Back in the good old days of television, the cars were the stars. Weekly shows from sit-coms to detective dramas all had one thing in common; the main character drove a sick ride. They were defined by their car, just like in real life. Here’s another Top-10 list of our favourites without the overdone General Lee!
HAPPY DAYS (1974-1984) ABC
Not a car, but a perfect example of a vehicle that became synonymous with a TV character. Riding around Milwaukee on his silver 949 Triumph Trophy motorbike made The Fonz the coolest cat on TV. The motorcycle was actually the same one Steve McQueen used in ‘The Great Escape’ so it had an extra cool factor to its history.
THE A-TEAM (1983-1987) NBC
Big and brash. Powerful and outrageous. 100% unique and never mistaken for any other. All descriptions of both Mr. T’s character B.A Barracus and his custom GMC Vandura. Two-tone paint, red stripe, spoiler, turbine ‘mag’ wheels and plenty more automotive jewelry. The van was an extension of the man.
THE SAINT (1962-1969) ITV
Before he became James Bond, actor Roger Moore had a TV series. He played Simon Templar, an adventurer and friend to those in need who travels Europe in his white Volvo P1800S righting wrongs. Sort of like a refined, British, one-man A-Team.
MR. BEAN (1990-1995) ITV
The Mini was already a legendary car before silly Mr. Bean drove one! But there is no Mini more recognizable than the citron-green Mini with the flat-black hood. An iconic episode from the UK series has Mr. Bean unable to fit an armchair in his car, so he ties it to the roof and drives using a rope and a mop. Classic!
THE SOPRANOS (1999-2007) HBO
For the first four seasons Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) drove a burgundy GMT800 series Suburban. The vehicle became synonymous with ‘gangsters’ after the turn of the century, although now they are the favourite of soccer-moms. Tony was a big, powerful guy in the organization who needed a ride that commanded respect.
STARSKY & HUTCH (1975-1979) ABC
Crime fighting LA cops in their super cool, customized car, decades later made into a feature film. Ford had a cars-for-TV program in the 1970’s and in this case, everyone hit it big. The show was a rating smash, and Ford started selling the Grand Torino with Gabriel air-shocks, red-orange paint and a white ‘swoosh’ down the side.
CHARLIE’S ANGELS (1976-1981) ABC
Every little girl in the 1970s tuned in weekly to watch watch these heroines fight the bad guys. A hit TV show, all the girls drove Ford cars. But it was Jill (Farah Fawcett) the Angel with beauty queen looks and shampoo commercial hairdo, who got to drive the sporty Mustang II with its hood scoop, spoiler, window louvers and big blue racing stripes.
MAGNUM P.I. (1980-1988) CBS
Tom Selleck’s private investigator character ‘Magnum’ had it all; the mustache, the beachfront estate, a buddy with a helicopter, and a very cool red Ferrari. Ferrari North America provided all the cars for the show (including 1978, 1980 & 1984 models). Too tall to fit in the car, all the actor’s scenes had the targa roof off.
MIAMI VICE (1984-1989) NBC
Crocket % Tubbs and the white Ferrari Testarossa. There is no more iconic representation of 80s automotive excess than this Ferrari. This cop show was incredibly popular, but Maranello wasn’t happy that a Daytona-clone was the hero car. So, Ferrari gave the show a real Ferrari, as long as they blew up the fake one.
Knight Rider (1982-1986) NBC
The most significant “TV car” of all time, the Knight Industries Two Thousand (K.I.T.T.) was a character, not just a car. K.I.T.T. was ‘Silver‘ to David Hasselhoff’s ‘Lone Ranger‘. A powerful, blacked-out Trans-Am with a red scanner on the hood, and everyone who owned a Pontiac in the 80s copied this car.
God I love Knight rider! I can’t believe you didn’t include the Dukes of Hazard though
I 100% absolutely positively INTENTIONALLY excluded The General Lee. It was too obvious as a example of a Star Car.
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I wanted to go with obscure stuff like Mr. Bean and Tony Soprano.
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But when the new all-electric Dodge Charger comes out, I’ll be the first person to buy one in orange, weld up the doors, and paint a flag on the roof (maybe a different flag through!).
I have heard of these shows but the only one I watched was Happy Days. My parents were quite strict about our tv watching. I do feel you left out an important one — George Jetson’s flying car.
Your parents were probably right. All those shows I watched as a kid really fried my brain and gave me unrealistic expectations of my adult life.
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I always believed I would be a private investigator solving crimes while driving around the country in my Italian sports car!
LOL. At least the “sports car” part has some truth to it!