Many fictitious characters are associated with a car. It may be comical, sexy, or threatening. It might not be the sort of vehicle any of us would choose to go down to the supermarket in or it may be the car of our wildest dreams. However desirable or otherwise, they are like extra characters and they advance the plot and emphasize the personalities of the protagonists. The following are the movie and TV cars that are inseparable from their owners.
KITT - Knight Rider
Before David Hasselhoff bared his torso in Baywatch, he was crime fighting Michael Knight. His co-star was KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand, later to be Three Thousand), a futuristic talking car. The original series ran from 1982 – 1986 and it made the Hoff a household name. KITT was an electronic computer housed in a 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. KITT had many features that helped his master to get the bad guys, including rocket motors, a flame thrower, grappling hook and winch, tear gas launcher, and surveillance tracker. In the short-lived 2008/09 series, the car used was a Ford Shelby Mustang.
The General Lee - The Dukes of Hazzard
It was a tale of moonshine and good old Southern boys in the series that ran from 1979 – 1985. Cousins Bo and Luke Duke needed a fast car to keep them ahead of Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco, and out of trouble. The General Lee was a modified 1969 Dodge Charger, painted bright orange with a Confederate Battle Flag painted on the roof and a horn that played ‘Dixie’. A rollbar was installed and the doors were welded shut, so the boys had to jump in and out of the open windows. The car was involved in some scary stunts and high jumps were its party trick, so the various cars used on set took a beating. More than 300 models were used on the production and approximately 23 are thought to still exist today.
DeLorean - Back to the Future
Time travel was the theme for Back to the Future from 1985 and its sequels. Eccentric inventor, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) discovers the Flux Capacitor, which enables him to go back or forward to any point in time that he wants. He needs a vehicle and decides that he can be stylish as well as scientific. He chooses the DeLorean DMC-12 and uses plutonium in a nuclear reaction to operate his time machine. All he has to do is set the required target date and reach a certain speed. In reality, the DeLorean had a less illustrious history. There was a lot of hope for the sports car’s success but the manufacturing company went bankrupt and production stopped in 1982. If only founder, John DeLorean had the benefit of a time machine.
Ford Gran Torino - Starsky and Hutch
Screeching tires were a constant feature in Starsky and Hutch (1975 – 1979). Nicknamed ‘The Striped Tomato’ because of the vector white stripe over the cherry tomato paintwork, it became one of the iconic symbols of the 1970s. It certainly stood out and wasn’t an obvious choice for undercover detectives. Starksy was proud of his car but Hutch teased him about it. In fact, Paul Michael Glaser, who played Starksy, disliked the car. He didn’t like its appearance and he found it difficult to drive. It was so much a part of the show that he had to put up with it. As with The Dukes of Hazard, there was more than one car used, and a few still exist today.
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Batmobile - Batman
Batman may be a superhero but he doesn’t have any superpowers, so he needs all the help he can get. He parks his Batmobile in the Batcave, ready to speed him to his destination. The car and its crime fighting gadgets have evolved over the years through the comic books, TV versions, and movies, reflecting the technology of the time. The live action television series in the 1960s modeled the Batmobile on the Ford Lincoln Futura concept car, complete with lasers, rockets, radar, and a computer. In Tim Burton’s films, Batman and Batman Returns, the car was built on a Chevy Impala chassis and incorporated machine guns and a grappling hook. The Christopher Nolan directed Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Batmobile looks like a hybrid of a sports car and an armored tank. Above all, it’s cool. As Batman points out in Batman Forever, It's the car, right? Chicks love the car.
Some Movie and TV Cars can be found in museums that exhibit such memorabilia or at least, there may be a replica. There are fortunate collectors who buy cars from the studios and have them in their private collection. Sometimes, a star may get to keep a car. Now, that’s a good perk!
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