Muscle Car

"Oh my god... Look at this car! We scored!"

- Alyx Vance

The Muscle Car is a vehicle used by Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance in Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

Overview
The Muscle Car (also called "The Junker" in the game files) is an invaluable vehicle in the Resistance arsenal. It is used to transport Resistance members from outpost to outpost. Unlike the Scout Car, the Muscle Car has two seats, for a driver and a single passenger. They are similar, however, in that they're both equipped with a turbo boost. The Muscle Car's boost is not as fast as the Scout Car's boost was, making it much more controllable. It is wider and harder to flip, which is a time gain. When making sharp turns, the Muscle Car tends to skid. This happens especially on grass or dirt. The Muscle Car also appears to draw a lot of its design inspiration from the '69 Dodge Charger.

Use
The Muscle Car can be used to run over Zombies as well as Hunters and other enemies, and break through barricades. While riding in it, Alyx helps Gordon by using her gun to shoot down any enemies. She also seems to take aim more and make more accurate shots.

Unlike the Half-Life 2 chapters featuring the Scout Car, there aren't many long jumps that need to be made but it can be helpful to use the turbo boost to try and stay ahead of the Hunter-Chopper, win the race to White Forest against Dog, or during the final battle to get ahead of Striders or ram Hunters (though they often jump out of the way).

Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance retrieve the Muscle Car from an abandoned and recently raided Resistance outpost overlooking a bridge, on the edge of the Victory Mine area. They find the Muscle Car, seemingly intact, on the far side of the bridge which is not directly accessible. Gordon makes his way through the Zombie-infested outpost to retrieve it. The Muscle Car is used until Gordon and Alyx make it to White Forest, picking up a radar module from a still occupied Resistance outpost along the way. At White Forest, MIRT makes several changes to it before Gordon uses it against the Combine while defending Magnusson's rocket.

Behind the scenes

 * The Episode Two car was originally a Volkswagen Beetle, named "Jalopy". As stated by Valve's David Speyrer, that name says something about how uncool it was. Early feedback was that it seemed too similar to the Half-Life 2 Scout Car. The team decided to redesign it so that players would feel excited rather than disappointed when they saw the car. Alyx's original line when she first saw the Jalopy echoed the feelings of many early viewers: "What a wreck! Forget about White Forest... we'll be lucky if we make it to the end of the block.".


 * According to Jon Huisingh, the team wanted players to use the Muscle Car as much as possible during the final Strider battle, both to move around the valley quickly and to run over Hunters as a quick and satisfying way of killing them. To encourage this, and to help with orientation problems, the team added a radar to the car which indicated the location of enemies. This made the car a more valuable tool in the battle and solved the navigation problem once and for all.


 * According to Ido Magal, one problem the team faced in the Strider battle map was that players would abandon their car in the heat of battle and were not be able to find it later. Given the time pressure and large scale of the map, some of these players could not succeed in protecting the base on foot. To address this they started by adding flashing hazard lights to the car, which helped when the car was in view, but they still saw players lose the car among the trees or behind hills. Eventually they added a vehicle locator to the HEV Suit so that players could find the car wherever it was.


 * Concept art indicates the car went through at least three other body designs (such as a body from a 1970 pontiac GTO) and color iterations, such as blue, orange and green.

Trivia

 * The Muscle car is one of the most difficult parts of Half-Life when attempting to get the Little Rocket Man achievement. In order to keep the Garden Gnome lodged in the car, the player cannot drive at full speed, making dodging the constant fire from the Hunter-Chopper that much harder. A common tactic used by players is to shoot the Gnome a distance using the Gravity Gun, then drive up to it and repeat the process. This method is mostly used during the initial stages of the car drive where the road twists and turns frequently. During the section with the Hunter-Chopper, players sit in their car during the Hunter-Chopper's firing sequence, and get out while it recharges.


 * The script file for the Muscle Car, named " ", starts with the sentence "This is an amazing American muscle car that must be experienced."


 * The sound used for the car when it stops, " ", can also be heard in several films such as Apollo 13 or No Country For Old Men (near the end). The Half-Life series uses many stock sounds heard in many other video games and films.


 * If the car is lost, a black screen will appear, saying "The Freeman has failed to preserve natural resources. A glimpse of doom clouds the Vortessence."


 * The same car model is used in Garry's Mod under the name "jalopy."

List of appearances

 * Source Particle Benchmark
 * Half-Life 2: Episode Two