Top 5 Iconic Cars on Television Shows

Let’s face it folks, they might not have been integral part of our lives in the early 1900’s, but cars have definitely become part of the fabric of society throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries. We use our cars every day to get to work and back home, to get to the restaurant on time for that hot date or to get from one party to the next one.  In this day and age one simply can not get around like one wants to without a car.

And cars have also become essential “characters” in movies and television shows.  Imagine the Back to the Future trilogy without the 1982 DeLorean DMC-12, imagine Ghostbusters without the 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Hearse and imagine Gone is 60 seconds without the Shelby GT 500. Those films would just not be the same without these cars. And the same goes for television shows.

Today the Junk Mail team would like to introduce you to our list of the 5 most iconic cars in television history. We hope that this list brings back memories and takes the nostalgic person inside you back to the good old days of television.

Dodge ChargerThe 1969 Dodge Charger in The Dukes of Hazard: Known for the chases, stunts and especially high jumps (in almost every episode), this car was referred to as “The General Lee” in the TV show. The doors of the car were welded shut. The main characters in the show (the Dukes) had to climb in and out through the windows. “The General Lee” appeared in every episode of the hit series but one. The car’s name is a reference to the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The vehicle embodied the Southern United States. To give you an idea, it had a Confederate naval jack on its roof and a horn which played the melody from the first line of the song “Dixie”. The Dukes of Hazard was on television from 1979 to 1985. The Dodge Charger was built by Chrysler from 1966 to 1978.

Knight RiderThe 1982 Customized Pontiac Trans Am in Knight RiderIf you were born and raised in the 1980s you’ll probably remember this TV show and this car. The car was called KITT (short for ‘Knight Industries Two Thousand’) in the TV show. Due to the number of fans of the TV show going into Pontiac dealerships and asking for the KITT model Trans Am / Firebird General Motors asked the creator of Knight Rider to no longer refer to KITT as a Trans Am. After the first season of the show the car usually referred to as a black T-Top. The TV show first aired in 1982 and ended in 1986. Knight Rider was the leading actor David Hasselhoff’s ticket to stardom.

VW 1968 T2AThe 1968 Volkswagen T2a in Lost: Now this is a classic of note. The Volkswagen Type 2 first made its appearance in the motoring realm in 1950. Whether it was intentional or not Lost gave us this iconic blast from the past a slight boost by incorporating it into the show. Lets face it folks, no one remembers what kind of car Jack Bauer drove on 24 or what kind of car was used to chase down a fleeing criminal on Bones. The closest Hollywood has gotten to something like that in recent years is the Nissan Versa on Heroes or the blue Toyota Yaris from Psych. And just so you know both of these were paid-for advertisements and arguably completely lame on-screen vehicles.

Ferrari Daytona 1972The 1972 Ferrari Daytona in Miami Vice: Ferrari produced the Ferrari Daytona from 1968 to 1973. The black car used in Miami Vice was a replica built on a Chev Corvette chassis. The Ferrari executives were not pleased that their company and one of their products was represented on TV by an imitation car and sued the manufacturer of the kit car for trademark infringement and trademark dilution.  Eventually The Ferrari Daytona replica was eventually destroyed on-screen and replaced with a donated Ferrari Testarossa (the company’s newest model during the time).

Ferrari 308 GTS1977 Ferrari 308 GTS from Magnum P.I.: This targa topped Ferrari 308 GTS was first introduced by the Italian car manufacturer in 1977 and was made famous on the television series. The Ferrari 308 GTS had a top speed of 256 km/h. Several cars were used in Magnum P.I. (a new one for each season). Most of the cars were  auctioned off after filming. The Ferrari 308 GTS was in production from 1975 to 1985. Magnum P.I. first aired on television in 1980 and ended in 1988. 162 episodes were made of the series.

There you have it, 5 iconic cars on Television. If you another car in mind that would be worthy to make this list, comment on this post and let us know. We’d love to hear from you. Check out the other posts in the Fun Corner category on the Junk Mail blog.

If you have a car that you want to sell, remember that you can place a free advert on Junk Mail for immediate online exposure.

Henno Kruger

Digital Marketing Campaign Coordinator at Junk Mail Publishing.

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