{"id":29771,"date":"2022-09-18T13:24:32","date_gmt":"2022-09-18T17:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=29771"},"modified":"2022-09-18T13:24:32","modified_gmt":"2022-09-18T17:24:32","slug":"the-legendary-rain-man-buick-roadmaster-resides-in-detroit-and-is-still-raising-autism-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/the-legendary-rain-man-buick-roadmaster-resides-in-detroit-and-is-still-raising-autism-awareness","title":{"rendered":"The legendary &#8216;Rain Man&#8217; Buick Roadmaster resides in Detroit and is still raising autism awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>Southfield<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 One of Hollywood\u2019s most famous cars, the 1949 Buick Roadmaster that Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman drove in the movie \u201cRain Man,\u201d has found a home in Detroit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">And, true to its movie heritage, it\u2019s making a difference for autistic children.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/09\/11\/PDTN\/8a5cb514-6b9f-47d4-be6d-8eec27268c8a-RainManBuick_fr3-4-low.jpg?width=660&amp;height=372&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/09\/11\/PDTN\/8a5cb514-6b9f-47d4-be6d-8eec27268c8a-RainManBuick_fr3-4-low.jpg?width=1320&amp;height=744&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"This 1949 Buick Roadmaster was a key character in the movie &quot;Rain Man.&quot;\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"This 1949 Buick Roadmaster was a key character in the movie &quot;Rain Man.&quot;\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Hoffman played Raymond Babbitt in the move \u2014 the autistic brother of Cruise\u2019s Charlie\u00a0Babbitt character \u2014 and the car shared equal billing as the pair bonded on a cross-country trip from Ohio to Las Vegas. Hoffman adopted the car as his own after the movie, keeping it for 34 years before putting it up for auction earlier this year. It was bought by Detroit collector-and-entrepreneur Kevin Adell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">This Thursday, the car will be in a starring role again, this time in the fourth annual Stahls Automotive Foundation\u2019s Autos for Autism event in New Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI got a call from Wayne Carini \u2014 he has a show called \u2018Chasing Classic Cars\u2019 on the Motor Trend Channel,\u201d said Adell as he cruised Southfield in the legendary Buick. \u201cI didn\u2019t know until he called that one of his family members has autism. He asked if he could use the car to show awareness for autism. He\u2019ll be at the Stahls Museum this Thursday from 4-8 p.m. . . . \u00a0and this car will be used to raise money.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/09\/11\/PDTN\/80e1639f-a6e4-4345-be72-2dbc4149d7f6-RainManBuick_adell-at-wheel.jpg?width=660&amp;height=372&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/09\/11\/PDTN\/80e1639f-a6e4-4345-be72-2dbc4149d7f6-RainManBuick_adell-at-wheel.jpg?width=1320&amp;height=744&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"Kevin Adell at the wheel of the 1949 Buick Roadmaster featured in the film &quot;Rain Man.&quot;\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Kevin Adell at the wheel of the 1949 Buick Roadmaster featured in the film &quot;Rain Man.&quot;\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The event on Sept.\u00a015 will benefit the Ted Lindsay Foundation, which supports autism research and education. The Stahls Museum restores and exhibits vintage vehicles, music machines and memorabilia of the 20th century.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_vp gnt_em_vp__yt\" data-g-r=\"vp_tp\" data-c-vt=\"youtube\" aria-label=\"YouTube video\" aria-live=\"polite\"><a class=\"gnt_em_vp_a gnt_em_vp__yt_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UhvbbzV9amc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-g-r=\"vp_tg\" data-c-vpattrs=\"{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;UhvbbzV9amc&quot;, &quot;id&quot;:&quot;8054946001&quot;}\" aria-label=\"Play YouTube video\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_vp_img\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UhvbbzV9amc\/maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Along with Carini, Detroit Red Wings alumni Eddie Mio\u00a0and Butch Patrick, who played Eddie on the \u201cThe Munsters\u201d TV show, will be on hand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The big, curvaceous, eight-cylinder Roadmaster convertible stands out on Metro Detroit roads surrounded by modern, jelly bean-shaped models. Buick\u2019s signature quad port holes are prominent, as are whitewall tires and chrome grille. Open the door and the interior is a striking mix of cream and burgundy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Adell says two Buicks were used for the movie \u2014 a primary mule car that was covered in plates and drill holes to carry cameras while filming the actors, and his car, which was used for running footage. The former went to director Barry Levinson, the latter to Hoffman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThe car should have got an Oscar with those guys,\u201d said a smiling Adell of the movie that took home four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Hoffman. \u201cHoffman kept his Roadmaster in a garage for 34 years. Now he\u2019s 85 years old, and he put it up for auction at Scottdale. I\u2019ve got the original title with Hoffman\u2019s home address in Beverly Hills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In the movie, Raymond famously tells Charlie\u00a0that \u201cI&#8217;m an excellent driver.\u201d Cruise\u2019s character turns over the wheel to his movie brother and Raymond bumps a couple of curbs outside\u00a0a Las Vegas motel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Adell\u2019s car looks no worse for the wear, having been impeccably restored since it came into his collection \u2014 right down to the Ohio plates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">That\u2019s how he met Carini, who had done restoration work on Levinson\u2019s Buick in Connecticut. \u201cWe were stumped on the transmission,\u201d said Adell, who owns media properties including the The Word Network, 910AM Superstation, and WADL-TV. \u201cIt\u2019s a 1949 automatic Dynaflow \u2014 he helped with a number of things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Tickets for Autos for Autism are $20 for ages 16 and older \u2014 ages 15 and younger are free. A VIP ticket costs $40 includes a a photo op with the 1949 Buick Roadmaster, meet-and-greet with the three celebrities, and access to a special car exhibit that includes a 1951 Hudson Hornet and 1970 Dodge Challenger. Tickets can be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com\/e\/autos-for-autism-2022-tickets-400159757607, or by calling the museum. Stahls Automotive Foundation is at 56516 North Bay Drive in Chesterfield Township.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI definitely know this car. It\u2019s a 1949 Buick Roadmaster, straight-8 \u2014 Fireball 8 \u2014 only 8,095 production models,\u201d says Raymond Babbitt in the movie. The most famous copy is in Detroit raising autism awareness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Southfield\u00a0\u2014 One of Hollywood\u2019s most famous cars, the 1949 Buick Roadmaster that Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman drove in the movie \u201cRain Man,\u201d has found a home in Detroit. And, true to its movie heritage, it\u2019s making a difference for autistic children. Hoffman played Raymond Babbitt in the move \u2014 the autistic brother of Cruise\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29771"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29772,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29771\/revisions\/29772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}