The Oldsmobile as seen in Evil Dead II (1987).
| “ | Man, that car has been with him through thick and thin, war and peace. It was his everything. | „ |
| ~ Pablo Simon Bolivar (Last Call) |
The Oldsmobile (sometimes referred to as "The Delta" or "The Classic") is a 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale owned by Ash Williams, serving as Ash's main mode of transportation throughout the Evil Dead franchise.
The Oldsmobile first appeared in The Evil Dead, and went on to appear in all forms of expanded media, including official video games, comics, and Ash vs Evil Dead.
History
Very little is known about the Oldsmobile's "life" prior to being owned by Ash Williams, except it eventually ended up at the Elk Grove Destruction Derby arena. Brock Williams purchased the car from the Derby and gave it to his son, Ash.
Weekend At The Cabin
After taking the Delta in for a tune-up, the Oldsmobile, driven by Scotty, took Ash and his friends to what they assumed to be a abandoned cabin in the mountains. As the group approached the cabin, the car was briefly under the control of an unseen evil, attempting to kill the group by swerving the car into the path of an oncoming log truck. After arriving at the cabin, the Delta wasn't used again until Cheryl Williams begged her brother Ash to take her into a nearby town after an assault by the living woods. However, the trip did not end up being successful, as the bridge crossing a massive ravine had been destroyed.
The Oldsmobile is pulled into the time vortex (Evil Dead II)
During Ash's second day at the cabin, he attempted an escape from the woods and cabin in his Oldsmobile, but was once again stopped when he came to the destroyed bridge. Later in the night, the Delta was pulled into a time vortex opened by Annie Knowby. Both the car and Ash were sent to medieval England, circa 1300 AD.
In Medieval Times
The Deathcoaster drives across Castle Kandar's courtyard (Army of Darkness)
After realizing that the Oldsmobile could aid him in his battle against a army of Deadites coming to take the Necronomicon, Ash Williams (along with the assistance of a local Blacksmith) converted the Delta into the steam-powered "Deathcoaster". As "The Deathcoaster", the Delta was outfitted with a large spinning blade emerging from the hood, a large plow attached to the grill and front bumper, and several wooden spikes attached to the left and right sides by the doors. Ash flipped the car when Sheila (a local resident whom Ash had developed romantic feelings towards) had stepped into the path of The Deathcoaster.
Return To The Present
The Oldsmobile and Ash's Airstream Trailer (Ash vs Evil Dead)
How exactly the Delta returned to the present after it's trip into 1300 AD is unknown, but it was eventually converted back into it's "original" shape. At another unknown point in time following it's return to the present, Ash Williams outfitted the car with nitrous oxide (activated by a switch on the dashboard).
30 Years Later
30 years after the events at the cabin, the Delta was still owned by Ash Williams. The Oldsmobile (and the trailer hooked up to it) is the primary transportation of Ash, Kelly Maxwell, and Pablo Simon Bolivar, taking them across the United States to battle the Deadites and various Demons unleashed upon the world of the living.
The possessed Delta on the streets of Elk Grove (Last Call)
Following Ash's return to his hometown of Elk Grove, the Delta was possessed by the forces of evil after it had been stolen by teenagers, turning it into a sentient killing machine that terrorized the citizens of Elk Grove. Ash managed to stop the car by driving his chainsaw through the hood. Once again, the car was repaired and went back to being his transportation. Shortly after it's repair, the car traveled through time once more, taking Ash, Kelly, Pablo, and Ruby to 1982.
The new and improved Deathcoaster (The Mettle of Man)
After the defeat of Kandar The Destroyer by Ash Williams, the Knights of Sumeria recovered Ash's Oldsmobile amid the chaos of the world ending and placed it in a secure bunker (along with Ash himself). When Ash was awakened many years later, he discovered his car had been modified once more. This new variation of the Deathcoaster featured two mounted machine guns, LED lights, a swiveling mount for Ash's Boomstick on the driver's door, and a blade from a bulldozer with "Hail To The King" written in white paint.
Variant Incarnations
Deadlands Delta
The "Deadlands Delta" (Rifting Apart)
A "dead" version of the Oldsmobile was located in the Deadlands.
Mia Allen sits on a broken down 1974 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (Evil Dead)
Evil Dead (2013) Oldsmobile
A rusted 1974 Oldsmobile was seen in the woods surrounding a cabin belong to the Allen family.
THQ Video Games (Hail To The King)
The Delta is converted into a market (Hail To The King)
During Ash's trip to Damascus, circa 730 AD, the Delta was once again pulled through time along with it's owner. While in Damascus, the car was converted into a shop by a local merchant, with Ash frequently returning for various items located within the car itself.
Earth-818793 (Army of Darkness Comics)
This version of the Oldsmobile once again serves as Ash's primary method of transportation on Earth-818793. Over the years, the car takes quite a beating, from having it's window smashed by vampires, driving it into Jason Voorhees (where it sank to the bottom of a frozen Crystal Lake), and meeting it's seemingly permanent end as it burned in a ball of flame while attacking The General's army.
The Blue Oldsmobile ("KICKASH")
Ash's blue Oldsmobile (Army of Darkness Volume 3 #2)
During the time which Ash's original Delta was lost at the bottom of Crystal Lake, Ash drove a blue Oldsmobile outfitted with spikes on the front bumper.
Ash And The Army of Darkness Universe
In this reality, Ash Williams left his modified Deathcoaster in 1300 AD. When the locals fled Castle Kandar following another onslaught from the Deadites, the car was left behind. Ash was eventually reunited with the Oldsmobile when Sheila, The Wise Man, and himself were searching the ruins of the castle.
Evil Dead 2 Comics
The simulacrum Ash's Delta (Revenge of The Martians)
A new version of the Oldsmobile was purchased by a simulacrum copy of Ash Williams during his time as an Uber driver. Though he claimed that it was the original car he owned prior to going to the cabin, this would be impossible, as the "real" Oldsmobile went back in time with the "real" Ash Williams.
Ash vs. The Army of Darkness Universe
This universe's version of Ash's Oldsmobile was vandalized shortly after his return from 1300 AD. In return for helping hunt down a Deadite threat at Alan Shepard High School, the students of the school's shop class repaired the Delta for Ash, outfitting it with two enormous saws that emerged from two panels on the hood. Ash later drove the car from Michigan all the way to Charleston, South Carolina, where he encountered the undead Blackbeard and his crew.
Other Appearances
Video Games
- The Oldsmobile (in it's Deathcoaster form) appears in Army of Darkness Defense as a assisting object players can summon to help defend the castle.
- The Oldsmobile appears as part of the cabin map in the Deploy And Destroy mobile game.
- Phantom Halls includes the Oldsmobile as part of their official Evil Dead 2 "Cabin" themed level.
Board Games
- A miniature of the Deathcoaster was included in Leading Edge's Army of Darkness Board Game from 1993.
- The Delta (referred to as "The Classic") was going to be an object in Space Goat's Evil Dead 2 board game. A mini-game that could be played alongside the main game was "The Classic's Last Ride", where players fight enemies in the woods surrounding the cabin as they drove the Classic down a shifting dirt road.
Gallery
Films
Ash vs Evil Dead
Comics
Video
Trivia
- The Oldsmobile's licence plate reads "586 IKV" in the first three Evil Dead films. For Ash vs Evil Dead (and later in the Ash Vs. The Army of Darkness comic), the plate was changed to "3971 KTL". Promotional posters for Ash vs Evil Dead gave the Delta a heavily rusted "GROOVY" vanity plate.
- In the Ash vs Evil Dead Season One episode El Brujo, Ash makes a remark about having to make several more payments on the Delta before it's his, implying that this was a new Oldsmobile purchased sometime after the events of Army of Darkness. The several episodes throughout the second season of the show would specifically state that the Oldsmobile Ash was currently driving was the same one that went to the cabin and medieval times with him.
- The Army of Darkness comic adaptation from 1992 goes into detail about the extent of the Delta's damage after falling from the sky, revealing that the carburetor was destroyed and several valves had busted and leaked oil everywhere.
- In the original first draft of the Evil Dead II script, Bobby Joe steals the Oldsmobile and is given chase by the Kandarian Demon. She accidentally drives the Delta off a cliff after remembering that the bridge leading to the cabin had been destroyed, where it sinks to the bottom of a river.
- Objects located in the trunk of the Oldsmobile in Army of Darkness include:
- Lots of rope
- A gasoline tank
- A 2-liter bottle of Coca-Cola
- A red toolbox
- Chemistry 101 by Bernard Garnell
- A hand saw
- Steam Power
- A Fangoria magazine
- Shotgun shells
- Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special
- The items in the trunk listed above were actually objects Raimi had there already, and not product placement.
- The Oldsmobile has appeared in almost all of Sam Raimi's films.
- The Oldsmobile seen in The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, some parts of Army of Darkness, and Ash vs Evil Dead personally belongs to Sam Raimi.
- Bruce Campbell often says that the reason Sam Raimi puts the Oldsmobile in all of his movies is because Sam lost his virginity in it.
- The Oldsmobile has at least three "stunt doubles" Sam Raimi uses for outrageous scenes in his films, such as dropping it from the sky (Evil Dead II), and modifying it to be a Deadite killing machine (Army of Darkness).