Vehicular Sabotage: Difference between revisions

[[File:gtafishradiator 8281.jpg|link=Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars|frame|Grilled Tuna: For occasions when non-fish related '''Vehicular Sabotage''' ''just won't do''.]]

 

 

 

When a character maliciously tampers with someone else's vehicle prior to it being driven. Since [[Every Car Is a Pinto]], this can turn a pleasant family drive in the trusty minivan into a hurtling terror-ride in a burning metal death trap. In other situations, less dangerous methods may be used simply to slow the would-be driver down or to get revenge for a previous slight.

 

Compare with [[Vehicular Assault]], in which a vehicle is used as a weapon by its pilot. A supertrope of [[Banana In the Tailpipe]] and [[External Combustion]], when the sabotage comes by way of an explosive device planted by the enemy. This is also a favorite way to [[Make It Look Like an Accident]].

{{examples}}

 

* A non-automobile ''[[Superman]]'' example would be a [[Silver Age]] story where Clark gets amnesia and falls in love with a ranch owner's daughter. A jealous suitor feeds loco weed to a bronco Clark intends to ride in order to earn money for an engagement ring, and Clark ends up "paralyzed" because of it.

* Hartigan sabotages Junior Roark's car at the beginning of the ''[[Sin City]]'' tale, "The Yellow Bastard".

 

* ''[[Changing Lanes]]'': Doyle Gipson removes the nuts from one of Gavin Banek's car tires as part of their ongoing [[Cycle of Revenge]]. To add insult to injury, Doyle arranges it so that the taxi he's riding in passes by Gavin in time for the former to wave, hold up a tire iron, and then let the nuts fall through his fingers, giving Gavin an [[Oh Crap]] moment before his tire pops off on the busy New York freeway.

* In ''[[The Great Race]]'', the villain's sidekick sabotages all the cars before the race... including their own. They realize it about a second before their engine falls out of the car.

* In ''[[Bad Day at Black Rock]]'', Hector rips the distributor cap and spark plug wires out of Doc Velie's hearse to stop Macreedy leaving town.

 

* In one of the ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'' books, Edward sabotages Bella's truck to stop her from visiting Jacob.

* In the [[Pulp Magazine]] story ''Cauldron of Death'' by John Grange, someone sabotages the brakes of the car [[The Hero|Jim Anthony]] is borrowing, while it's parked at the top of a steep hill leading directly to the river. Good thing Jim is a [[Doc Savage]] pastiche, and a magnificent driver.

* In one of ''[[The Baby Sitters Club]]'' mysteries, a young actor's limo is sabotaged by a crazy fan of his co-star who had been trying to discredit the kid throughout the whole book with increasingly dangerous stunts. Tragedy was only averted by Kristy figuring it out and just barely managing to get the driver to stop before driving off. [[Nightmare Fuel]] anyone?

 

* In the ''[[Mission: Impossible]]'' episode "The Missile", a psychotic mechanic tampers with the brakes in Dana's car.

* Happens quite often on ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'', occasionally even to The General Lee.

* ''[[Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries]]'': In "Blood at the Wheel", the wheel nuts on a female rally driver's car are loosened, causing the wheel to come off at high speed.

 

* [[Carrie Underwood]] does this to take revenge on a cheating lover in the song and music video for "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSy8yy-mr8 Before He Cheats]"

* "Banditos" by The Refreshments, second verse: "Put the sugar in the tank of the sheriff's car, and slash the deputy's tires and they won't get very far when they finally get the word that there's been a holdup."

 

* In the play ''[[Blithe Spirit (theatre)|Blithe Spirit]]'' Charles' first wife (who is a ghost) tampers with his brakes so he'll die and join her in the afterlife. But unfortunately for all, it is Charles's second wife Ruth who drives the car and gets killed, turning her into a ghost too.

* In the [[Film Noir]] [[Show Within a Show|within the show]] in ''[[City of Angels (musical)|City of Angels]]'', Mallory claims to have done away with Peter by tampering with the brakes of his van. Peter lives, though this is implied to be the result of [[Executive Meddling]].

 

* Vehicular Sabotage is a standard Dick Dastardly tactic in the ''[[Wacky Races]]'', to try to get a leg up on the competition.

* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'': In order to smoke out a person trying to kill Homer, he is made the King of the Mardi Gras parade. The person trying to kill him as tampered with the brakes of his float so he can't stop.