Hacker Cinema
Convoy
1978 · Film · 112 min
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
Trucker Rubber Duck and his buddies Pig Pen, Widow Woman and Spider Mike use their CB radios to warn one another of the presence of cops. But conniving Sheriff Wallace is hip to the truckers' tactics, and begins tricking the drivers through his own CB broadcasts. Facing constant harassment from the law, Rubber Duck and his pals use their radios to coordinate a vast convoy and rule the road.
4 neutralfrom 4 commenters
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4 comments on Hacker News
I’m not sure about modern usage, but I’m pretty sure that the popularity of “good buddy” in a specifically trucker CB radio usage was boosted by the release of the 1975 novelty song Convoy by C. W. McCall. It describes a group of truckers attempting to counter interdiction by law enforcement. Curiously, the lead driver referred to as Rubber Duck relates to the other drivers what is coming down the track, and coordinates with them to ensure the convoy continues unimpeded. In the sequel(!) to this joke song, Rubber Duck goes around the world, which in the context of QSL cards and (CB) radio, I find especially interesting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_(song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqYTX7parRw
This probably didn’t hurt, either (from Wikipedia, above):
> The song was the inspiration for the 1978 Sam Peckinpah film Convoy, for which McCall rerecorded the song to fit the film's storyline.
Convoy was the first film I've watched on VHS, which was magic, around ~1984.
Yah, well. Now that you are saying it, and seeing the frame from that movie, I probably have seen it sometimes. But it didn't stick. CW McCall didn't ring any bells for me. Convoy is just a saying for many vehicles riding together, almost bumper to bumper. It's done for marriage from some ethnic groups. Or after a soccer game. But it's also said for just two vehicles driving together, at least around here. Sedans and SUVs, no Trucks(Semis?) necessary. (Shrug)
And no, feelings are disallowed because 'Resistance is futile!' & 'Prepare to be disassmbled for scanning and upload into the Protomolecule' ;->
(Do these ring any of your bells?)
It's more likely that the movie and the company chose the name because of its meaning. A convoy is literally a group of ships or vehicles transporting something, usually protected.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convoy