Headscratchers / National Lampoon's Vacation

• Early in the film Clark goes to pick up his new car from the dealership. He is given the wrong car and gets in an argument over it. Meanwhile the car he drove there in is crushed and destroyed by accident...so Clark accepts the car they were trying to give him and simply goes home. The dealership literally destroyed his car...wouldn't a normal person..you know... sue the dealership for everything they're worth?
  • Clark isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He'd probably end up losing the case due to his own ineptitude.
  • Suing them doesn't get Clark a car for their vacation though. That is what he is focused on, going on this vacation, so he ignores any other options. It is just another example of his skewed priorities.
  • But kind think about it , why don't Clark just drive the Volvo sedan (that he clearly owns since it's parked in the garage of their family home)for the trip , and wait for the right wagon to be delivered(if it ever got delivered) 6 weeks later.) (Logically speaking , of course , since we won't have the movie....or will we , if he didn't accepts the truckster.

• There is no way that a major theme park like Wally World would completely close down for several weeks in the middle of the Summer during peak tourist season. To call this a horrible business move would be an extreme understatement.
  • There actually is a way. It could be incompetence, unexpected breakdowns of equipment, surprise safety inspections or even just plain bad luck. In the United States, there are plenty of theme parks that have a reputation for being dangerous for various reasons with visitors injured, maimed or even killed. There was Action Park in New Jersey for example; it became infamous for people getting hurt on their rides. If you Google dangerous theme parks online, you'll find more examples such as Lagoon Amusement Park, Adventuredome Amusement Park, etc. So a major park being closed down during the peak of tourist season is not so farfetched.

• If the Griswolds are such big fans of Wally World and Marty Moose that they know everything about the franchise, then how would they not know the park was closed?

• Did Clark also take some ride operators hostage as well? Because someone has to push a button or flip a switch to send coaster cars on their one-way high-intensity journey and I'm pretty sure the button being reachable by someone else in any coaster car would a big no-no.

• When Clark gets pulled over by the cop for accidentally dragging Edna's dog, why does he never mention or cite Clark for his car's complete lack of a license plate? I can let him not noticing the smell of Audrey's weed slide, since her parents never mention a smell so it must not be that potent, but since he walked up to that window from a fair distance behind the car ready to bust a cruel animal abuser's head open like a melon and soon found out it was an honest mistake, he HAD to have noticed they had an advertisement for the Truckster dealership in leiu of a valid plate. Given the garish baby-barf green colour, excessive wood paneling and the EIGHT headlights, is the car so distinctive it just doesn't need one?

• When Clark is told he has to drive Aunt Edna to Phoenix why doesn't he just say no? He was not told of this ahead of time and it's very rude to just spring that on somebody. It wouldn't be right even if it was a relative that the Griswolds actually liked..and Aunt Edna obviously doesn't fall into that category. So why does he cater to his rude relatives so easily?