Five Best Vehicles From Television

There are some television shows that are defined by their actors. Some, like the ones on this list, have vehicles that have become a part of our popular culture. While I obviously couldn't put every famous vehicle from television on this list, I stuck with only the classic shows and stayed away from cartoons. If you know of any you'd rather see, let us know! We might end up making a second list of them!

The A-Team Van From The A-Team
The General Motors Company G-Series Vandura was the vehicle used in the television series. It was painted black and metallic grey with a characteristic red stripe, black and red turbine mag wheels, and rooftop spoiler, has become an enduring pop culture icon. Early examples of the van had a red GMC logo on the front grille, and an additional GMC logo on the rear left door. By the second season, these logos were blacked out, although GMC continued to supply vans and receive a credit on the closing credits of each episode. Additionally, some versions of the van have a sunroof, whereas others, typically those used for stunts, do not.

K.I.T.T. From Knight Rider
Who doesn't remember the black 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am controlled by a computer with artificial intelligence? The name of the car stood for Knight Industries Two Thousand. K.I.T.T. was said to have been designed by the late Wilton Knight, a brilliant but eccentric billionaire and founder of the fictional Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG) and its parent Knight Industries. According to the series, the original KITT's main cybernetic processor was first installed in a mainframe computer used by the United States government in Washington D.C.. However, Wilton saw better use for "him" in the Foundation's crime-fighting crusade and eventually the system was installed in the vehicle. K.I.T.T. was modified with a Turbo Boost (which allowed quick bursts of speed or jumping over obstacles), the ability to drive 'himself', a front mounted scanner bar that (among other things) allowed K.I.T.T. to 'see', and 'molecular bonded shell' body armor that was portrayed to be invulnerable to diamond headed drills, small arms fire, the impact of thrown objects, and even high speed impact with cinder block wall. The armor could also resist most artillery and explosive blasts although a strong direct hit could cause severe damage.

General Lee From The Dukes Of Hazzard
The General Lee is the 1969 Dodge Charger driven by the Duke cousins Bo and Luke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. It is known for the chases and stunts, especially high jumps, in almost every episode, and for having the doors welded shut, leaving the Dukes to climb in and out through the windows. The car's name is a reference to the Confederate general Robert E. Lee, and indeed the vehicle embodies the Southern United States, bearing as it does a Confederate Battle flag on its roof and a horn which plays a bar from the song "Dixie". About 321 were used in the series. Approximately seventeen still exist in various states of repair. On average, more than one General Lee was used up per show.

Ford Gran Torino From Starsky And Hutch
The 1975 Gran Torino used in this cop series was Starsky's car, which was red with a large white vector stripe. It was nicknamed the "Striped Tomato" by Hutch in the episode "Snowstorm"; the nickname was subsequently adopted by the fans of the series. The nickname was actually named by Paul Michael Glaser (who played Starsky). According to Glaser, when he was first shown the Torino by Aaron Spelling, he sarcastically said to Soul, "That thing looks like a striped tomato!" The name stuck.

The Batmobile From Batman
If ever there was a car that any kid wanted to own, it had to be the Batmobile. The original Batmobile from the 1966 television series was a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car built by the Ford Motor Company. It was entirely built by hand in Turin, Italy as a concept car and cost $250,000 in the 1950's (think over a million dollars today). If you have any question as to why the automobile companies were going under, Ford later sold the car to George Barris of Barris Kustom City of Los Angeles for the low, low price of one dollar. When 20th Century Fox needed a car for the Batmobile in 1966, they contacted Barris. The only requirement was that they needed it in 3 weeks. The Lincoln Futura already had a look that could fit, so he painted it up and the Batmobile was born.