roll-back. It wouldn't even have been possible.
Ingo ◊ 2007-10-29 20:31	By the way: to handle an Audi Typ 43, is very easy, even for a child. For a child like me. On a Typ 43 I made my first experince with own driving - I was 9 years old A neighbour let me drive his 1976 Audi 100 GL (stick-shift) on our garage-area. He was sitting on the passenger's side. My mother got nearly a heart-attack, when she looked out of the window and has seen me driving the neighbour's Audi
Lateef ◊ 2012-04-10 21:56
karoomay ◊ 2012-04-10 22:07	Nice new main image. Definitely a better shot and angle of Audi.
walter ◊ 2012-04-10 22:30	Indeed Nice job Sigurd. I rember watching this movie at elementary school, and I'm pretty sure it had been the first Audi I ever spotted in a movie
Sandie ◊ 2012-04-10 22:37	Did it set you on the way to your love for the marque or did that come before or later? I'd love to say the same thing but the first Rover I saw in a movie was the SD1 used by the child abductor in the stranger danger video they made us watch at school. -- Last edit: 2012-04-10 22:55:09
walter ◊ 2012-04-10 23:00	No, the Audi obsession began before with the purchasing of the 80 Avant in '97 (I still was at elementary school though). Before this, I was simply a kid with a big attraction towards anything with four wheels
police car fan ◊ 2013-06-03 16:42	-- Last edit: 2013-06-03 17:28:01 (antp)
EchoBoy ◊ 2015-04-19 03:50	Gosh, what a gorgeous car! It's one of my absolute favorite 80s European cars, or favorite European cars in general. Don't see many of these on the road today which is a shame, at least not in my area. I'd grab one in a second, though, if I found one for sale for a good price.
EchoBoy ◊ 2015-04-19 04:02	I'm not sure what Mary (Dee Wallace Stone's character) did for a living, but it seems like she was raking in a good chunk of money with that nice car and house. Probably got more out of the divorce, too.
rostyugo ◊ 2015-12-21 21:56	Happy Xmas to you! Thx for this nice Audi 5000 s. I had also seen for my first time the mum car's of Elliot. In France the model it was Audi 200 T5. Same engine but probably different pollution norms (again)... And it was still unusual to have a Audi with the automatic transmission. Luckily this Audi wasn't working in Diesel... -- Last edit: 2015-12-21 21:58:22
EchoBoy ◊ 2016-03-27 23:09	What would the color name be for this car? Hard for me to tell if it is gray or blue.
night cub ◊ 2016-03-27 23:37	Bravada wrote It was an infamous media hoax or whatever you call it conocted by CBS's "60 Minutes" in 1987 - they have cobbled together a few reports of accidents or otherwise hazardous situations where the drivers, either openly or implicitly tried to blame their cars (Audi 5000s) for "unintended acceleration", i.e. that the car had accelerated when the driver did not want to. Further investigation has shown all the cases reported boiled down to driver errors (such as - horror! - mistaking gas and brake pedals [given that Americans have one pedal less to confuse, this is rather alarming]), and Audis were thoroughly tested with nothing found. This had pretty high profile in the US and hurt Audi sales a lot, though I cannot recall if CBS ever paid any compensation to Audi. More here -> http://members.aol.com/daserde2/libel.html (the text is rather overly enthusiastic towards Audi, but other than that, it summarizes the story nicely). When the 60 Minutes reports were investiaged, what they found out was that most of the incidents happened to a driver who was not familiar to foreign cars (The Audi was not their primary driving car). The pedal placement in the Audi was found to be more left than the US models the drivers were used to (and BTW, Audi was not the only company there were complaints about, several other imported cars were involved). So drivers thought they were pressing the brake, but were actually pressing the accelerator. Most of the incidents occurred when the car was parked and then placed into gear, the car would "take off", the driver would press the "brake" harder to stop the car, when they were actually pressing the accelerator, leading to the reports from the driver that they pressed the "brake" and the car kept accelerating uncontrollably. The incidents stopped when VW recalled all the automatic cars and installed shift locks (prevents the transmission from shifting out of Park unless the Brake pedal is depressed), which I believe are now installed on all automatics now.
EchoBoy ◊ 2016-08-18 16:02	night cub wrote When the 60 Minutes reports were investiaged, what they found out was that most of the incidents happened to a driver who was not familiar to foreign cars (The Audi was not their primary driving car). The pedal placement in the Audi was found to be more left than the US models the drivers were used to (and BTW, Audi was not the only company there were complaints about, several other imported cars were involved). So drivers thought they were pressing the brake, but were actually pressing the accelerator. Most of the incidents occurred when the car was parked and then placed into gear, the car would "take off", the driver would press the "brake" harder to stop the car, when they were actually pressing the accelerator, leading to the reports from the driver that they pressed the "brake" and the car kept accelerating uncontrollably. The incidents stopped when VW recalled all the automatic cars and installed shift locks (prevents the transmission from shifting out of Park unless the Brake pedal is depressed), which I believe are now installed on all automatics now. Yes, and as a Volkswagen owner, I've noticed that the company still goes the extra mile to make sure these incidents don't happen again. When turning on the car, there is an indicator on the dash that reminds you to press the brake before shifting out of park. I don't think any other makes have this feature.
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2016-08-18 17:33	You can't move the lever out of "Park" on my Benz unless your foot is on the brake pedal. It also has a hold feature which locks the transmission to prevent any movement if you just quickly press the pedal a little further once the car has stopped. Very useful if you are towing a caravan uphill in a traffic jam. -- Last edit: 2016-08-18 17:36:34
Baube ◊ 2016-08-18 18:25	none of my cars had such light or anything that says i need to press brake to shift from park but i always did it anyway... i never thought of trying it but pretty sure it won't move on my Nissan ( Mazda and Ford not there anymore to do the test.. ) but i remember seeing this kind of message in some cars when going in various editions of the Montréal International Auto Show -- Last edit: 2016-08-18 19:42:21
EchoBoy ◊ 2016-08-20 05:10	Baube wrote none of my cars had such light or anything that says i need to press brake to shift from park but i always did it anyway... i never thought of trying it but pretty sure it won't move on my Nissan ( Mazda and Ford not there anymore to do the test.. ) but i remember seeing this kind of message in some cars when going in various editions of the Montréal International Auto Show Yes, that is the same message that I've seen on all Audis today. My Volkswagen is a bit different, though. It's simply a picture of a foot on a pedal.
EchoBoy ◊ 2016-08-30 15:53	I forgot to mention that in this movie, when Michael is backing the Audi out of the driveway, we get some really nice soundtrack footage of that 5 cylinder revving right before he slams on the brakes.
chicomarx ◊ 2017-09-18 02:38	This was the trickery involved in the 60 Minutes program: "A self-styled expert drilled a hole in an Audi transmission and pumped in air at high pressure. Viewers didn't see the drill or the pump — just the doctored car blasting off like a rocket. The expert, William Rosenbluth, was quoted as saying that "unusually high transmission pressure" could build up and cause problems." http://willzuzak.ca/lp/hewitt01.html Because of CBS sponsors? (CBS never retracted it either) Or just a case of deciding to make it sensational for the ratings?
rtsbusman1997 ◊ 2017-09-19 10:13	night cub wrote When the 60 Minutes reports were investiaged, what they found out was that most of the incidents happened to a driver who was not familiar to foreign cars (The Audi was not their primary driving car). The pedal placement in the Audi was found to be more left than the US models the drivers were used to (and BTW, Audi was not the only company there were complaints about, several other imported cars were involved). So drivers thought they were pressing the brake, but were actually pressing the accelerator. Most of the incidents occurred when the car was parked and then placed into gear, the car would "take off", the driver would press the "brake" harder to stop the car, when they were actually pressing the accelerator, leading to the reports from the driver that they pressed the "brake" and the car kept accelerating uncontrollably. The incidents stopped when VW recalled all the automatic cars and installed shift locks (prevents the transmission from shifting out of Park unless the Brake pedal is depressed), which I believe are now installed on all automatics now. Well at least something good came put of it (although it's strange it took this for that to actually be a standard on auto transmissions) chicomarx wrote Because of CBS sponsors? (CBS never retracted it either) Or just a case of deciding to make it sensational for the ratings? possibly 60 minutes got mislead (if a "expert" claims that some sort of equipment is needed for a test then most of the time people aren't going to question them because they don't have a reason not to) as for the while thing in relation to the retraction, it's a matter of law and possibly pride: they admit they found out the expert was lying and they have to take everything back and risk being sued and having their reputation tarnished. You stick to the original story and you don't have to fear being sued because if nobody admits they were wrong since it's hard to prove wilful negligence in court without a confession (and if you somehow do, the pay out is gong to be less since nobody admitted wrong doing.) Audi wasn't stupid enough to openly sue everybody because they didn't have much of a case (it's safe to say Audi may have had even more incidents like this throughout the years than they publicly admitted to and either managed to cover them up or ignored them out of a sense of laziness, superiority, ignorance or some combo of the three. Especially if the driver error was caused by a engineering design that should have been dealt with when the cars were introduced to US and CDN markets which are vastly different from most other markets (hell, this type of driver error would had to have happened in Europe quite a few times as well.) If anything, Audi (and other automakers) was asking for a situation like this by not paying attention and preparing for every situation that could arise.
chicomarx ◊ 2017-09-19 17:31	rtsbusman1997 wrote If anything, Audi (and other automakers) was asking for a situation like this by not paying attention and preparing for every situation that could arise. Can you find me a picture of the pedal set-up in an Audi 5000 with automatic transmission? Let's see how close they really are. rtsbusman1997 wrote as for the while thing in relation to the retraction, it's a matter of law and possibly pride: they admit they found out the expert was lying and they have to take everything back and risk being sued and having their reputation tarnished. A retraction is normal for serious news media, not correcting would tarnish their reputation. CBS to Correct Erroneous Report on Benghazi Link to "www.nytimes.com" 3 CNN Journalists Resign After Retracted Story on Trump Ally Link to "www.nytimes.com" 'We're sorry': New York Times issues correction to editorial Link to "money.cnn.com"
rtsbusman1997 ◊ 2017-09-20 03:13	chicomarx wrote Can you find me a picture of the pedal set-up in an Audi 5000 with automatic transmission? Let's see how close they really are. Hmm, kind of a shite picture but this seems to be a decent example: http://germancarsforsaleblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/5s3.jpg (said to be a 1983 USA model.) The gas petal and brake pedals are oddly closely put together with completely different sizes/shapes in a generally cramped space. Here's a 1978 euro model: http://momentcar.com/images/1978-5000-2.jpg (note how the two pedals are also closely placed but completely different sizes, with the brake pedal placed very closely to the gas) At least to me, that setup does seem horrendously close and easy to mix up unless you're directly staring at the petals when you use them. Strangely, manuals also seem to have a similar setup but with smaller, same sized petals: Link to "i.pinimg.com" (1985 USA model) which may have eased the confusion for most people since the pedals are the same size and safely spaced. For some odd reason I can barely find any decent pictures of auto petal setups (such as this one: Link to "i.wheelsage.org" which is from a Audi 5000S Turbo (1984–1986 model years) which seems to have purposely omitted the pedal setup from the picture for some reason. This manual version (1986-1988) seems to have been designed properly, with the clutch, gas and brake at equal distances and generally around the same size with no intrusion. http://en.wheelsage.org/audi/5000/10704/pictures/329301/ my assumption: car was designed to be a manual and Audi didn't want to properly design a automatic version (for some reason) so they just messily crammed the pedals for the auto version into the footwell and hoped for the best. chicomarx wrote A retraction is normal for serious news media, not correcting would tarnish their reputation. CBS to Correct Erroneous Report on Benghazi Link to "www.nytimes.com" 3 CNN Journalists Resign After Retracted Story on Trump Ally Link to "www.nytimes.com" 'We're sorry': New York Times issues correction to editorial Link to "money.cnn.com" depends: most people aren't forgiving about retractions (that is if anybody even gives enough of a damn to even ACKNOWLEDGE the retraction) and most news outlets are slow to issue a retraction if it either admits wrong doing or could potentially put them in the crosshairs of a lawsuit (the only real time ignoring the problem wouldn't work is if the mistake is so obviously terrible and obvious there's no way to ignore or lie your way out.) CBS actually got lucky here. Notice how Audi didn't exactly challenge everything once their sales took a hit. Realistically, I would assume that if the issue was solely because people who buy auto Audis at the time were just stupid (which was pretty much their implied message at the very beginning) then they wouldn't have issues just explaining their design choices and showing their own tests and what not rather than passively recalling every 5000 and awaiting everybody else to prove they didn't do anything wrong. It's also interesting that just a few years later, GM managed to prove themselves that NBC misrepresented their 1973 and 1987 trucks were inherently dangerous (http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-10/news/mn-1335_1_gm-pickup) without as much as lifting a finger (lawsuits really don't matter in this case since what a jury may find won't always line up with reality or even other juries) my guess: Audi either unintentionally or intentionally designed their automatic vehicles in a bad way, knew they did and didn't want to admit to it or other unsavory things related to manufacturing and design and tried to passively make the problem go away by letting everybody else do the grunt work and issuing a soft recall for a problem they claimed wasn't a problem in the first place.
chicomarx ◊ 2017-09-20 03:54	Audi's initial reaction was to be like ingo Ingo wrote obviously the drivers were too stupid to handle the car. which was technically true, but not a great way to handle public relations. And then they backed down completely and didn't pursue any lawsuit, and basically lost the US market. So twice the wrong strategy, I'm not blaming it all on bad reporting.
electra225 ◊ 2017-11-22 16:52	echoboy wrote What would the color name be for this car? Hard for me to tell if it is gray or blue. I think it was grey (Dolomitgrau metallic).
Darren_VolvoS80 ◊ 2018-07-02 04:49	I wonder if this was an automatic or a manual transmission. Michael seems to have quite a bit of trouble backing it up haha.
Shervinator ◊ 2019-01-15 09:23	I wonder where this car is today.
Darren_VolvoS80 ◊ 2019-02-04 04:32	Definitely the first Audi I remember in a film from my childhood. Beautiful 5000. I feel this car really complimented the house that it went with very nicely, a decidedly conservative styling and upscale aesthetic so fitting for the early 1980s suburbia of Southern California. It's a nice representation of the social status of the family; the mother appeared to be rather well-off and had made out well in the divorce materialistically despite the brokenness of the household. Equivalent car today would be the A6. This film really captures some nice footage of the car in action as it's backed out of the house's garage, across the lawn, and down the sloping driveway. Nice soundtrack footage of the 5-cylinder revving, brakes screech as it's stopped in the middle of the street. This particular model appeared to have blue interior and equipped with a moon roof. Here is a video tour of the same generation model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKe8BlKXeh0&t=13s
IzzysAlfa ◊ 2020-04-07 01:00	I remember watching this movie as a little kid and thinking this car was a Pontiac 6000 as it looked quite similar (at a quick glance) to my Great Aunt's car at the time, of course, I didn't notice the completely different logo haha. This was the first Audi model sold in the United States as the brand was introduced to the US in 1970, so at the time Audi was still quite new to the country during the time of this film's release. We get some really nice footage of this car throughout the film (a brief scene focuses on the older brother character, Michael, backing the Audi out of the garage rather clumsily and we get nice shots of the car as well as soundtrack footage of the 5-cylinder revving). We also get a closeup of the front tires and the Audi logo in the center of the cap. Later, the car is used in a brief scene when the mother, Mary, backs out of the garage to go looking for the kids and we even are treated with the sound of the seat belt warning alarm which is rarely heard in films.
missydismore ◊ 2023-06-07 23:32	My friend owns this car. It’s beautiful. I am in no way qualified to discuss it. But as I skimmed over the comments, regarding the paint color: it has actually been rattle-canned a slightly matte silverish color because the studio had trouble with the glare on the paint. It was never removed and had been used in other productions (which are all documented and in his possession.) It’s amazing how much money they kept throwing away in diagnosing the fuel problem. I forgot how many times he said they could have purchased that car over. He’s the genius that figured it out and fixed it. The interior upholstery is that soft, honeycomb/tile type pattern … velvety soft.. no rust at all. This is his garaged beauty. 🥰 Something tells me he would be on this forum somewhere.
QueenMDX ◊ 2023-06-08 00:31	missydismore wrote My friend owns this car. It’s beautiful. I am in no way qualified to discuss it. But as I skimmed over the comments, regarding the paint color: it has actually been rattle-canned a slightly matte silverish color because the studio had trouble with the glare on the paint. It was never removed and had been used in other productions (which are all documented and in his possession.) It’s amazing how much money they kept throwing away in diagnosing the fuel problem. I forgot how many times he said they could have purchased that car over. He’s the genius that figured it out and fixed it. The interior upholstery is that soft, honeycomb/tile type pattern … velvety soft.. no rust at all. This is his garaged beauty. 🥰 Something tells me he would be on this forum somewhere. Oh, that's such a nice story! Thanks so much for sharing, too! Now I wonder who he is here... Maybe try asking in the forums to see which user he is, yeah? That would be a good place to ask!
IzzysAlfa ◊ 2023-07-18 02:40	missydismore wrote My friend owns this car. It’s beautiful. I am in no way qualified to discuss it. But as I skimmed over the comments, regarding the paint color: it has actually been rattle-canned a slightly matte silverish color because the studio had trouble with the glare on the paint. It was never removed and had been used in other productions (which are all documented and in his possession.) It’s amazing how much money they kept throwing away in diagnosing the fuel problem. I forgot how many times he said they could have purchased that car over. He’s the genius that figured it out and fixed it. The interior upholstery is that soft, honeycomb/tile type pattern … velvety soft.. no rust at all. This is his garaged beauty. 🥰 Something tells me he would be on this forum somewhere. Oh, it would be an absolute dream of mine to find out more information on this car! This movie is what started my fascination with the Audi brand. I'd love to know more about the car, see pictures/vids, whatever he'd like to share! It really is a beauty.
Shervinator ◊ 2024-06-21 19:18	Hiergehts wrote Carobserver is right. This is a 1980-82 USA spec Audi 5000 as it has 4 square headlamps, revised/restyled bumpers and amber rear indicator lenses : http://www.chooseyouritem.com/parts/photos/68500/68737.jpg Why is this still listed as a 1981 model? As Hiergehts mentioned, this is a 1980–82. Here are three 1980 models that have sold in recent years and that all have rectangular headlights like the one in E.T.: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1980-audi-5000-4/ https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1980-audi-5000s-diesel/ Link to "bringatrailer.com" missydismore wrote My friend owns this car. It’s beautiful. I am in no way qualified to discuss it. But as I skimmed over the comments, regarding the paint color: it has actually been rattle-canned a slightly matte silverish color because the studio had trouble with the glare on the paint. It was never removed and had been used in other productions (which are all documented and in his possession.) It’s amazing how much money they kept throwing away in diagnosing the fuel problem. I forgot how many times he said they could have purchased that car over. He’s the genius that figured it out and fixed it. The interior upholstery is that soft, honeycomb/tile type pattern … velvety soft.. no rust at all. This is his garaged beauty. 🥰 Something tells me he would be on this forum somewhere. I am thrilled to read your comment. You might be the first person who has ever publicly claimed the survival of this car. That means a great deal to — dare I say — millions of people who are all fans of the film. For the record, I doubt it's worth millions, but in sentimental value alone, it means a great deal to many. Can you confirm if it's a 1980, 1981, or 1982 model? -- Last edit: 2024-07-04 23:45:39
Shervinator ◊ 2024-06-23 01:59	Darren_VolvoS80 wrote I wonder if this was an automatic or a manual transmission. Michael seems to have quite a bit of trouble backing it up haha. It's definitely an automatic. Look at the way the brake lights and the reverse lights stay on simultaneously the entire time Michael backs down the driveway, as well as later in the film when Mary does it. If you were backing down a hill that steep in a manual car, you wouldn't even bother putting it in reverse. You'd just leave it in neutral and roll down the hill while braking. Even if you did want to put it in reverse for some reason, the car would stall once you got to the bottom and slammed on the brakes the way Michael did (no one has three feet). In this case, the brake lights and the reverse lights stay on even after the car comes to a screeching halt (the word "after" is key). That being said, there's a jump cut once the car gets to the bottom of the hill and rolls out into the street. They may have just added that extra shot for coverage, or maybe the car was actually a manual and it kept stalling for the reason I've given. But I seriously doubt it, because again, why would anyone put a manual transmission in reverse while backing down a hill? Doesn't make any sense to me. I know that Michael's character is supposed to be a novice at driving, but his handicap seems to mainly be steering. Doing the intricate three-legged dance of clutch/gas/reverse/gas/brake-all-the-way-down-the-hill-then-gas-again-while-holding-the-other-two-pedals-down just seems incredibly counterintuitive if not physically impossible. @missydismore's comment about how production painted the car a special grey to reduce glare also implies that some filming or test footage had taken place before actual production began. Since a great deal of the film takes place at Elliot's house, it's safe to assume that the location was picked out before the car. If the production was putting in that much thought into the color, they probably would have thought about other features of the car too. With such a steep driveway, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to choose a car with a manual transmission when an automatic one was likely available to them (Audi was still making these at the time of filming). My money is on this being an automatic. -- Last edit: 2024-06-23 01:59:49
midnight ◊ 2024-06-23 02:35	Even as a kid I knew that a thick forest couldn't be in viewing distance of an arid desert like neighborhood. I still like that it was done that way.
Shervinator ◊ 2024-06-24 00:21	I just edited together all the scenes in which the car appears. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN1lppmGwAQ
Shervinator ◊ 2024-07-06 22:06	Hi everyone, I was able to get in contact with the commenter above who stated that her friend owns the car. After seeing pictures of it, I have determined it is *not* the same car used in the movie. It's a later 1983 Audi 5000 Turbodiesel in black with later-style headrests, a car that couldn't have existed at the time of filming these scenes (likely between September 10–21, 1981 according to my research). It seems that there was some miscommunication between the commenter and the owner regarding the car's provenance. So, false alarm. The whereabouts of the screen-used 5000S from E.T. are still unknown. -- Last edit: 2024-07-07 04:32:26
Shervinator ◊ 2024-07-06 23:35	After looking much closer at the paint finish of the car in the movie, I'm positive it was factory paint (not a rattle-canned spray paint job as previously claimed by the commenter above). The paint finish in the movie exhibits zero orange peel, and there were almost no swirls. It was also much too thorough of a paint job (in the door jambs and every visible crevice) to have been done by a production company, who are known to cheap out on such modifications to picture cars. The only two factory colors it could have been for those years were Dolomite Gray Metallic (LY7V) or Meteor Gray Metallic (LY7Z). Dolomite Gray was offered for the 1978–80 model years, and Meteor Gray replaced it for the 1981–83 model years. Since we have already established that this car was a 1980–82 model (1980 being the first year with the rectangular headlights and 1982 being the latest model year it could have been due to the time of filming), that means it was a 1980 model if it was Dolomite Gray, or a 1981–82 model if it was Meteor Gray. I have made separate albums of hundreds of photos found online featuring the two colors (they were concurrently offered on Porsche and Volkswagen models), and here's my verdict: it's almost certainly Meteor Gray Metallic. Even though the two colors look very similar in most lighting conditions, Dolomite Gray is darker than Meteor Gray, and it's more of a neutral gray (whereas Meteor Gray has a blueish tint to it). It being Meteor Gray Metallic narrows it down to a 1981–82 model. But... even if we were to disregard the color, consider this: since these specific scenes were filmed in September 1981 (not later) and the film was a big-budget anticipated blockbuster made by Universal Pictures and directed by Steven Spielberg, I'm willing to bet the studio probably would have picked a brand-new car to use, rather than spending less money on a car that was already a year old. I don't know how early the first 1982 models arrived on Porsche-Audi dealer lots, but I personally haven't seen any next-year models made earlier than September. Even if they were already available by then, I think it would have been far more likely that the studio would have plenty of 1981 models to choose from in September of 1981, including color choices. The dealer also probably would have been more willing to lend out a current-year model than a next-year model that had just arrived. All this leads me back to believe this was most probably a 1981 Audi 5000S in Meteor Gray Metallic (LY7Z) on Azure Blue (JD) woven velour upholstery, with an automatic transmission and a sunroof. -- Last edit: 2025-02-23 01:23:55

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1981 Audi 5000 S C2 [Typ 43]

1981 Audi 5000 C2 [Typ 43] in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Movie, 1982

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