Synopsis for
The Car (1977) More at IMDbPro »

On the outskirts of Santa Ynez, two cyclists are killed by a sinister black sedan. The car gives an otherworldly roar from its engine, and an ominous staccato-blaring of its horn.

Shortly after, near the entrance to Santa Ynez, a young hitchhiker observes a local named Amos Clements chasing his wife out of the house, and striking her. The young man attempts to help, but Amos demands he leave. As Amos and his wife go back in the house, the young man spies a black car coming up the road, preceded by a high-wind. The driver almost hits the young man, and he screams obscenities after it. Suddenly, the car brakes to a halt, and backs up, running over the young man several times before driving off. Amos sees this from a window in his house, and calls the Police.

Meanwhile, Officer Wade Parent, a newly-single Father awakes from an evening with one of the town's new school teachers named Lauren. After Lauren sneaks out the back of the house, Wade helps his daughters get ready for school, when he receives a call on his radio.

Wade then goes to Amos' house, where several others are interrogating Amos about the car. Amos provides scant details, and several of the officers note that Amos' wife seems to be rather quiet. Shortly thereafter, reports of the two dead cyclists reaches the Officers, and they investigate.

Later on that evening, Amos and his family are taken into the office for questioning after someone reports him abusing his wife again. The Sheriff pleads with Amos' wife to report him and he can help her, but she refuses. The Sheriff watches sadly as she and her son get into their truck and drive off, while Amos goes across the street to a bar. As the Sheriff watches, the black car roars to life down a side street, heading right for Amos. Amos dives for the curb, and the car instead ends up running over the Sheriff.

Amos is once again put under Police questioning, but demands that either the Police hunt down the car, or he will, temperamentally wanting to get payback. Wade soon resumes the Sheriff's duties, and requests that roadblocks be put up. He also informs one of his deputies to contact the school and cancel parade rehearsals for the next day.

However, the deputy forgets, and the parade rehearsal happens. However, a high wind whips up soon after, and the car appears! The parade participants rush into a small cemetery nearby for cover, and are amazed when the vehicle does not enter. Lauren distracts the car by taunting it, while one of the other teachers rushes away and calls the Sheriff's office. In the aftermath, the car damages one of the cemetery's entrance pillars, and drives off.

Wade and his men attempt to stop the car, but it ends up knocking one of the officers over a cliff, and destroying 2 other cars with 4 officers inside.

Wade soon confronts the car, when it stops on a road. He attempts to shoot at it from a short range, but the bullets do no harm. Wade then walks up to the car. As he does so, the door suddenly flies open, knocking him down into a ditch.

Wade then wakes up in the hospital, having recovered. When heHe talks with the remaining deputies about keeping the roadblocks up, and sends one of them to escort Lauren home.

Lauren is escorted home, and the deputy returns to the station. However, after he leaves, a strong wind whips up, and Lauren rushes inside her house. She quickly calls Wade to tell him about the wind and her fear, when suddenly, the car bursts through her house at high speed, killing her in the process, before driving out the other side and off into the night.

Wade and his deputies soon after investigate the remains of the house. As they leave, one of Wade's deputies makes a suggestion: the vehicle they are looking for is most likely supernatural. Wade refuses to believe this, but the deputy points out a couple reasons why he thinks this:

1) The car did not follow the people into the cemetery, because it's consecrated ground. 2) The car singled out Lauren because she taunted it. 3) The car had to have 'flown' 4 feet off the ground in order to punch through the front of her house. 4) The car knew where Lauren lived-how could it know that?