Tonight on MeTV- buckle up for a ride with a violent vehicle that gives citizens of a small desert town a hellish hit-and-run -it’s the deadly and devilish driverless destruction of- "The Car"!

Let’s reminisce - 1977, "roadkill" movies seemed to be in vogue, with "Christine" and "Maximum Overdrive" in theatres- and they were joined by this film (which opens with a quote from the late leader of "the Church of Satan"!? ) – which starts out serenely enough with two bicyclists cruising through a canyon-when a mysterious black car seems to decide that the road isn’t big enough for all of them! Soon after, a French horn-playing hitchhiker finds out he can’t compete with the strange car’s horn- in the worst way!

Police deputy Wade Parent, single father of two girls and boyfriend to a local schoolteacher, is called upon to investigate- with little help from one witness- a wife-abusing citizen who saw what happened to the horn player. The situation becomes more tense when another killing hits close to home for the local police force- and more events prove to have the same connection- the victims were done in by a large black car with no license plate - and an unseen driver.

Deputy Wade becomes concerned and decides on cancelling any public events- but his girlfriend, schoolteacher Lauren, insists she needs to hold outdoor practices with her school marching band. Reluctantly, Wade finally has a compromise- there will be a rehearsal, but with a police guard!

During rehearsal, an eerie wind blows up- and, once again, the mysterious car attacks! The students and faculty still can't see any driver (keep in mind- an earlier witness to one of the deadly events says there WAS no driver!) and, as the car speeds away into the desert, the police give chase- with more tragic results. Wade has his own run-in with the "angry auto"- and it seems that even bullets have no effect on it!

With the car still on the prowl, Wade is worried about protecting not just the citizens, but also Lauren - and his two daughters! More lives are lost, with the Satanic automobile seeming to actually be choosing its victims. In desperation, Wade must create a dangerous plan to stop the motorized menace. This leads to a final showdown between man and a maniacal machine that appears to be driven by supernatural powers! (Plus- power steering, power brakes...)

This film has many nail-biting moments, and some have said it seems a bit more logical than the Dennis Weaver film “Duel”- to some extent. We'll run down (oops- poor choice of words) the cast, including James Brolin, Ronny Cox, "The Godfather" alumnus John Marley, and even some future "Real Housewives"-plus, the car itself, created by the late George Barris! We’ll also get a lot of milage from the usual Sven fun- with a parody of a certain cartoon seen on “Tune In With Me” and MeTV Toons- and we also bring back our version of one of the first commercials from Liberty ( or Bibberty)- plus a look at another famous horror movie car- a few moments with our actor pal Jeff Daniel Phillips who can make any vehicle somewhat disturbing !

"The Car" roars into view on MeTV tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or -check local listings or at www.metv.com for time and channel in your area. We appreciate all the viewers who were live-Tweeting on Twitter- and live commenting on Bluesky during the show last week -and invite you all to do it again tonight, using the hashtag #svengoolie in your posts! Our Chicago area audience can get a second look at the John Landis favorite “An American Werewolf in London” at 11 am on WCIU the U.

The Rondo Awards board has asked me to remind you that you can vote right now for your various horror favorites in the Rondo awards- yes, I’m a candidate in the “favorite horror host” category- but please vote for all your true favorites. You can vote in as few (even one) or as many categories as you want- just follow all the directions, or your votes will NOT count! You must get your vote in by midnight, May1.To vote, go to rondoaward.com !

But tonight- there will be no ‘safe driver’ award-so, keep your eyes on the road- uh, the movie- and fasten your seat belts for a scary ride with "The Car"!