January 9: “Goldfinger” puts James Bond in an Aston Martin DB5 on this date in 1965

In the "Goldfinger" novel, Ian Fleming gave James Bond a choice of cars to pursue Auric Goldfinger across the continent: an Aston Martin DBIII or a Jaguar XK150 — with Bond selecting the Aston for its hidden weaponry and "an inconspicuous colour -- battleship grey." By the time "Goldfinger" came to America's movie houses on this date in 1965, the DBIII was no longer in production, so the producers went with the updated Aston Martin DB5. (In both plots, Bond had to surrender his Bentley.) The movie car was the first DB5 Aston Martin built, and the now-famous "BMT 216A" license plate was its real-world legal registration. Today, it's the most famous vehicle in the world; and it's entrance (and exit) in "Skyfall" was epic: