The truck was made notorious with the public with the release of Steven Spielberg's 1971 thriller Duel, which featured a 1950s Peterbilt 281.
It was very popular with truckers, but remained mainly unknown by the public until the release of Steven Spielberg's first feature film "Duel" in 1971.
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The film's premise involved a psychotic trucker chasing a terrified motorist, played by Dennis Weaver, down a lonely California desert highway with a rusty, grimy 281.
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The release of Steven Spielberg's first feature film, Duel, in 1971 made the 281 notorious to the public.