Manic Expression

10. The Helicarrier (The Avengers)

Granted, this is a very new addition to the list, and barely bumped James Bond’s Aston Martin from the top 10, but the Helicarrier is just...it’s just...well, it’s so fucking cool! Its one thing to draw the Helicarrier in the comics, where we can suspend our disbelief, its another to make that sucker fly in a live action movie. When I was a kid I had the G.I. Joe play set, the Pit. You remember the Pit, right? The command center for the Joe’s? Well the Helicarrier is the Pit...and it can friggin’ fly!

9. The Lightcycle (Tron: Legacy)

The lightcycle’s in the first Tron were fine for their day, but the reinterpretation in the long delayed sequel really moves. Seeing the film in IMAX 3D (an extravagance I rarely indulge in) was worth it for the lightcycle race around that arena alone. Rarely have I ever been so envious of a film character as I was of Sam Flynn, flying across the screen in a motorcycle made of brilliant light.

8. The Ecto-1 (Ghostbusters)

What’s so funny about the Ecto-1 is that, when we first see Ray Stantz pull up in it, this car is a total piece of junk. An old ambulance / hearse, the Ecto is transformed into a badass ghost catching vehicle. While the movies and game don’t show off the cars capabilities, the animated Real Ghostbusters show from the 80s did, giving us a peak at what all that cool looking crap actually did. No wonder they weren’t afraid of no ghosts.

7. The Starship Enterprise (Star Trek)

While the Enterprise can be used as a weapon, that is not its primary function. This Starship was built for exploration and peace keeping missions. It shows the best of what mankind can achieve if we are working together, with a crew of all races, creeds, and even species zipping across space, looking to extend a friendly hand to all known and unknown civilizations. ...Of course, if they must start firing photon torpedos up your ass, this Federation Starship is more than capable of doing so.

6. The DeLorean (Back to the Future, part II)

"If you’re going to build a time machine into a car, why not do it with a sense of style?" That was Doc Brown’s reasoning behind building what now seems like a relic from the 80s, a DeLorean, into the worlds first time machine, and by gum he was right! While I love the DeLorean’s ever evolving look, its the time machines look in the second movie that sticks with me. This was the car at its pique, able to fly and run off of ordinary household garbage. No more would it break down on Marty, stalling or shutting off at random. ...Just keep it away from a bolt of lightening.

5. Serenity (Firefly)

Unlike most spaceships in film, Serenity feels like home. We see where everyone sleeps, where they sit and and eat together. When Wash is flying the ship we see his personal things lying around. While Serenity does have the badass weapons and design of other ships, it also feels like a broken in, well loved old homestead, and while the crew may be tired of scratching out a living amongst the stars, there's no place they'd rather scratch that living out in that Serenity.

4. The TARDIS (Doctor Who)

“Its...its...its bigger on the inside!” Yes, the Doctor’s TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) looks like an ordinary 1960s police box from the outside, but inside its a space ship / time machine bigger than your house. While the outside of the little blue box has barely changed in 50 years, the inside has evolved from Doctor to Doctor. But the feel of the TARDIS stays the same. Everyone who steps inside is in awe, at once confused, terrified, and giddy like a child. I’m still waiting for that box to show up in my backyard and for the Doctor to step out and ask me if I want to see the stars.

3. The Batmobile (Batman 1989)

The Tumbler may make more sense, but this is what I think of when someone says “Batmobile.” When I was nine years old and sitting in the movie theater watching Tim Burton’s now classic interpretation of the Dark Knight, I would have given anything just to see Michael Keaton’s ride, let alone ride shotgun. While the design doesn’t make a whole helluva lot of sense, this interpretation of the Batmobile feels like something straight out of a comic book...which, of course, it is.

2. The Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)

Is there anyone born after 1977 who hasn’t dreamed of piloting the Millennium Falcon? While Luke Skywalker’s journey from farm boy to Jedi Master may be where we’re most emotionally invested, we’d fly off with Han and Chewie in a second if they’d have us on their crew. The Falcon set the standard for spaceships in sci-fi, and everything from the Nostromo in Alien to the Nebakanezer in The Matrix has been influenced by its design...though none have ever packed the same wallop of pure, giddy geeky delight as Solo’s baby.

1. The flying bicycle (E.T.)

Maybe its just me, but if I had to pick just one vehicle from a movie I could take a ride on, it would be this one. How many kids have zoomed around on their bikes since 1982, wishing they would suddenly lift off and fly across the moon? There’s a reason that scene from E.T. became iconic - it was wish fulfillment for the child in all of us. After all, we might get to pilot the Millennium Falcon or zip around in the Batmobile, but we wouldn’t get to feel the wind in our faces like we could if a certain benevolent alien was piloting our trusty Schwinn.