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Do you ever wonder what became of the cars from movies or an old television series? There are a few cars who are almost as famous as the actors who drove them. We even remember their names, when they actually had one.
One of these oldies but goodies was from the television show The Dukes of Hazard. Yes, The General Lee made headlines lately when it was put up for bid on the online auction EBAY. The bidding went up to almost 10 million dollars before the auction ended. The winner of the auction did not come up with the payment. We all love the General Lee, but 10 million is a bit much for a 1969 Dodge Charger, even if it was one of our favorite TV cars.
The famous muscle car certainly had some power from its 16-valve V 8 engine that generated 375 horsepower, it could go from 0 to 60 in 5.4 seconds. Of course we remember it carrying Bo and Luke Duke and their cousin Daisy Mae around making trouble for the evil Boss Hogg. There were actually about 20 Chargers dating from 1968-1970 that were used on the show. I never noticed that when I was watching it take turns on a dime, and flying from time to time across my TV screen. Now that show was a lot of fun, when we all hung out with those good old boys!
How about Starsky and Hutch cruising the streets for the good of the community as undercover cops driving a 1975 red and white Ford Gran Torino. This car was loaded with a 400 CID modified V-8 engine and had all the extras including power windows, power door locks, power seat, cruise, tilt steering, AM-FM, 8-Track, auto climate control, heavy duty electrical, and lighted visor vanity mirror.
Another favorite is the Red Ferrari 308 GTS driven by private investigator Thomas Sullivan Magnum in Magnum P. I. The private investigator lives in a mansion and drives a Ferrari loaned to him by a friend. Hey with friends like that ...! Tom Selleck was so tall that they actually had to modify the car for him by taking out some padding in the seat. Needless to say the Ferrari had every accessory a car could want and more.
Batman had Robin, but Knight Rider had KITT which stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand, the name of the computer that runs the car. Kitt was a beautiful 1982 black Pontiac Trans Am. KITT had accessories too, but not the standard kind of the other cars mentioned above. KITT was way ahead of them by miles.
Oh Yeah, KITT could talk too. She also had Turbo Boost that could take her to 200 mph and a trajectory guidance system that could propel her 40 feet into the air, a molecular bonded shell that could protect the car and its driver from any kind of firearms and explosive device. Pyroclastic Lamination is a thermal-resistant coating that can withstand sustained temperatures of up to 800 degrees protected KITT from any fire scenario. David Hasselhoff actually kept the car when the series ended.
These cars became our friends when we watched them week after week performing like actors in the scenes. They made these shows come to life with action and adventure, and made us dream of things much greater than we were familiar with. They were taken for granted and not given credits, but we still remember them all these years later. Boy, did they steal the scenes.