These stories never get less tragic. TMZ has reported that Actor Corey Haim, teen star from the 1980’s, has been found dead of an apparent drug overdose. Haim starred in such 1980’s classics as The Lost Boys, Licensed to Drive and Lucus. He was 38 years old. Haim was reportedly in and out of rehab throughout most of his adult life.

Source: TMZ

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, this is it. The final segment in Ridelust.com’s car chase series. Over the past 2 months we gathered some of the best car chases from the 1970’s all the way up to present day. In total there are 41 chases… that’s a lot. We’ve got down and dirty originals from such movies as Bullit and The French Connection. To Hollywood masterpieces like The Dark Knight and Ronin all the way up to special effects fun runs such as The Fifth Element and The Matrix Reloaded. These have been a blast to research and watch and they’re something that anyone who is into cinema and cars will greatly enjoy. So, with that being said, sit back and enjoy the final eleven scenes of the Best Car Chases ever.

** Links to the full list located below

1. Quantum of Solace: 2008

2008 Aston Martin DBS

1. Ronin: 1998

1994 BMW M5, Mercedes 6.9, Audi S8

These are probably the best car chases to come out of Hollywood in the last 20 years. They’re fast and raw with some killer camera work. Plus the cars they use are stellar choices. I mean really, an Audi S8, BMW M5 and Mercedes Benz 6.9, these are the big guns of the worlds Super-Sedans.

When I first got the idea to write about cars and music I needed a way to change it up a bit. This topic has unfortunately been covered to death, so making this piece stand out was going to be a bit of a challenge. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about being a kid again and watching MTV, you know, when it still show music videos. One that immediately came to mind was ZZ Tops, “Gimme All Your Lovin”. It had all the prerequisites for a hot 1980’s music video. Hot chicks, a cool car and a beat that just wanted to make you drive on into the sunset. So, based upon that I did a little research and came up with 20 music videos where the car is the star. Now I’m sure I’ve left some out, so if you’ve got suggestions post them to the comments section and I’ll add them to the list. No go forth and waste time at work…

Ok fine, so it’s not car related, but it’s flippin’ HILARIOUS!! Here’s the red band trailer for Kevin Smith’s COP OUT- it hits theaters February 26th. For the life of me, I still have absolutely no idea what this flick is about, other than it’s got a black cop (Tracy Morgan) and a white cop (Bruce Willis) and they’ll most likely be driving a Ford Crown Vic… hmm… a Crown Vic. BOOM SHAKA LAKA!! We just found the tie-in!

Source: Ain’t It Cool

“I live my life one quarter mile at a time” – it’s the phrase that gave birth to one of the most profitable franchises in movie history, and guess what… they’re back… again… for the fifth time. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker have reportedly signed on to reprise their roles as Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Connor in the 5th installment of the “Fast and the Furious”. Now, supposedly the new film will be titled “Fast Five” – not overly clever I suppose, but I mean really, what else can they do at this point.

1. The Blues Brothers: 1980

1974 Dodge Monaco

“It’s got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It’s got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It’s a model made before catalytic converters so it’ll run good on regular gas”

Believe it or not this car chase was one of the last really gritty car chases made. Oddly enough, this chase was actually supposed to be a spoof of what a great car chase should be and ended up being one of the best ones ever filmed. It also destroyed over 60 used police cars and made the “Bluesmobile” a movie icon.

Bullitt, released in 1968, is sometimes credited with the car chase boom of the 70s

For those of you around back then, the 70’s were awesome. We had bell-bottoms, disco and the Pontiac Trans Am. We were also inundated with the 70’s style car chase. You see, in the 1970’s they would generally use the same car throughout the entire chase scene. If directors could, they would try to get away with using only one car for a more authentic look and feel. Damage that occurred during filming could now be seen throughout the entire chase. These were filmed before computers, high end editing software and product placement. The results are some of the best car chases ever captured on film.

1. Vanishing Point: 1970

1970 Dodge Challenger

Over the last few years’ values in the collector car market have gone up and down more times then Oprah’s scale. Cars that were once in the six-figures are now in the five-figures with more market flux to come. Buyers who are new to the market can easily become confused and it is very easy to get taken advantage of by sellers who are less than honest.

I get emails constantly inquiring as to what cars to pick up as future collectibles. I also get asked my opinion on what the best bang for the buck is amongst these automobiles. After doing a bit of research, I’ve put together a list of automobiles that I would classify as having “Future Collect-ability”. These are cars that can be purchased right now and are priced between: $8,000 – $20,000.

There is simply no way to properly introduce Bullitt.

For those who have seen it, you already understand why it’s so good: the gritty depiction of San Fransisco’s underbelly, the mystery, the drama, and quite possibly the greatest car chase scene of all time between a ‘68 fastback Mustang and a menacing black Charger. For the rest of you, you indeed have my sympathies.

Following the jump, there is a brilliant, albeit short, 10 minute video giving you a behind the scenes look at how Bullitt was brought to life in Steve McQueen’s image. The thing to remember about this movie is the fact that it was made in the pursuit of portraying reality–the dark, dirty, uncanny truth within the story. The chase scenes were real, having predated CGI and special effects technology. The locations were real, such as the architect studio where McQueen’s on screen girlfriend worked, and even some of the “actors” weren’t actors at all–such as the hospital scene, portrayed by real surgeons and nurses.

If you’ve already seen the movie, you’ll probably get more out of the video than those who haven’t. But who knows, this just might whet your palette enough to get you off your ass and into Blockbuster.

There’s also the epic car chase scene included for your enjoyment and drooling purposes.