Automärchen (1983)

Auto mechanic Ali Kuslowski believes that numerous accidents in his workshop have been caused by supernatural forces. His supervisor, Kalle Sengebusch, thinks Ali is a crackpot and, among other things, wants to stop his daughter Ina from continuing to see him. Meanwhile, Ali reconstructs the first mishap: One day, the stuffy accountant Piel drove out to go fishing and fell asleep by the lake. While he was dreaming, forest fairies danced in a nearby meadow. A little later, Piel found a forest fairy in the trunk of his Trabant. She turned out to be a speed fanatic and kept getting Piel to drive along country roads faster and faster, well over the speed limit. He only got rid of her when she took a liking to motorcycles. But her flower wreath was still on the passenger seat when Piel brought the Trabant to the workshop. Ulrich Neumann, in turn, was plagued by a black cat that Neumann’s son carries around the workshop. Neumann had once found the cat in a garbage can and rescued it. Soon afterward, the garbage can turned into a luxury car, and the cat recited Goethe’s Mephisto and offered Neumann a deal: his soul in exchange for owning the car. After some hesitation, Neumann agreed and signed a pact exchanging his soul for an “automobile of a special class.” The car was admired, but it turned out to be a gas guzzler. Neumann, meanwhile, grew increasingly heartless toward his children and his wife. When he himself cursed the car, it devoured him through the hood, and the car turned back into a garbage can. Kalle does not believe Ali’s stories and throws him out of the house when he catches Ali in his daughter’s bed. On his way to the workshop, Kalle gives a hitchhiker a lift in the rain. The hitchhiker introduces himself as Car Trouble. Kalle thinks he is a crackpot too, but Car Trouble apologizes in advance for destroying Kalle’s car when they arrive at the workshop. Sure enough, the wheel axles break shortly after Kalle gets there. Car Trouble gets him a motorcycle as a replacement by causing one of Kalle’s acquaintances to have a serious accident outside Kalle’s apartment. Kalle consults a neighbor about how to deal with ghosts, and she advises him to carry three hairs from a virgin. From then on, Kalle carries three of his daughter’s hairs. Car Trouble offers to solve the workshop’s shortage of materials by telling Kalle about various accidents in advance. Along with the scrap, the workshop would then also get usable spare parts. But Kalle always drives to the predicted accident site and manages to prevent the accidents. A pileup on the highway does happen because the driver responsible refuses to let Kalle stop him at a rest stop. At the next accident, Car Trouble also appears at the planned location, because all the failed predictions have made it suspicious. Car Trouble and Kalle fight, preventing the predicted accident from happening. When Car Trouble then tries to run Kalle over, Kalle emerges unharmed. He mocks Car Trouble, saying he is protected by three virgin hairs after all. Car Trouble gives up and disappears in a huge explosion. A little later, Ali and Ina appear and tell Kalle that he is going to be a grandfather—Ina is three months pregnant. Kalle is left dumbfounded.