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THE BATMOBILE ("BATMAN"): One of many
cars on this list from Barris, the King of the Kustomizers, the Batmobile from
the 1966-68 ABC series was a modified Ford Lincoln Futura concept car. Sleek and
black and supposedly atomic powered, this baby roared out of the Batcave and
through the streets of Gotham City, equipped with even more gadgets than
Batman's utility belt. They don't come any better.
THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY BUS ("THE PARTRIDGE
FAMILY"): Come on, get happy. The pilot episode of this 1970-74 ABC series had
the family band buying a used 1957 Chevy school bus from Al's Used Cars and, in
the spirit of Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters or the Who's Magic Bus,
painting it in the style of Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, with a rear-end warning
"Careful, Nervous Mother Driver." It was a surprisingly hip bus for a music
group that wore velvet suits and ruffled shirts.
K.I.T.T. ("KNIGHT RIDER"): The Knight
Industries Two Thousand was a talking 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am (with the voice of
William Daniels) that had enough high-tech wizardry to make the Mach 5 and the
Batmobile, which once were state-of-the-art, look like they were from the
horse-and-buggy era. Series star David Hasselhoff always was shrewd about
surrounding himself with more interesting co-stars. In this 1982-86 NBC show,
it's the car.
THE CLAMPETT FAMILY TRUCK ("THE BEVERLY
HILLBILLIES"): This 1921 flatbed Olds was the truck they loaded up and moved to
Beverly -- Hills, that is -- at the start of each episode of the 1962-71 CBS
sitcom. Jed once said the truck belonged to his cousin Pearl, but that he could
keep it as long as he kept her son Jethro.
COLUMBO'S JUNKER ("COLUMBO"): Lt.
Columbo's beat-up old, rusted 1959 Peugeot 403 Grande Luxe Cabriolet convertible
was a perfect match for the rumpled L.A. detective in the well-worn raincoat
played by Peter Falk, from 1971 on NBC until last year on ABC. Just like its
owner, it somehow hung in there and always kept going.
JIM ROCKFORD'S FIREBIRD ESPRIT ("THE
ROCKFORD FILES"): The guy's best-known possession was his telephone answering
machine. His home was a trailer, but he practically lived in his car in this
1974-80 NBC series and, if it was good enough for a guy as cool as Rockford, it
was good enough for the rest of us.
THE GENERAL LEE ("THE DUKES OF HAZZARD"):
This souped-up Dodge Charger, the real star of the show, never seemed to have a
scratch, no matter how many chases and collisions the Dukes put it through.
According to The Complete Directory of Prime-Time Cable and Network Shows, the
producers went through almost 300 lookalikes during the show's 1979-85 CBS run.
JACK BENNY'S MAXWELL ("THE JACK BENNY
PROGRAM"): On radio, the sputtering and wheezing 1923 jalopy was played by Mel
Blanc. The cheap but thoroughly unreliable used car traveled with Benny to
television for his 1950-64 CBS series, usually petering out after about 15
minutes.
CLAIRE FISHER'S HEARSE ("SIX FEET UNDER"):
The lime-green, used family-mortuary hearse young Claire drives immediately
tells us about how offbeat she and the rest of her kin are in this current HBO
series.
THE FORD GRAN TORINO ("STARSKY & HUTCH"):
Undercover cops Dave Starsky and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson did everything but blend
in as they careened through the streets of a city that looked a lot like Los
Angeles in this 1975-79 ABC series. The "Starsky & Hutch" car was so popular
that Ford came out with a limited edition of 1,000 similarly amped-up Gran
Torinos for sale to the public March 1976.
DAN TANNA'S T-BIRD ("VEGA$"): This is the
candy-red renovated Thunderbird that Binzer never got to drive in the 1978-81
ABC series ... and all those Dennis Miller jokes.
DAVE CRABTREE'S MOM ("MY MOTHER THE CAR"):
The notion that Jerry Van Dyke's mom (Ann Sothern) was reincarnated in a 1928
Porter is creepy enough to make this 1965-66 NBC comedy one of the worst TV
shows ever and utterly unforgettable.
FRED SANFORD'S TRUCK ("SANFORD & SON"):
Fred's faded red junk truck, first a 1952 Ford, then a 1947 Mercury in this
1972-77 NBC classic, is as much a part of our memory as "I'm comin' to join ya,
'Lizabeth!"
THE BLACK BEAUTY ("THE GREEN HORNET"): If
you were a TV crimefighter in the mid-'60s, you needed a slick car. Crusading
newspaper editor Britt Reid (Van Williams) and his manservant Kato (Bruce Lee)
tooled around in the modified 1966 Chrysler Imperial Crown sedan in this 1966-67
ABC companion to "Batman."
THE "ROUTE 66" 'VETTE ("ROUTE 66"): Tod
and Buz (and later Linc) traveled the country in style through their 1960-64 CBS
run in a Corvette convertible, first a 1959 model, then a 1960. Series star
Martin Milner reportedly was hoping for a Ferrari instead.
Other TV Cars Of Note
Magnum's red Ferrari ("Magnum, P.I.")
Sonny Crockett's black Ferrari ("Miami Vice")
McCormick's custom Manta, aka "The Coyote" ("Hardcastle & McCormick")
Cannon's Lincoln Continental ("Cannon")
Ralph Kramden's bus ("The Honeymooners")
Mary Richards' Ford Mustang ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show")
Rob Petrie's Tarantula sports car ("The Dick Van Dyke Show")
Cab 413 and Cab 804 ("Taxi")
The Oldsmobile Toronado ("Mannix")
Simon Templar's Volvo P1800 ("The Saint")
The Pirahna sports car ("Man From U.N.C.L.E.")
The Model T, aka "Bessie" ("Dr. Who")
The Munster Koach and Drag-u-la ("The Munsters")
Al Bundy's 1974 Dodge Dart ("Married With Children")
Richie Cunningham's 1952 Ford sedan, aka "The Love Bandit" ("Happy Days")
Bob Carson's Aerocar ("The Bob Cummings Show")
Car 54 ("Car 54, Where Are You?")
The A-Team van ("The A-Team")
Malloy and Reed's Plymouth Belvedere, Plymouth Satallite and AMC Matador ("Adam
12")
George Costanza's LeBaron convertible ("Seinfeld")
the 1966 Chevy sedan, aka "the Blue Ghost" ("Baretta")
Steve McGarrett's Mercury Park Lane Brougham and Mercury Marquis ("Hawaii
Five-O")
Arnie Becker's Bentley ("L.A. Law"); the 1950 Mercury wagon, aka "Woody" ("The
Mod Squad")
Ray Vecchio's 1971 Buick Riviera ("Due South")
The Volkswagen Beetle ("Herbie, the Love Bug")
Dr. Miles Hawkins' Chrysalis ("M.A.N.T.I.S.")
the Excalibur and Mercedes 380SL convertible ("Matt Houston")
Michael Hogan's "Guzmeroli" sports car ("The Hogan Family")
The Plymouth Prowler ("NightMan")
tThe XMSC-210 ("The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis")
Julian Wilkes' Dodge Viper ("Viper")
Maxwell Smart's Sunbeam Tiger convertible ("Get Smart"); the Greene family's
Winnebago ("The Promised Land")
The Plymouth Barracuda ("Nash Bridges")
Pat Brady's Jeep, aka "Nellybelle" ("The Roy Rogers Show")
The Hawk ("Arthur Hailey's 'Wheels'"); double-decker bus ("Here Come the Double-Deckers!")
The "Street Hawk" ("Street Hawk")
"Wonderbug" ("The Krofft Supershow")
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