POCATELLO, Idaho – It was fate that brought Wayne Barlow to his dream car.

He wasn’t looking for one of the police cars driven in “The Blues Brothers,” one of his favorite movies, when he went on a quick vacation to Las Vegas in August. He was looking for a cold drink.

Barlow and a friend were driving through Henderson, Nev., lost, when they stopped at a convenience store. There, parked next to the store, was the car. Barlow went inside and met the cars’ owners, Bob and Tammy Morrison, who offered to give him a ride.

They usually didn’t drive the car to work, but that day, for no particular reason, the Morrisons had decided to use it. They became fast friends, and soon Barlow learned the Morrisons were thinking of selling the vehicle.

“The stars were in alignment, and the planets were right,” said Barlow, owner of Barlow’s Aire Force One heating and air conditioning company. “It was an unbelievable experience. No way in the universe should we have been in the area.”

Barlow picked up his car, complete with a certificate of authenticity, at one of its engagements in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas earlier this month, where it was contracted to appear at a Chili’s Restaurants’ national convention.

The 1974 Dodge Monaco is signed by Dan Ackroyd and Jim Belushi, the brother of “The Blues Brothers” star John Belushi. Inside, there are tributes to the Blues Brothers everywhere, from the names painted on the seats to the sunglasses on the dash.

The car is painted with pictures of Ackroyd and John Belushi, known as Elwood and Jake in the movie. The vehicle was one of the few left from the movie that once held the title of most cars destroyed in one film, surpassed by its sequel, “Blues Brothers 2000.” Thirteen old police cars were Bluesmobiles, used for the various stunts in the movie.

The Bluesmobile’s speedometer goes to 140, and, although he hasn’t taken it that fast, Barlow gets a big grin when the car rumbles to life and he revs the engine a bit.

“Everywhere I’ve been, people have been giving it a thumbs up and double takes,” he said.

The grin on Barlow’s face doesn’t disappear when he’s not driving the car. For the man who loves “The Blues Brothers” this much, all it takes is talking about his new vehicle. The car is a fitting tribute to the movie, he said.

“It’s a classic. People of all ages love this movie,” Barlow said.

His wife, Linda Barlow, is happy as well. She knows her husband is a big fan.

“We’ve had a poster of ‘The Blues Brothers’ for 10 years in our bedroom,” she said.

Barlow was spotted on Friday evening at the Christmas Night Lights parade in Old Town, and he’s taken the car though town a few times, but he doesn’t plan on driving it too much — he doesn’t want it to get a ding.

The Bluesmobile will have some appearances across the country at events like the Chili’s convention. Barlow hopes to make it a sort of mascot for his business.

“It’s fun. It’s the real machine,” he said.