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- Ecto-1 had not been properly maintained so it began to smoke and break down. It even broke down on the Brooklyn Bridge causing a traffic jam which the production of Ghostbusters II had to pay for. Fortunately, the aforementioned second Miller-Meteor was refurbished to become Ecto-1A in the sequel. Ecto-1 Caused People To Crash
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What happened to Ecto-1 after Ghostbusters were shut down?
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What happened to ectronymous in Ghostbusters?
Did you know the Ghostbusters Ecto-1 has a history?
- Miller and Meteor were initially competing companies. Wayne Corporation, an Indiana company that made buses, wanted to diversify. In 1954, they purchased Meteor Motor Car, which built limousines and ambulances.
- The tailfins were the largest to appear on a production car. They’re the same from the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado.
- The Miller-Meteor production run was very limited. Only about 400 vehicles were made. The powerplant was a 6.3-liter V8, good for 320 horsepower. Seems like a lot until you factor in the car’s curb weight: around three tons.
- Early scripts called for a 1975 Cadillac ambulance. Though by the time the final shooting script was locked in, the 1959 model was settled on, though the purchase price was too low at $1,400.
- Overview
- History
- Parts
- Development
- Trivia
- Also See
- Appearances
- Notes
- References
The Ecto-1 (also known as the Ectomobile) was the vehicle that the Ghostbusters used to travel throughout New York City busting ghosts and other entities. It was relocated to Summerville, Oklahoma for over a decade but was returned to New York City in summer 2021.
Primary Canon HistorySecondary Canon HistorySecondary Canon (Expanded Universe) HistoryTertiary Canon HistoryThe Ecto-1 was modified during much of the The Real Ghostbusters's run. These modifications included adding weapons, a blowup raft device, and more. For more about the changes go here.Repairs
After purchasing the vehicle in used condition, Ray had to make repairs on the following parts of the car:[4][5] •Suspension work •Shocks •Brakes •Brake pads •Lining •Steering box •Transmission •Rear end •New rings •Mufflers •(a little) wiring
Roof Rack
Dr. Egon Spengler miniaturized ghostbusting technology for mobile purposes and they were mounted on the roof rack of Ecto-1.[6] •Muon Scrubbers[7] •Radio GPS Locator[8] •High Intensity Microfoams •EMF Scrubbers
Gunner Seat
The passenger rear seat later became a gunner seat. Pushing a lever down would move the door open and against the exterior then the gunner seat extends out. The person on the seat would then have a Proton Pack to use.
Ghostbusters (1984) Development
Dan Aykroyd's original Ecto-1 was an all-black, rather sinister-looking machine with flashing white and purple strobe lights that gave it a strange, ultraviolet aura. While going through the script, the cinematographer László Kovács was the first who pointed out the black design would be a problem since part of the movie would be shot at night.[9][10] It had some extranormal powers, such as the ability to dematerialize.[11] One use of it would be to elude police pursuit.[12] In drafts of the first movie, Ecto-1 was originally different models. In the July 6, 1983 draft, it was to be a blue and white 1975 Cadillac Full Formal Excelsior Ambulance bought for only $600 but by the time the September 30, 1983 draft was written, the price had escalated to $1400 for an even older 1959 model, "very long, gold 1959 Cadillac ambulance." During filming, inflation increased the cost to $4800.[13] It was ultimately decided that Ecto-1, and later Ecto-1a, would be a Miller-Meteor Futura Ambulance/Hearse Combination mounted on a 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood Professional Chassis. The black and gray 1959 Cadillac Miller Meteor Futura purchased by Ray in the movie was originally an ambulance used by the Bellwoods Rescue Squad No. 486 in Bellwood, Illonois, a suburb of Chicago, between 1968 and 1981. The exterior was red and white and the interior vinyl was baby blue. A young 20-something year old paramedic named Roger, who worked for a private ambulance company in Chicago, saw the Cadillac in November-December 1982 in the South Side with "59 Cadillac, Make Offer" written on the windshield with shoe polish. A few days later, he bought it and his father helped him retrieve it. In September 1983, the EMT company where he worked at was contacted by a representative of Columbia. They were looking for a '59 Miller Meteor as the "before car" for a movie. Roger rented it to them for four months. The deal was that it would be transported to Los Angeles in October for the filming. However, it was first trucked to New York City for the exterior shoot outside Hook & Ladder Company #8 at 18 North Moore Street when Peter exclaims, "You can't park that here!" Roger was able to make the trip to New York City in October 1983 using some of the rental money to see the filming. The license plate was "2785-FEM". He was surprised to see his car painted black and gray. That was not part of the deal, but Columbia gave him a second payment to cover the price of painting it back the way it had been. It was then transported to Los Angeles for the interior shoot of Dana's first entrance into the Firehouse. A total of 94 miles was added to its odometer. A hospital in Riverside, California contacted Frank Corrente's Cadillac Corner in West Hollywood about selling a 1959 Cadillac Miller Meteor Futura ambulance in gold that was still in driving condition. Mr. Corrente agreed to purchase it and the Cadillac was driven from Riverside to West Hollywood. At some point in 1983, the Ghostbusters production team purchased the 1959 Cadillac from Cadillac Corner.[14] Corrente sold the ambulance in part because his employees drove it around Hollywood with the siren on and local police received noise complaints from places such as a retirement home.[15] [Note 1] The car bought from Cadillac Corner became the primary Ecto-1 hero car used in the movie. Work on the Ecto-1 hero car started in October 1983. Stephen Dane, credited as a Hardware Consultant,[16] was the fabricator of the original Ecto-1.[17] On October 5, 1983, Dane started working on Ecto-1. He visited the primary ambulance in the back lot at The Burbank Studios. He took reference photos and measurements then went home. Dane drew up isometrics of Ecto-1 and its roof rack and various views and elevations of the exterior and interior. Dane spent the longest amount of time in his gig working on the Ecto-1 design. After Ivan Reitman approved Dane's design, studio painters and prop makers at The Burbank Studios Mill went to work on paint and detailing. Dane oversaw construction and directed them on building the car based off his designs. After about two weeks, the paint job and details were blocked out. The prop makers also repaired the ambulance to driving condition, cleaned the interior, and installed equipment. The car was too big to be shipped by air. It was sent by railroad to New York.[18] By the time it shipped on October 19, the ambulance was about half-done. Dane bought parts for the roof rack. Once it was done, it was shipped by airplane to New York where it was attached to Ecto-1. It took around four to five days for everything to ship from Hollywood to Manhattan. The finished Ecto-1 wasn't an exact duplicate of Dane's designs. Dane originally drew the Proton Packs to lay sideways on Ecto-1's gurney but the prop makes changed that so the packs were upright at a slight angle. Some parts on the roof rack changed position from the design. They were on top of each other or faced in a different direction. After one to two days of finishing touches, Ecto-1 was ready for filming.[19] Ecto-1 broke down in Central Park. They were blocking the crosstown traffic so the cast and crew pushed it out of the way.[20] After principal photography moved to Los Angeles, the second unit continued doing a couple of shots in New York with Ecto-1 and it broke down.[21] Ecto-1 died during filming of the Chapter 20 "Keymaster" scene where Ray and Winston drove across the Manhattan Bridge.[22] The black and gray Cadillac was returned to Roger in February 1984 with some damage to the rear end as if it had been backed into a wall. A hand-made logo was put on the door then Roger and his then-girlfriend Annette took the car to a drive-in for opening night of the movie in Wheeling, Illinois on June 15, 1984. A few years later, in 1988, Roger sold it to a downstate Illinois paramedic and car collector named Ed. Before the release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game in 2009, the original Ecto-1 was now rusty and literally falling apart. It was fully restored to promote the game. Dan Aykroyd was shocked at the high quality of the restoration. Around 2012, the black and gray Cadillac was sold to a private car collection in Illinois.
Ghostbusters II Development
Ecto-1 was backfiring and spewing smoke. This was not done by special effects as the Cadillac truly was in a poor state of repair. It finally "died" on the Brooklyn Bridge. The New York Police Department fined the filmmakers because the Brooklyn Bridge lacked breakdown lanes and Ecto-1 was blocking traffic.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Development
Three Ecto-1s were used in the movie. Ghostlight Industries, based in Los Angeles, were commissioned to build the three cars.[23] Ghostlight had less than three months to build them.[24] The crew went frame by frame of the 1984 movie and logged all the details of Ecto-1. The original license plate was scanned and replicated. The ladder was moved to the other side of Ecto-1 to compensate for the addition of the gunner seat.[25] The Ecto-1a that Sony had in a storage container was one of the cars used to build Ecto-1.[26] While the two Ecto-1 hero cars were 1959 Cadillac models, the third Ecto-1 was sliced into sections for filming certain scenes and was a 1961 donated by a Ghostbusters fans.[27] Some of the moldings for the Ecto-1 built for Ghostbusters: Afterlife were recreated with 3D printings or fiber glass parts that were chromed when the original could not be sourced.[28] The initial idea for the gunner seat was to just bolt on a regular Proton Pack.[29] The gunner seat's Particle Thrower was designed by Kirsten Franson then built by The Hand Prop Room.[30] Early concepts for the Remote Trap Vehicle's deployment in Ecto-1 included a swing out arm and a rotating turret door.[31][32] For the No-Ghost logo on the Ecto-1s for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Francois Audouy recreated vinyl replicas of the logo then he integrated specific cracked patterns to simulate aging.[33] During the testing phase, one of the Ecto-1 cars was driven by the stunt driver in a parking lot. He tried to take it into a sideways skid and the wheels fell off. It was sent back to Los Angeles for an upgraded suspension and Ford Mustang axles.[34][35] The suspension was designed and built specifically built for the cars. They also had General Motors LS3 crate engines with 550 horsepower.[36]
Ghostbusters (1984) Trivia
•In the August 5, 1983 draft of the first movie, on page 65, a Motor Trend cover hails Ecto-1 as "Car of the Year."[37] •There had been 3 Miller-Meteor Ambulances to portray the 2 vehicles in the first two movies, the pre-Ecto-1 which was never transformed, Ecto-1 which was originally a gold ambulance and Ecto-1a. •Dan Aykroyd drove the Ecto-1 in New York.[38] •$4800 was a rather large sum at the time for a used vehicle in such disrepair - but is comparable to about $10,686.44 in 2012 dollars.[39] •A second Cadillac was bought in case of any maintenance problems during filming of the first movie but only the primary was fully converted. The secondary was used solely for early "premodification" scenes.[40] •Sound designer Richard Beggs incorporated a modified leopard snarl for the siren sound. The snarl was reversed, played backwards, and then its speed was changed.[41][42] •Ecto-1 was promoting the 1984 film shortly after it was released in theaters. It drove around New York City with one of the Ghostbusters driving it in costume. Ecto-1 caused many accidents because other drivers lost control when they spotted the now-famous car. [citation needed] •In a deleted scene of the first movie, there was encounter between a policeman and the Ecto-1. It was the only scene in the final shooting script that suggested the vehicle had some extranormal powers carried over from Aykroyd's initial draft. It was removed because it slowed down the montage.[43] Ivan Reitman also felt it was asking too much from the audience.[44] •At around the 44:29 mark of the Preview Cut, included first in the 2022 Ghostbusters Ultimate Edition, Ecto-1 drives by a bicyclist. At around the 45:39 mark, Egon fixes the roof rack on Ecto-1. At around 46:02, they check under the hood of Ecto-1 while in the city. •The scene where Ray and Winston are in Ecto-1 talking about end of the world was used to audition actors for the role of Winston.[45] •In the final shot of Ecto-1 driving way in the first movie, a 65mm camera was used. They could only do one take because they were losing daylight.[46]
Ghostbusters II Trivia
•In the Ghostbusters II November 27, 1988 draft: •On page 7, Ecto-1 won't start after the party. •On page 8, Ecto-1 finally starts but dies. Ray bangs his head on the steering wheel.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Trivia
•The antennas on top of the Farmhouse is a nod to the equipment on Ecto-1's roof rack.[47] •Since the movie was shot out of order, the art department, paint department and the assistant directors had to identify Ecto-1 by four stages: under the tarp, after the tarp is off, after driving through the field, and after being splashed by the hydrant. The Ecto-1 wasn't simply covered in dust for earlier scenes, the crew had to do it in paint so that it stayed on.[48][49] •"Boredom" plays during the scene when Trevor first gets Ecto-1 started and drives through the barley fields. •One of the first ideas that came to Jason Reitman for Ecto-1 was wheat drifting.[50] •The cast and crew spent a whole afternoon doing doughnuts with Ecto-1 in the barley field. The Ecto-1 used had the smell of toasted barley on it afterwards.[51] •A CG version of Ecto-1 was used when it drove through the barley field.[52] •A truck with the same wheelbase as the Cadillac stood in for Ecto-1 for the jump scene. It was fitted with the same tires as Ecto-1.[53] •Jeff Senca was the stunt driver for the Ecto-1 jump scene.[54] •For Ecto-1 jump scene, the car's speed was in the 35 to 40 mph range then it went 55 feet from take off to landing.[55] •For Ecto-1 jump scene, five cameras were placed at multiple angles.[56] •For Ecto-1 jump scene, the stunt truck landed on the stunt camera but the footage survived.[57] •Phoebe reveals Trevor failed his driver's test three times. In real life, Finn Wolfhard has failed twice and didn't have a license during filming. •Ashley from the Alberta Ghostbusters designed a neutrona wand box that was ultimately unused. It ended up in her home. James from the Alberta Ghostbusters modeled some of the parts for Ecto-1.[58] •The Proton Pack for the gunner seat was made by cutting up a foam stunt pack prop with a hack saw[59] •At one point, the Particle Thrower for the gunner seat was going to be white and plastic.[60]' •The Particle Thrower for the Ecto-1's gunner seat is shorter and lacks a barrel extension mechanism. It took inspiration from military vehicle weapons having a shorter barrel so troops could get in and out fast. The thrower was named the "snub nose."[61] •The cage for the gunner seat was plastic or wood cut using a Glowforge.[62] •The grain elevator Ecto-1 passes by was filmed in Dorothy, Alberta, Canada. There is an old grain elevator at Highway 570 near 1st Street. •One of the pieces on the bumper of the Proton Pack prop on the gunner seat kept falling off. In the 20 to 30 takes, Ben Eadie had to re-glue the piece back on each time.[63] •The Hero Ecto-1 used for stunt driving in Afterlife went through a couple suspensions just because of the extra weight from the roof equipment.[64] •Filming of the Muncher chase was seen at the corner of Railway Street and Nanton Avenue in Crossfield, Alberta, Canada in August 2019. •When Trevor, Podcast, and Phoebe, in Ecto-1, find Muncher eating a hydrant, that was filmed in front of Queens Hotel in Fort MacLeod. •The Gunner seat reveal was filmed in Fort MacLeod, on the corner of Second Avenue and 24th Street. •The Kenner Ecto-1 toy featured a similar blaster chair but it was on the roof. •Some of the shots of Phoebe on the gunner seat were filmed against greenscreen and composited in later. If a scene involved using a second unit and stunt double, the visual effects team did a face replacement with Mckenna Grace's.[65] •In pursuit of Muncher in Ecto-1, they turn off 2 Avenue onto 24th Street then past the Empress Theatre at 235 24th Street, Fort MacLeod, Alberta T0L 0Z0, Canada. •After being pulled over by the Sheriff's Department, a Twinkie is seen in the Ecto-1's glove box. •The police garage Ecto-1 exits out of was filmed at Crossfield Automotive next to where the sheriff's office was filmed. •The shot of the garage door rising up mirrors when the Ecto-1 drove out of the Firehouse to head to the Sedgewick Hotel in the first movie, Chapter 11: "We Got One!" •After leaving the sheriff's office, Ecto-1 turns and passes by a Stay Puft Marshmallows mural on the side of a building. This was filmed on Railway Street in Crossfield. •The shot of Ecto-1 turning past the Stay Puft Marshmallows sign was a recreation of the shot of Ecto-1 leaving the Firehouse after the Ghostbusters got their first call, seen in Chapter 11: "We Got One!"[66] •Podcast emerges from Ecto-1 covered in marshmallow residue much like three of the Ghostbusters at the end of the first movie, Chapter 28: Crossing Streams. •The end tag was seen being filmed on August 11, 2021 at the Los Angeles firehouse used in the original two movies. The Ecto-1 and Containment Unit were seen.[67]
•Ecto-1a
•Ecto-1b
•Ecto-1/Animated
•Ecto-2 (IDW)
•Ecto-4 (IDW)
•Ecto-5
Primary Canon Appearances
•Ghostbusters •Chapter 07: Fried Eggs & Zuul •Chapter 09: The 1st Customer •Chapter 11: "We Got One!" •Chapter 14: Welcome Aboard •Chapter 15: E.P.A. Man •Chapter 20: Keymaster •Chapter 21: Out of Biz •Chapter 24: Biblical •Chapter 25: Working the Crowd •Chapter 26: Gozer •Chapter 28: Crossing Streams •Ghostbusters II •Chapter 01: Start •Ghostbusters: Afterlife •Chapter 03 •Chapter 05 •Chapter 06 •Seen in online video only. •Chapter 09 •Chapter 10 •Chapter 11 •Mentioned by Ray Stantz and Phoebe Spengler.[69][70] •Chapter 15 •Chapter 16 Expanded Universe •Ghostbusters •(Deleted Scene): Ecto-1 Parking Ticket •(Deleted Scene): Pulling Up To Fort Detmerring •(Deleted Scene): Busy •(Deleted Scene): Promotion •(Deleted Scene): E.P.A. •(Deleted Scene): Puft Hat
Secondary Canon Appearances
•IDW Comics •"The Other Side 1" •"The Other Side 2" •"Past, Present, and Future" •"Tainted Love" •"What in Samhain Just Happened?!" •"Guess What's Coming to Dinner?" •"Ghostbusters: Infestation #1" •"Ghostbusters: Infestation #2" •Ongoing Series •Volume 2 •Issue #6 •Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ghostbusters •Issue #1 •Issue #2 •Issue #3 •Issue #4 •Ghostbusters Get Real •Issue #3 •Issue #4 •Ghostbusters Annual 2015 •"Daydreams and Nightmares!" •"Hot Foot" •"A Fall Wind in Summer" •"World of the Psychic" •Volume 3 •Ghostbusters International #1 •On page 10, Peter alludes to Ecto-1 [71] •Ghostbusters International #2 •Ghostbusters International #6 •Ghostbusters International #11 •Ghostbusters Annual 2017 •Where Winston Was •Ghostbusters 101 Prelude •Ghostbusters 101 •Issue #5 •Issue #6 •Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters Volume 2 •Issue #1 •Ghostbusters Annual 2018 •Ghostbusters Crossing Over •Issue #1 •Ghostbusters IDW 20/20 •IDW 20/20 (Dimension 50-S version only) •35th Anniversary: Ghostbusters •Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron •Issue #1 •Issue #2 •Alluded to by Ray Stantz on page 2.[72] •Alluded to by Ray Stantz on page 20.[73] •Issue #4 •Ghostbusters Year One •Issue #1 •Issue #2 •Issue #3 •Issue #4
Secondary Canon (Expanded Universe) Appearances
•Ghostbusters: The Video Game •Stylized Version •Stylized Portable Versions
1.↑ According a phone call conducted between Ghostbusters Wiki administrator Mrmichaelt and Frank Corrente on June 30, 2023, Mr. Corrente got a call from a job site in Riverside about a hospital who wanted to sell him a gold 1959 Cadillac ambulance and it was driven from Riverside to the Cadillac Corner in West Hollywood. Mr. Corrente also recalled...
1.↑ Ray Stantz (2005). Ghostbusters (1984) (DVD ts. 20:46). Columbia Pictures. Ray says: "Only 4800."
2.↑ Podcast (2022). Ghostbusters: Afterlife Chapter 10 (2021) (Blu-Ray ts. 58:30-58:31). Sony Pictures. Podcast says: "It has a gunner seat?"
3.↑ Sheriff Domingo (2022). Ghostbusters: Afterlife Chapter 11 (2021) (Blu-Ray ts. 01:08:17-01:08:21). Sony Pictures. Sheriff Domingo says: "Driving without a license. Expired registration. Speeding."
4.↑ Ray Stantz (2005). Ghostbusters (1984) (DVD ts. 20:36-45). Columbia Pictures. Ray says: "Everybody can relax, I found the car. Needs some suspension work and shocks... and brakes, brake pads, linings, steering box, transmission, rear end."
5.↑ Ray Stantz (2005). Ghostbusters (1984) (DVD ts. 20:46-20:49). Columbia Pictures. Ray says: "Only 4800. Maybe new rings, also mufflers, a little wiring."
6.↑ Dan Aykroyd (2009). 2009 Remaster of Ghostbusters, Ecto-1: Restoring the Classic Car (2009) (Blu-Ray ts. 11:36-11:41). Columbia Pictures. Dan Aykroyd says: "Dr. Spengler had to miniaturize this for--for mobile purposes."
Yes, Miller-Meteor made both ambulances and hearses, and yes, the Ghostbusters deal with spooky dead things. But the Ecto doesn’t have the landau top traditionally found on hearses, clearly has ambulance lighting on the roof when it’s introduced as a beater early in the film, and was even referred to as an ambulance during production ...
After the Ghostbusters were shut down, Ecto-1 was used primarily for transport to and from appearances at such places as children's birthday parties. It fell into a state of disrepair and was seen spewing smoke, and had other various mechanical problems.
Dec 24, 2021 · After the release of Ghostbusters, The Drive reports that Ecto-1 was seen driving through New York City with one of the Ghostbusters behind the wheel. As a result, multiple people were so awe-struck in traffic that it caused several accidents.
Sep 28, 2021 · The Ecto-1 Ghostbusters car began life as an ambulance. In Dan Aykroyd’s original screenplay, the writer specified that the Ectomobile was a converted 1959 ambulance. His vision was of a black car topped with white and purple strobe lights imbuing it with a “purple aura.”.
Jan 6, 2020 · As seen in the recently released trailer, there will be many elements from the original films brought back in this new one, including the legendary Ecto-1 – but if you're an automobile ...
