Lexwang07

My favorite TV most famous car stars most be K.I.T.T. on Knight Rider!

The undisputed star of the 1980's TV series Knight Rider is a car with personality — literally. K.I.T.T., which is short for Knight Industries Two Thousand, is a computer with artificial intelligence fitted into a Pontiac Trans Am that's so heavily modified it is like the Superman of cars.

This vehicle responds to verbal commands, not just by doing what it's told, but by talking back. Sarcastic and superior, this reluctant hero bickers with driver Michael Knight over his fearless plans, urging more caution, usually to no avail. But the loyal car never hesitates to break Knight out of jail when necessary.

K.I.T.T. is programmed to care for his crusader-owner, who drives him around the country to take on powerful villains. They work for the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG), which designed the car to be the ultimate crime-fighting machine. For the most part, the vehicle prevails without suffering even a dent; its body is virtually indestructible because it is coated with a classified "molecular-bonded" compound.

The series initially uses a souped-up 1982 Pontiac Trans Am for K.I.T.T., bringing in other models as the seasons progressed. K.I.T.T. also gets updated regularly with additional supercar features.

Some of the favorite episodes for fans are the ones with K.A.R.R., an earlier version of K.I.T.T. that went haywire, and Goliath, a K.I.T.T.-like semi.

Barris recalls the engineering behind one of K.I.T.T.'s pursuit cars as "one of the most difficult."

"It had to simulate speeds of over 150 miles an hour. And to get that vision, we had to put things on the car that could have possibly made that car fly. Then when it got into the air and it got back down to the ground at a 150 mph, how do you make it stop?"

A frequently used feature of K.I.T.T. is its high-performance turbo boost, which enables extraordinary speed (faster than a speeding bullet) and incredible jumps (leaps over tractor-trailers and even rivers, in a single bound).

The Special Features Available On K.I.T.T.

• Emergency ejector seats
• Surveillance mode: A radar and sonar force field that can detect anything within a 100-yard radius. Although usually restricted to following commands, K.I.T.T. can take independent action when in this mode.
• Automatic pilot: Allows K.I.T.T. to drive itself. (Look, Ma! No hands!) Includes automatic cruise control, auto pursuit, and auto crash-avoidance capabilities.
• Monitoring screens: Two televisions on the dash that K.I.T.T. uses to display visuals, with capabilities that include instant replay, freeze frames and zoom-ins. Comes in handy when K.I.T.T. records and replays action. Also displays data programmed into the car, like maps. Prints out hard copies upon request.
• Super-pursuit mode: Allows the car to pursue targets with the speed and accuracy of a heat-seeking missile
• Scanner: The red light in front of the car (reminiscent of the Cylons from the TV series Battlestar Gallactica), this feature enables X-ray vision.
• Infrared tracking scope: Allows K.I.T.T. to track any heat source, such as another vehicle's engine, within a 10-mile radius.
• Voice analyzer: Works like a lie detector
• Composes sketches of people based on vocal description
• Comprehensive configuration analysis, which indicates potential weak spots in an opponent
• Vital signs monitor, which can check blood pressure and heart rate
• Ignition and tire sensors: Can start the engines of other cars. Also can deflate and re-inflate the tires of other cars.
• Smokescreen capability
• Convertible mode: A late addition to the car, this enables it to turn into a convertible at the push of a button.

tofu_house

iTrader: (2)

I used to watch this show ALLLL the time. It was my favorite show as a kid.

Other car stars could include the A-Team van.

XeroK00L

How about the little Beetle in The Love Bug? That's the first car star ever and arguably the most famous one.


although it may not technically be as awesome as the K.I.T.T..

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Urkel's Car from "Family Matters"

That cracks me up everytime!!!

MSMLexIS

The general lee i guess would be a star car.

GrdnRxR

and let's not forget the Monkeemobile

mmarshall

Yes....the ubiquitous BMW Isetta. Cracks me up every time too. Shows BMW was building some goofy cars long before Chris Bangle came along.

( That particular Isetta, BTW, is a long-wheelbase model. The standard car is even smaller.

np20412

What about the Batmobile? That's pretty damn famous, all versions of it except the newest monstrosity

mmarshall

Though I would have liked it better wthout that rebel flag on the roof, The orange General Lee Dodge Charger has to be the most famous TV car of my lifetime. The original Batmobile and the two-tone Ford Torino of Starsky and Hutch have to rank way up there too.

LexLaw

LMAO, that's funny!! How about the Brady Station Wagon?? or Optimus Prime (Transformers circa 1980's)

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

I like the TV seies "VIPER" back in 1994. That show brought the Dodge Viper to the forefront.

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

There are so many star cars I liked. Along with all the ones posted so far are these:

The Munsters Roadster
The van driven by BA Barraccus (Mr T)
The Green Hornet limo driven by Kato
The Ferrari driven in Magnum PI
The jeeps in Rat Patrol
James Bonds' Aston Martin

Man, I could do this all nite....there's too many.

mmarshall

JB's Astons were more for movies than TV, though.....and he drove a BMW Z3, not an Aston, in one of them.

LexLaw

Man I forgot all about that.

GFerg

HAHAh....I remember that show. I actually like the show(even though it was probably on for about a month) Everytime someone posts up a pic of that new ugly Nissan GTR it reminds me of this thing.

And Knight Rider was the show. I mean what car guy didnt watch Knight Rider. That was like the posterboy for all car based TV shows. Loved so much that everyone and there momma went out and got scanner lights for there car.