Greta's dad Tom is moving the family cross-country in a dented station wagon, promising a California paradise to his kids. All that's missing is Mom.

A driver and a mechanic travel around the United States hopping from drag strip to drag strip in a 1955 Chevy Bel-Air coupe. They race for money, betting with their competitors. The pair gains a young and talkative female stowaway. Along the way they unintentionally attract a well-to-do drifter driving a new Pontiac GTO. This older man, looking for attention, antagonizes their efforts.

Yvan finds a burglar in his house. After some consideration, Yvan decides not to call the police and to drop the lad near the nearby city but he ends up giving him a lift home to his parents. Together, they travel through Belgium and meet some extraordinary people and find themselves in ditto situations.

Pickup trucks are essential to the American way of life; manufacturers compete to outsmart, outmaneuver and outlast each other; experts, designers and historians weigh in on the most influential innovations in the truck world over the past 120 years.

Den fallerte punkeren Otto får en spillejobb i Haugesund, og henter ut farens gamle Opel Diplomat fra bilopphuggeriet. I Telemark kjører han imidlertid feil og møter Farida Svalastog, som lever av å finne amerikaneres norske røtter eller de som utgir seg for å være det. Deretter begynner underlige ting å skje, og Otto blir så å si fanget i Telemark. Han blir blant annet jaget av amcar-entusiaster som er på jakt etter motoren i Opel Diplomaten, i den står den nemlig en svært ettertraktet Chevrolet V8. Fremfor alt spiller filmen på mer eller mindre mytiske fortellinger om befolkningen og livet i øvre Telemark.