Arthur Hailey closely based the story on the birth of the GTO, the prototypical muscle car created by 1960s Pontiac Division President John DeLorean, as well as the executive's affair with model and actress Kelly Harmon, who became DeLorean's second wife in 1969. DeLorean would later tell his own version of events in the best-selling book, "On a Clear Day YOu Can See General Motors." Forced out of GM, DeLorean would go on to greater notoriety as creator of the ill-fated DeLorean sports car.
The car was a customized AMC Javelin.
United Artists and Walter Mirisch first announced " " Wheels " as a major motion picture event in 1972.