This week’s Flashback Friday video is a commercial for the 1990 Plymouth Laser featuring Canadian superstar Celine Dion. That’s right – the famed single helped to push the all-wheel drive, turbocharged Plymouth hatchback (and a handful of other models) in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and those commercials are as awesomely tacky as you can imagine.
Having owned a 1992 Plymouth Laser, this commercial really caught my eye, and you really can’t go wrong with Celine Dion (who is practically unrecognizable here) signing in French while falling in love with a guy in a bright red Plymouth sports car that could beat most of the American cars of that era. At the end of the commercial, she goes so far as to stop the guy driving the Laser, but she doesn’t get in. It is a very odd commercial, but the AWD turbo Laser was a great car and the lingering flavor of the 80s makes this a great old TV spot.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
