The Cars That Introduced Us to the Fast & Furious Family

April 11, 2017
Story By
Philip Cheng

When "The Fast and the Furious" premiered in 2001, no one could have predicted that the movie — one about modified cars and dangerous manifolds with a plot about an undercover cop investigating a DVD player crime ring fueled purely by bromance and nitrous — would go on to spawn a billion-dollar franchise, with the 10th movie set to release 2021. More impressive, perhaps, is that the fact that these movies launched car culture into the mainstream, reaching millions of people who might have otherwise never gotten into cars at all.

One could easily dismiss the franchise as a series of brainless action flicks (which it kind of is, yet we love them all just the same) that bring zero social value to the table — but that's far from the truth. Even as the series transformed from the import-centric buddy street racer movies into the big budget car-themed action blockbusters we have today, the Fast & Furious movies have never abandoned their core motif. As Dom puts it in "Furious 7":

Fundamentally, these movies are about a diverse group of people who, through shared history and conflicts, form a familial bond that transcends conventional friendships. The Fast family welcomes each of its members regardless of race, gender, background and nationality. In fact, the Hollywood-defying diversity in casting as well as the film's refusal to force the characters into stereotypical roles are probably what make the series feel exceedingly genuine, despite having explosions and car crashes of apocalyptic proportions every other scene.

Herein lies the allure of the franchise: Not only is having a diverse “crew” that goes on automotive adventures together (hopefully ones with less explosions) entirely possible, it’s probably already the reality within any chosen circle of car people. Whether it be an online forum, local car meets or even just a small group of friends, the most wonderful part of being a car enthusiast is meeting people who share your passions and learning their stories. This common ground has the ability to dissolve both racial and social divides and band together the most unlikely of people.

The Fast & Furious family is constantly expanding, and with half of its members either starting out as an antagonist or becoming one at some point in the franchise’s history, it is easy to forget how the family came to be. Therefore, we’ve compiled a helpful list of the protagonist characters with the first car in which they were introduced to the audience.