Architect Chad Oppenheim: What Hollywood's Cars Can Teach Us About the Future

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

For our first-ever live audience recording of How We Future, Lisa Kay Solomon sat down with architect and author Chad Oppenheim at Book Passage in San Francisco.

The conversation centers around Chad’s book RIDE: The Iconic Wheels of the Silver Screen and the vehicles that became emotional anchors in film history. From the Back to the Future DeLorean to Ferris Bueller’s Ferrari, these cars were modes of transportation, meaning, and possibility.

Chad shares how childhood Matchbox cars sparked a lifelong fascination with design and storytelling, and how those early influences still shape his architecture today. This live episode explores the importance of imagination and why the things that once made us feel limitless can still guide how we build the future.

You’ll hear:

• Why movie cars function as emotional characters
• How nostalgia shapes creative vision
• Chad’s favorite movie car

This week, take Ferris Bueller’s advice and slow down. Revisit a movie that meant something to you as a kid.

Ask yourself:

• What did this story, or this machine, make me feel back then?
• What part of that feeling do I want more of in my future?

And if you’re up for it, share with us: What was the iconic ride that changed how you saw the world?

Links from the show:

• Oppenheim Architecture
• LAIR: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains
• RIDE: Most Iconic Wheels of the Silver Screen
• Watch 1 minute Trailer: RIDE