Celebrity Cars

Famous celebrity cars we will never forget
On
March 08, 2007
Hey guys how are you, Yes it's me again Warriorman. Today I thought I'd try something new and write an article about the most famous celebrity cars we shall never forget. These cars are also the most recognizable that you will know no matter who you are.(Well actually the younger generation of today may not be familiar but this is mainly for all us retrojunkies out there). Okay on we go, The first car up is.......

The 1968 Mustang GT-390 fastback as made famous by the greatest movie ever Bullit.
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Yep everyone should rember this car. Bullitt is most-remembered for its central car chase scene through the streets of downtown San Francisco, one of the earliest and most influential car chase sequences in movies. The scene had Bullitt(Steve McQueen) in a dark Green 1968 Ford Mustang G.T.390 Fastback, chasing two hit-men in a Black 1968 Dodge Charger R/T Hemi. In honor of the Mustang in the film, the Ford Motor Company produced a limited edition 2001 Ford Mustang GT "Bullitt Mustang," which took styling cues from the '68 movie car and even mimicked its exhaust note.
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The 1968 Mustang fastback gained pop culture status when it was used in Bullitt. the car used in Bullitt however was not just a regular fastback it was actually a modified Mustang GT-390 fastback.

The General Lee as made famous by the greatest TV show ever The Dukes of Hazzard.
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(1969 Dodge Charger) YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEE HHHHHHHAAAAAWWWWWWW(Sound of a dixie horn in the backround) now no one alive today can't say they never heard of the general lee, I think they need a lesson in famous cars. No worries thought, for those of you who have never heard of the general lee keep reading. The general lee was an orange 1969 Dodge Charger with a Rebel flag painted on the roof, and the words GENERAL LEE over each door. Each door also has a large 01 in black. When the car's horn is pressed, it plays the first 12 notes from the Confederate States anthem Dixie. Like I already said the general lee was made famous by the 70's and 80's tv show The Dukes of Hazzard. Usually the car was driven by the Duke cousins Bo and Luke(mainly bo) and later on Coy, Vance, Daisy, uncle jesse, cooter, and I have even seen a few episodes where boss hog, roscoe and enos have all driven the general. It is known for the chases and stunts, especially high jumps, in almost every episode. The car's name is a reference to the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Most of the time, the car outran the police or the Dukes figured a way not to get a ticket after they were stopped by the cops. Its windows are left open because the doors are welded shut explained on the show as a common trait of race cars, especially those used in NASCAR racing events. 309 General Lees were used to film the series. Approximately twenty-three still exist in various states of repair. Among survivors is the very first General Lee known as Lee1. This car is seen in the debut episode and is the car seen jumping at the end of the opening credits of every episode with John Schneider and Tom Wopat. On average, more than one General Lee was used up per show. From 1979 to 1985, Chargers of 1968 and 1969 vintage were sourced and converted to General Lee specifications, and everyone (well almost everyone) who bought a 68 or 69 charger all wanted it to be just like on TV, although you still see many 68/69 chargers that were not painted like the general lee even today. To this date I still do beleive the General Lee holds a world record, rember in the opening credits when they are flying over the lake/canyon, I was watching some behind the scenes footage of the 1st season and I beleive it was either Cooter(Ben Jones) or Bill Baxley(Stunt Co-ordinator of the show) that brought that up. They hold the rcord for longest jump I do beleive, if not I'll just watch the footage again and let you know, or if you guys know I'd be more than happy to read it in the comment box.
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The Batmobile(60's) as made famous by the 60's tv show Batman
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1955 lincoln futura (Before it was the Batmobile)

1955 lincoln futura when it was turned into the batmobile.
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Probably THE most recognizable car in history the original batmobile. Although vehicles for the Batman films have been custom built for the purpose, perhaps the most famous Batmobile, the one from the 1966-1968 live action television show, began life as a Ford concept car called the Lincoln Futura, built over a decade earlier in 1955. The body of the Futura was fabricated by Ghia of Italy, whose artisans hammered the car's panels over logs and tree stumps carved as forms to create the sleek manta ray-like car. In 1959, the Futura was featured sporting a fresh red paint job in the film, "It Started With A Kiss", starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford. In 1965, ABC-TV chose famed Hollywood customizer George Barris to design a "Batmobile" for their soon-to-go-into production BATMAN show. With only three weeks, Barris decided that rather than build a car from scratch, it would be best to transform the Lincoln Futura (bought from Ford for $1.00) into the famous crimefighting vehicle of TV's caped crusader. Barris hired Bill Cushenberry to do the metal modifications to the car. When filming for the series began, several problems arose due to the age of the car: the steering rack snapped constantly, it overheated, the battery went dead, it had engine problems, and the expensive Mickey Thompson tires kept blowing. By mid season, the transmission and the chassis were replaced with a Ford Galaxie. Barris built three fiberglass copies of the original Batmobile for exhibition on the car show circuit (one of which was used for exhibition drag racing). Eventually, the three copies were covered with a black velvet "fuzz" paint, presumably to hide stress cracks in the fiberglass bodies. Later, all three were restored to their gloss black paint job. The 3 replicas are all based on a 1965-1966 Ford Galaxie. Barris has retained ownership of the original TV car, which is currently on display at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. The three Barris copies all reside in private collections. (If you are lucky enough to find an old or beaten up lincoln If you put enough time and effort into it you might just be able to pull a replica of the batmobile, now wouldn't that be cool, Chicks love the car trust me).
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Batmobile #2(1989-2006)
The Michael Keaton Batmobile.
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The Val Kilmer Batmobile
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The George Clooney Batmobile
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The New Batmobile
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Alrighty then on we go again. Ok other than the original 60's Batmobile These/The Batmobile is the most recognized car ever. The Batmobile(s) of today has been modified into a tank-like armored riot control vehicle, complete with machine guns shooting rubber bullets, and large monster truck-like tires. Later versions of the famed Batmobile would be built off the stretched-out platforms of other cars, such as the Chevrolet Caprice and Buick Riviera. This style was used in the two Batman films directed by Tim Burton. Reputedly, every gadget seen on the Batmobile used in these films was fully functional, including the jet engine, which consumed fuel at such a high rate that there was only enough fuel capacity to run it for the approximately fifteen seconds of the longest shot in which you can see it operating. The New batmobile(Or should I say Truck) depicted in the 2005 film Batman Begins owes more to the tank-like vehicle. The new machine is a cross between a Lamborghini and a Hummer. In that film, Bruce Wayne modifies a military vehicle known as the Tumbler, and the vehicle that he creates is never referred to as a Batmobile. (How dissappointing).
Trigger as made famous by Burt Reynolds/Smokey and the bandit
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(1977 Pontiac Trans Am)
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Who could ever forget Smokey and the Bandit, My favorite movie ever. It is considered by many to be THE truck drivers movie and would inspire several other trucking films, not to mention the birth of the Bandit edition Trans Am, the most least popular car of 1977 until Smokey came out and of course like all great car movies became the highest wanted car during that time. The film made use of five modified 1977 Pontiac Trans Ams that were each built according to the required stuntwork. All were damaged during the rigors of filming the stunts, but still fun to drive and have. After the first movie came out in 1977, sales of the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am (in particular, those with the black and gold color scheme featured in the film) skyrocketed over 100% from 1976 sales levels due to the movie's popularity. Pontiac readily acknowledges the power of the film, and released a special "Bandit Edition" black and gold Trans Am in 1978. (Wait didn't I say this earlier? oh well like I said it's my favorite movie ever. When smokey 3 came the trans am had changed it's look and many fans dissappointed with the director of the movie by changing the beloved bandit(Burt reynolds) edition trans am. Even though Burt didn't appear in the whole movie snowman(Jerry Reed) was excited about being the bandit but like I said was shown driving the 1983 edition trans am, it had a whole new look, style and sound to it. (Maybe trans am was thinking hey if the 77 trans am did so well in the first 2 then here would be a great opportunity to unveil the new 83 trans am......NEWSFLASH.......sales of the 83 bandit edition trans am were no where near the sale of the 77 edition, so look who's laughing now.) But anyways here is the new 83 trans am for you just to make it look good.
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The Mirth Mobile as made famous by Wayne's World
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I'm actually not to sure what kind of car the MirthMobile is, but this was one movie that made the MirthMobile famous for a short period of time, one of the most memorable moments with the mirthmobile was in the begining of the movie when wayne, garth and their friends were headbanging to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, in the video realease of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody they did not feature the mirthmobile(go figure it was made 20 years before the movie) but after the realease of Wayne's World they put togather another Bohemian Rhapsody video featuring the regular video footage and adding footage of Wayne's World into the song.
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Although the movie itself was a huge hit, the MirthMobile however was short lived, also being named one of the top 10 worst cars ever made. It just goes to show you that no matter what car you use in movies or how you use it, there is a good chance it won't be a successful selling car as had hoped or expected.
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One of the funniest things ever about seeing the MirthMobile is, rember the ending of Wayne's World 2 when the naked indian pulls up in a strech limo version of the MirthMobile, I thought that was the greatest and funniest things I'd ever seen, I love the strech limo MirthMobile better than the original car itself, I mean c'mon who didn't love the limo.
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The A-Team Van- As made Famous by The A-Team
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Even to this day The A-Team Van is one of my favorite trucks ever. The A-Team van is a 1983 G-series GMC Truck, although it is called a van many people prefer to call it a truck. The A-Team van is a black and grey GMC van used by the A-Team, with its characteristic red stripe, black and red tire rims, and rooftop spoiler, it has also become an enduring pop culture icon. Less detailed stunt vans were sometimes used in certain scenes but only depending on how much damage the van was expected to take, if it wasn't much they'd use a complete replica, but like I said for the more daring stunts they'd just use an ordinary van with only enough detail to make it look like the van. Beleive it or not their are only 6 original vans in existence today, all the rest have either been destroyed or were only stunt trucks. One of the original six vans used for the show is displayed in the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, northern England. Another sits on the Universal Studios back lot with flat tires(you'd think that they'd pump them up to make it look better for tourists) and faded paint and is available for tourists to photograph. I don't really know where the remaining 4 are stationed today, most likely in a classic car collectors garage/showcase room.
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One complaint of the show from fans is that a group wanted by so many law enforcement agencies, would most likely not use such a customized and eye-attracting vehicle on a consistent basis. One slight inconsistency is that in some episodes the Military Police recognise the van, whereas in other episodes they do not. One common misconception is that the van is all black, but actually, the section above the red stripe is dark metallic grey. Although in some episodes the van does look all black, but that may just be caused by the reflection of the light or lack of light in some scenes, but no matter the cause I will always love the A-Team Van...........I AINT GETTIN ON NO PLANE FOOl......for such a big guy he is deathly afraid of heights/flying I just love B.A Baracus.
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The Flying De Lorean DMC-12-As made famous by Back to the Future.
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The De Lorean Motor Company (DMC) was a short-lived automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John De Lorean in 1975. It is remembered for the one distinctive model it produced – the stainless steel De Lorean DMC-12 sports car featuring gull-wing doors – and for its brief and turbulent history, ending in receivership and bankruptcy in 1982. Most famous and still know today for appearing in one of my favorite trilogy's Back to the Future. The De Lorean DMC-12 shot to worldwide fame in the Back to the Future movie trilogy as the car transformed into a time machine by eccentric scientist Doctor Emmett L. Brown, although the company had ceased to exist before the first movie was made. The stainless steel body panels were an attractive design concept and impervious to corrosion, but in practice the sheen surface tended to show fingerprints. It also meant that the car could not be easily painted, every factory original De Lorean looked identical. Some dealerships painted their cars on delivery to help make theirs more distinctive. Approximately 9,000 cars were made between January 1981 and December 1982, although actual production figures are unclear some of the cars manufactured in 1982 were not shipped to north america. Althought DMC has been long gone for years, today a very large number of the original cars are still on the road after over 25 years most estimates put it at 6,000 cars surviving out of just over 9,000 built. Unlike the MirthMobile, the DMC was a suceesful selling car and had people jumping out of their seats trying to find out where they can buy one, but still wasn't as sucessful as the limited edition Bandit Edition trans am which to this day still is/was the highest selling car after being seen in a movie.
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and last but not least

K.I.T.T-As made famous by Knight Rider
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Everyone's favorite talking car is the last one bringing the end to the list. Yep another Trans Am, but this time with the new bodystyle like the one used in the 3rd Smokey movie. Is it just me or is Trans Am/Pontiac the Kings of Hollywood Cars back in the 70's and 80's. KITT (an acronym for Knight Industries Two Thousand) is the name of a fictional computer that controls the high-tech Knight 2000, a black Pontiac Trans Am T-top automobile in the science fiction television series Knight Rider. The voice for KITT was provided by William Daniels, who requested that he not be credited for his work. KITT was in fact the second vehicle built by Knight Industries with artificial intelligence. His predecessor was KARR (the Knight Automated Roving Robot). KARR was programmed for self-preservation, but this proved to be dangerous for the Foundation's interests. KARR was later deactivated and placed in storage while KITT was given to his new operator, Michael Knight the new identity of Michael Long.(David Hassellhoff).
Unlike KARR, KITT is programmed primarily to protect Michael at all cost as well as all human life. This is made clear in the pilot episode where Michael asks Devon Miles if KITT will protect anyone driving it. Devon's answer is that KITT's primary function is the preservation of human life, and Michael's in particular. KITT is loaded with special features such as the commonly-used Turbo Boost, which allows quick bursts of speed or jumping over obstacles. KITT could also drive himself, but perhaps his most distinct and recognizable aspect was his front mounted scan bar which, among other things, allowed KITT to see. KITT's body panels were coated with an advanced molecular bonded shell armor coating which would resist conventional weapon fire as well as most artillery and explosive blasts although a strong direct hit by those attacks could cause severe damage. KITT underwent a major modification during a refit in 1985 which included the addition of Super Pursuit Mode and a convertible top. The total production costs just to build KITT for the series was estimated to have costed around $11,400,000. In 1982 when KITT was remodeled, the cost of subsequent equipment improvements and the installation of additional features since his activation have not been filed and are still unknown today, but let's just say that if it costed $11,400,000 for the first KITT, let's just double that and that should give us a reasonable amout to build the upgraded KITT. KITT had so many features, most of which had an activation button associated with them that were on panels mounted on either side of the steering wheel or on a console mounted on the ceiling of the interior. Many of these button functions seem to change around, appearing and disappearing, or rearranging from episode to episode. Some were used once and never seen again. There were so many features that I don't think even the most Die-Hard Knight Rider fan could name them all.
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Pic of Interior for KITT 1
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And of course the hightech KITT 2
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Well there it is the List of the most famous Celebrity Cars in my opinion, now I know there is probably alot more out there, so if I missed any, or any of YOUR FAVORITES please feel free to post in the comments box, I'd just like to say sorry in advanced if I did miss any, and I'm looking forward to reading your comments.

ROCK ON RETROJUNK

WARRIORMAN OUT
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