RW> car. I remember it well. A waste of a perfectly good
 RW> piece of machinery. Although, I would have been happier
 RW> to see a Mudstain (Mustang) hit the last set of
 RW> barricades and blow to little bitty pieces.

in reality, the car that was crashed into the bulldozers was a 1967 Camero
stripped of engine and transmission... it was towed on a cable 1/4th mile
long... they practised and adjusted the Camero until it tracked straight
and true and then towed it on that 1/4 mile cable at 80 or so mph into the
bulldozers with the cable going between them... the results weren't what
they expected and actually came out better than the had thought...

check http://www.vanishingpointmania.com/magazine_article_1.htm for the
story... it appears to be from the March 1986 issue of Musclecar Review
Magazine titled "Behind the scenes of the movie Vanishing Point"
written by Paul Zazarine...

here's a few quotes from there...

Loftin is Carey Loftin, the stunt coordinator... Newman is Barry Newman, the star...

===== quote =====

One of the main points of controversy has centered around the 1970 Dodge
Challengers using in Vanishing Point. Carey Loftin remembers that he
specifically requested Challengers because of the "quality of the
torsion bar suspension and for its horsepower. It was a real sturdy, good
running car." Five Alpine White Challengers were loaned to Cupid
Productions by Chrysler for promotional consideration and were returned
upon completion of the filming.

How the cars were equipped has been a point of controversy among Vanishing
Point buffs. "There were five cars," Loftin said. "The
number five car that we never used was an automatic and it did have the
383. All the rest had the 440. All the 440's were equipped with
four-speeds, and all were four-barrel motors." Speculation had been
that Hemi or Six Pack Challengers were used, which Loftin and Newman
dispelled. The cars performed to Loftin's satisfaction, although dust came
to be a problem. None of the engines were blown, and Loftin recalls that no
special equipment was added or modifications made to the cars, except for
heavier-duty shocks for the car that jumped over No Name Creek. No special
bracing or frame ties were used in any of the Challengers.

Newman remembers that the Challengers were wrenched for the movie by Max
Balchowsky, who also prepared the Mustangs and Chargers for Bullitt.
"Max was like a surgeon. It was amazing. He would take parts out of
one to make another car work, because we really ruined a couple of those
cars, what with jumping ramps from highway to highway and over
creeks."

Newman agreed with Loftin's memory about the cars. "I remember the
cars had 440 engines and had a tremendous amount of power. It was almost as
if there was too much power for the body. You's put it in first and it
would almost rear back! They had a four-speed and there was also an
automatic car. That was a 383. I think we used that one as the camera car
on the straight runs."

===== end quote =====

and another portion...

===== quote =====

Special preparations were made for the spectacular crash at the end of the
movie, as Kowalski speeds into the bulldozers placed across the road  with
blades down to stop him. Several days were needed to set up the stunt. A
derelict 1967 Camaro was purchased and stripped of engine and transmission.
A tow-rig setup that Loftin had used successfully in the past was employed.
"I've used this rig for a long time," Loftin explained. "And
as long as you're towing it, it will go to that fulcrum. There was a crown
on the road, and I had a mechanic there. I would tow the Camaro, and he'd
reset the front end. We did this several times until the car would tow
right in the center of the road."

"I had a quarter mile of cable when we did the stunt. The strip of
road leading to the bulldozers went straight back, over a slight hill and
then to the left. When I started to tow, I couldn't see the Camaro, so I
told the effects man to put it in the ditch on the left hand side so it
will be in a straight line. After all the testing I just had to believe
that it would work. Once I got it up to speed, it came straight down the
road, I was doing a good 80 miles-per-hour at the time of impact."

"With the motor and transmission out, we were prepared for the car to
go end over end, but it stuck into the bulldozers, which was a better
effect. The effects man loaded the Camaro's front-end with explosives to go
off on impact, and if I had lost control and gone into the ditch and really
hit something hard, it would have exploded there. The director set the
bulldozers about five to six inches apart, just enough to get my cable
through. He asked me what the point of no return was, and I said 'about two
seconds after you say 'action'. Once I go it's all the way. I don't have
anything to stop the Camaro except those bulldozers!"

"We towed the Camaro with the fifth car, the 383 automatic. I used
that one because if you miss a gear and your line goes slack you lose the
car. I'd rather use an automatic than risk a chance of losing the car. That
383 was a good running car. In fact, it would probably run just as fast as
that 440."

===== end quote =====