Professional car collector Howard Enquist would love to show visitors the police cars he provided for the 2001 cult comedy film, “Super Troopers.”
But he can’t — they were completely wrecked in the film.
“They crashed them,” Enquist said with a laugh during a recent tour of his movie car yard on Derby Avenue in Seymour.
Since 1989, Enquist has run Cars on Location — a company that buys used cars and sells or rents them to be used in commercials, movies, television shows and music videos.
It was a business he transitioned into after a career as a car auctioneer.
Why don’t producers just scour the used-car ads and buy what they need on the open market?
Turning to a professional collector like Enquist saves a lot of time, said producer Doug McAward of Waterbury, who works on many TV commercials.
“If Howard doesn’t have it, he knows where to find it, and he saves producers tons of time,” McAward said.
If a movie or show was made in Connecticut, chances are it features some of Enquist’s cars, he said.
“We’re doing a show right now out of Stamford called ‘The Big C,” Enquist said.
He pointed to a 1976 AMC Pacer in his lot, which he has been renting for use by an actress in the TV series.
Enquist doesn’t deal in muscle or trophy cars, just average looking cars that convey the essence of a time period.
The Pacer used in “The Big C”, for example, is not a muscle car. Nor is it a classic beauty full of chrome.
It’s just an interesting looking period car from the 1970s that packs a lot of character — and it was just what that particular TV show was looking for, Enquist said.
Plain sedans and station wagons are Enquist’s bread and butter. The point is to provide cars that look like authentic street cars. Lately he has specialized in cars from the 1960s and 1970s.
Out front of the lot, Enquist has a 1960s Ford Mustang. In the back of the lot sits a 1958 Ford Edsel. He even has a pink Cadillac.
Enquist points proudly to a 1976 Lincoln Continental. It was the one used in the 1996 music video for Alanis Morrisette’s “Ironic,” he said.
“She sat behind the wheel, and in every seat of the car, and they shot her from all these different angles,” he said.
It’s an interesting business, probably one of the more interesting ones in town, said First Selectman Paul Roy.
“We have antiques shops, and that’s the antique cars over there,” Roy said
Enquist said he has provided cars for several hundred movies.
The business sets him apart from the typical car restorer or vintage car dealer. While others look for the showstoppers, he just looks for the average car.
“These are cars nobody wanted,” he said.
