Question: Could the police really put the Lincoln back together perfectly and that quickly?
Question: After Doyle and Russo come up empty handed with nothing but car thieves, the captain takes them off the assignment. How did they keep working it after that?
Answer: He actually takes them off the assignment earlier than that, because the case is not progressing and he thinks they are wasting time/resources. Shortly afterwards, though, Nicoli (not knowing this) attempts to kill Doyle, which gives them a new lead and thus, Doyle and Russo are put back on special assignment. It is at this point the sequence with the car happens.
I sincerely appreciate your reply and your correction of my multiple misapprehensions! I do recall the effort to assassinate Doyle but forgot the timing. I assume you also know that Ed Egan, the real "Popeye" Doyle, played the precinct captain in the movie. It seems that would have been very challenging after what he'd been through, but... And I still say the greatest car chase was in Bullitt three years earlier but the one in TFC is admittedly intense! :-) Thanks.
I sincerely appreciate your reply and your correction of my multiple misapprehensions! I do recall the effort to assassinate Doyle but forgot the timing. I assume you also know that Ed Egan, the real "Popeye" Doyle, played the precinct captain in the movie. It seems that would have been very challenging after what he'd been through, but... And I still say the greatest car chase was in Bullitt three years earlier but the one in TFC is admittedly intense! :-) Thanks.
Question: Doesn't it seem impossible they could have found another identical brown Lincoln and hidden the drugs in the rocker panels that quickly?
Answer: We don't know exactly how much time passes between the discovery of the drugs and giving the replacement car to Devereaux...it could be several hours, which is enough time to find another car of the same make, model, and color. It's a nice car, to be sure, but not a particularly rare one.
Yes, and I obviously did not consider the strong likelihood that they placed their "order" for a replacement car as soon as they nabbed the original - not after they got it torn to pieces. Thanks.
Question: Why does Sal take the dirty car out of the city parking lot and park it by the docks? If that's the drug car why would the French let him do that?
Answer: The parking laws in the 1970's were not as strict as they are today, leaving a car on the street is no different from parking on the curb in a suburban area. The car was supposed to be picked up by the mob.
Question: How, after tearing apart the Lincoln while looking for drugs, are they able to get it back together with no damage and hand it back to the Frenchman, including welding in the door panels towards the end of the movie? (02:00:00 - 02:45:00)
Answer: This has been asked and answered before. It's not the same car, it's a replacement of the same make, mark, and color.
Answer: It's a different car of the same make and model that they swapped for the one they tore apart, and in which they hid the drugs in the same place as the original.