In The Godfather, cars are symbols of impending murder, as they play a role in some of the novel’s major mob “hits.” The most significant hit in the novel happens when Don Vito Corleone emerges from his office building, where Fredo is waiting with his Buick parked at the curb. As he stops to patronize a fruit stand, Sollozzo’s hitmen open fire on the Don, who collapses next to the car. Although the Don survives the hit, Sollozzo’s attack eventually leads to the murders of Paulie Gatto and Sonny. When Sonny learns that Paulie betrayed the Don to Sollozzo, he orders Gatto’s death. Clemenza concocts the plot to kill Paulie while he “rubbed and polished the metal of his Cadillac,” a scene that makes the car an inspiration for Clemenza’s murderous thoughts. Later, Clemenza and Lampone drive Paulie in another car to a deserted stretch of road. While still inside the car, Lampone shoots Paulie in the head, causing “the interior of the car” to reverberate “with the report of a gun.” After Carlo once again beats Connie, Sonny roars “out of the mall in his Buick” and takes the Jones Beach causeway. When he stops the car at the tollbooth, Don Barzini’s soldiers shoot him, causing his body to fall “out of the car,” which has now become his casket. Michael rides with Sollozzo and McCluskey in “a long black car” (an image that invokes a hearse) to Luna Azure restaurant, where he murders the two men with a pistol. Later, during Michael’s exile in Sicily, his new bride, Apollonia, dies when she attempts to drive a car rigged with a bomb meant to kill Michael. Cars are frequently harbingers of death in Puzo’s novel, and the often serve as surrogate coffins for several key characters.
Cars Symbol Timeline in The Godfather
