Wilmer Valderrama is hanging out, riding in the same old thing.
Monday on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the That ‘70s Show alum said he’s the proud owner of the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser that he and the gang appeared in at the top of every episode of the retro sitcom. They were pictured bopping along to the catchy theme song, a cover of Big Star’s “In the Street.”
Eric Forman, the character played by Topher Grace, owned the car on the show, which originally aired from 1998 to 2006.
“We were in the last season of ‘70s Show and I went straight to the props department and I go, ‘Listen, how much for the Vista Cruiser?’” said Valderrama, who played foreign exchange student Fez. “He goes, ‘What? You don’t want that thing.’ And I go, ‘Yes, I do. I need the Vista Cruiser.’ And they said $500. So I bought the Vista Cruiser for $500 from the props department.”
Valderrama is a noted car collector who long fantasized about being wealthy enough that he could just keep vehicles in his garage for kicks, rather than necessity.
The Vista Cruiser is his favorite of all his cars, he said, because of his long history with it.
“Honestly, it’s the best thing I’ve ever acquired. My whole career, when I look at that car, it reminds me of when I was 17, 18 years old, booking That ‘70s Show and doing that opening sequence where we’re just driving in the street,” said Valderrama, who’s now 40, starring on NCIS and expecting his first child with finacée Amanda Pacheco. “Honestly, it’s gonna be in my family forever. I’m going to put it in my will and make sure my kids have the burden of keeping that car in the garage.”
The actor revealed in November 2019 that his “biggest regret” is that he didn’t take another mainstay of the That ‘70s Show set: the basement couch where the friends spent much of the time when they were indoors.
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