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TV cars: This is why we love 'em

Pity the fool who drove a black Chevy Camaro down the streets of Gahanna, Ohio, in 1981.

By Scott Long, Times Staff Writer
Published February 11, 2008

The Batmobile, a '55 Lincoln Futura, debuted at the Chicago Auto Show in 1955, and ultimately made us feel safe during that same Bat Time - on that same Bat Channel.
	[Bloomberg News]

Pity the fool who drove a black Chevy Camaro down the streets of Gahanna, Ohio, in 1981.

You dropped a lot of coin on that car, but to a gaggle of kids playing TV Tag, it just couldn't compare to a Pontiac Trans-Am. Especially one that had a roving red light in the grill and a smooth voice that cooed "Hello, Michael."

But you still had a chance to earn our respect. You just needed to blare Dixie, Duke Boys-style, from one of those electronic horns - quite possibly the most annoying car accessory in history. At least until we saw a Civic glow in neon.

As day drifted into dusk, Mom would call us for dinner. And again. And a third time. We picked at our meatloaf, cleverly hid our green beans underneath the ridge of our plate. We politely asked to be excused, and then darted to the beanbag chair in front of that magical box in the living room.

If you ask me why television cars fascinate us, this is why.

No matter how much trouble we got into that day, no matter how many girls gave us the cooties, we knew that at that same Bat Time - on that same Bat Channel - we'd get to dream, if only for 60 minutes.

Kids will be kids, sure. All we had were dreams back then. But we grew up, became adults, learned what life is really all about. Along the way, those memories got pushed behind the bills that fill our mailbox, the work that fills our in-box.

But they never go away. No, they lurk there, waiting until a Gran Torino speeds past you on I-275. And then you smile.

If you ask me why television cars fascinate us, this is why.

My wife likes to tease that my whole life is just one big memory. Our neighborhood? Looks like that one that was home to TV Tag a generation ago. My music? Still on cassettes. My movies? Fast Times and Ferris.

Chances are, I'll never own a Ferrari. Or a Barracuda. Or a psychedelic green van with - zoinks! - a talking dog. Back then, it was enough to just think that someday that would be me behind the wheel. So every time I see Mr. T, I think back to watching TV with my dad and my brother, knowing that we all loved it when a plan came together in that GMC.

If you ask me why television cars fascinate us, this is why.

Scott Long can be reached at long@sptimes.com or 727 893-8556.

Hottest TV cars of all time

We asked you, and you told us. Almost 400 Times readers weighed in on their favorite TV cars. Here are the results:

1. Batmobile (Batman) 19%

2. General Lee (The Dukes of Hazzard) 18%

3. Ferrari 308 GTS (Magnum, P.I.) 10%

4. KITT (Knight Rider) 9%

5. Corvette (Route 66) 6%

6. Ferrari Daytona Spyder (Miami Vice) 6%

7.Koach (The Munsters) 6%

8. Ford Gran Torino (Starsky and Hutch) 5%

9. Plymouth Barracuda (Nash Bridges) 5%

10. Jalopy (The Beverly Hillbillies) 3%

11. Pontiac Firebird (The Rockford Files) 2%

12. Monkee Mobile (The Monkees) 2%

13. Mystery Machine (Scooby-Doo) 2%

14. Mach 5 (Speed Racer) 2%

15. Black Beauty (Green Hornet) 2%

16. Chevrolet El Camino (My Name is Earl) 1%

17. Flintmobile (The Flintstones) 1%

18. Partridge Family bus (Partridge Family) 1%

19. Toyota pickup (Baywatch) 1%

20. GMC G-Series van (A-Team) 0%

How we did the poll

Think it'd be easy figuring out the hottest TV cars of all time? So did I. Fun? Sure. Easy? No way.

I started with a list of TV cars that I remembered, and then I surfed the Web for lists that other people had put together. Not as many out there as you might imagine, but it helped fill in the gaps.

Then, I passed the list around the office. We added a few obvious oversights (Route 66's Corvette), and deleted a few pretenders (Al Bundy's Dodge. No sense of humor in this office).

We then asked you to weigh in. Done? Not really. That night, I awoke in a sweat. How could I have forgotten the Sanfords' red truck?!? Turns out, no one called me on that one. But you did call me on others we missed: Maxwell Smart's Sunbeam Tiger, Mannix's 'Cuda, cars from The Avengers, Viper, Supernatual - and many more.

Did I miss your favorite? My apologies. But there's plenty of room on the roads for your memories, too.

[Last modified February 8, 2008, 21:41:43]