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If you're a child of the early '80s, there are two cars that sprung from the cathode TV sets and permanently lodged in your little brain. One was the General Lee, and the other was K.I.T.T. — which can now be yours for the right price. More »
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Automobile associate editor and former Jalopnik intern Eric Tingwall changes the voice on the very-limited-edition 2010 Mini Cooper Camden's gimmicky "Mission Control" feature, turning it into KITT from Knight Rider. Don't touch that non-existent turbo boost, Tingwall! More »
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It's been 28 years since KITT had a successful show. In that time his position in popular culture has slipped from hero to laughing stock, making increasingly minor appearances to fuel his hamburger habit. Evidently, he misses Michael too. More »
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The Four Dorkmen of the Carpocalypse are at it again, this time taking their "girlfriends" for a ride in a Rocky Mountain sunset, posing with satellite dishes and adding a Decepticon to the collection. More »
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TeeFury just released for sale an unbelievably cool ultra-limited edition t-shirt titled, 'Chariots Retired,' portraying our favorite TV and movie cars from the 80's including K.I.T.T., Optimus Prime, the Ghostbuster's Ecto-1, Airwolf and more. More »
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What is it with comp sci kids and their college dorms? Hacking the windows to serve as a lo-res display probably goes back to the earliest days of the integrated circuit. More »
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My stash of DOTSBE photos includes many from Denver, and so I'm able to post two Mile High Mavericks today! More »
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This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. I just drove to Denver, so let's admire a Denver survivor! More »
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F-body Pontiac Trans Am or Shelby GT500KR it's not, but someone's started the process of turning their brand spankin' new Chevy Camaro into Knight Rider's KITT with a blue flashing light bar in its nostril-like hood scoop. [via Camaro5] More »
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This may be the first time we've seen the old n' trusted Trans Am-based KITT and the new n' busted Mustang GT500KR-based KITT together at the same time. Seems like it's PSA time. More »
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While we still think driving the Knight Rider KITT-ed up GT500KR was cooler, the fan-boys at KnightRiderOnline are pretty geeked about getting a chance in the passenger seat of KITT's stunt car. [KnightRiderOnline] More »
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Near as we can tell, this video for the Sonido Lasser Drakar song "82 Pontiac Firebird" shows a wholesome-looking refrigerator-white 3rd-gen Firebird that turns into K.I.T.T. when the sun goes down; meanwhile, the car's driver becomes a werewolf, thirsty for the blood of the Badly Choreographed Cheerleaders. Thanks to Franzouse for the tip! More »
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This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. I just got back from Denver, where I photographed a few cool old cars parked on the street, including a very nice early Mini… but you don't get to see that today. Instead, you get something even better! Denver-based Kitt and EJacobs continue to send in good stuff found in their neighborhoods (south and northwest Denver, respectively), and today we'll be admiring a trio of vintage Detroit wagons that continue to remind us that SUVs didn't always reign supreme in the family-hauling department. Make the jump for many, many photos. More »
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Terrible news everyone! NBC liked what they saw in the scripts they ordered and have succumbed to the powers of the Dark Side, calling for an additional nine-episode set of Knight Rider. The result will be a complete season of awful green-screen effects, lackluster writing, unimaginative story arcs and blatant male demographic pandering. In other news, here is video of a car getting crushed to pieces by a stationary automobile grinder. We've seen these kinds of things in action before, but that was on a more portable scale, allowing you to, say, take it to the set of Knight Rider and allow instinct to run its course. If you want the complete and gory details, the press release resides below (Thanks, we think, for the tip ScottE). More »
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At this point, we're wondering if NBC is captained by a board of masochists, as news comes down the pipe they've ordered up four more Knight Rider scripts from the show's writers. Mind you, they're just scripts, not necessarily full episodes...yet. If you've watched the show religiously, you're a sturdier breed of television consumer than we are, as we've given up on the thing. We've driven the blacked-out Mustang Shelby GT500KR, and that's going to remain the highlight of the show for us. Well, that and the day we hear the show gets the axe. [THR via Autoblog] More »
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The Detroit Free Press tells a tale of product placement gone slightly awry in the new Knight Rider. We know KITT is a Shelby GT500KR, but apparently KITT is also able to transform into any of a variety of other Ford models, like the F-150, ostensibly for stealth purposes. In other words, KITT is a GT500KR when Michael Knight needs to look cool, and a Fusion or Escape when he's trolling for hookers. But how many Ford vehicles is too many? Apparently the movie provided a clue: "Even Ford said it was way too much in the two-hour (movie)," said executive producer Gary Scott Thompson. "But unfortunately, it's a show about a car." Wow, with a plug like that, we can't wait to set the DVR. [Freep] More »
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Want to see the first episode of the new Knight Rider TV show a week earlier than it'll air on broadcast television? If so, it's your lucky day — just moments ago it went live on Hulu for the watching. But why go there when we've got the full episode below the jump? We won't spoil anything that hasn't already been spoiled already, but if you're a fan of turbo boost, you'll be happy in the first few minutes. More »
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Just in time for the September 24th premier of NBC's new Knight Rider show, the local NBC news affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan has found a great way to shamelessly promote the show a woman claiming that her recently sold Mustang GT was bought to be turned into a real-life example of KITT for the show. Deb Fralick had to sell her beloved Ford Mustang GT for $19,000 after faced with bills from a life-threatening illness and several visits to the Mayo Clinic. We're not exactly sure how much time her car will actually spend on-set, as right now it's said to be in the Toronto area on a promotional tour. More »
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As a child of the 80s and former member of the Knight Rider faithful (I happily toted the Rider lunchbox until third grade) it was nearly impossible to stifle my internal yelp of anticipation when first presented with the keys to the new KITT for an exclusive first drive. It's irrational, because I knew the car sitting in front of me wasn't the F-body KITT of my childhood dreams, but when those sweeping lights fired up in front for the first time, it was enough to make me giddy as a school boy. Especially because although it can't talk (at least not without help from the installed Mio GPS unit), this car's the real deal — a fire-breathing, bad guy-chasing weapon of fictional justice. That's because beneath the toys and cosmetic upgrades, this isn't the auto-tranny GT used for the made-for-TV movie, it's a 540 HP Shelby GT500KR. More »
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This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. It's been a while since we've seen one of Denver's many cool street-parked cars, and what better place to look for one than right in the heart of the Democratic National Convention madness downtown? That's what Kitt thought, so she braved the protesters and riot-ready cops to shoot this '61 Lancer. Now, we can't say for sure, but speculation (well, my speculation, anyway) has it that Barack Obama plans to drive this car for the rest of the campaign, to show that he's a man of the people! Make the jump for more of my crackbrained theory political insight (and the rest of the photos of this fine automobile). More »
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That's right boys n' girls, I'm cruising down Woodward Avenue today in the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise in none other than the Mustang-powered KITT from the new Knight Rider TV show hitting NBC this fall. Unlike most of those used in filming, this isn't a fancy-pantsified Mustang GT. Nope, it's a heavily-modified GT500KR, with light bar and all. I'm not sure what else I can tell you about the car as my drive impression's embargoed until September 1st, but let's simply say it's got more horsepower than the run-of-the-mill King of the Road. Screw it, there's 605 HP under the hood. But if you happen to be cruising down Woodward, or sitting on the sidelines today — keep an eye out for a midnight black 'stang with the cobra on the front — one of our team will more than likely be behind the wheel. Then remember to come back on September 1st to see Ben's review of the new beast from Knight Industries. More »
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There was a pretty good cross-section of archetypal Detroit machinery represented at the Gumball 3000 in San Francisco yesterday, including a donked Riviera, the lowest Ford pickup ever built (with the most beautiful set of vintage gauges I've seen in a long time), and a couple of classic musclecars. Yes, K.I.T.T. was there as well, though The Hoff himself prefers the non-video-game-style steering wheel of an Audi R8 for actual driving duties. More »
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Since the Gumball 3000 started from San Francisco this year, I headed across the Bay to get all up-close and personal with some Pyongyang-bound rich folks' rides. While Fairmont Hotel valets brought luggage out to such machines as the Chrome Lamborghini and K.I.T.T. and hordes of crazy-eyed tourists shoved against the police barricades in hopes of catching a glimpse of celebrities I'm too culturally ignorant to recognize, I stuck my camera's snout up in some grilles. More »
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We already broke the story on KITT transforming from a GT500KR into a Ford F-150 FX4 pickup truck in the new Knight Rider TV show, but this morning PickupTrucks.com has the scoop on the full story and it's a whopper. Apparently, Exec Producer Gary Scott Thompson and his production team went to Microsoft to help with determining what the future of automobiles looks like. Microsoft, other than focusing on a future where every car comes with Sync and owners pay $100 upgrade fees each year for new Sync XP software updates, came up with the idea of having it shift forms as long as it keeps the same mass. Yes, you know, like how a Mustang and a pickup truck have the same mass. OK, so maybe the rear axles do, but here's what PUTC has to say: More »
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Somewhere between "Morphing" and "Transforming" is the very Team America-ish "Valmorphanization." That's the term we feel best using to describe what KITT's doing in this one minute clip from the new Knight Rider TV show premiering September 24th on NBC. As you'd expect, KITT is apparently fitted with a current Ford lineup-limiter, only letting him "valmorphanize" into Ford products. Which explains why he's able to "valmorphanize" into a Ford F-150 FX4 pickup truck rather than the more appropriate "Ranchero" form factor we hoped for when we heard about his plethora of new looks yesterday. More »
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Those on the fence about the new Knight Rider television show need look no further than these shots of the newly upgraded KITT from Popular Mechanics shot at Comic-Con 2008. At a panel discussion in front of Knight Rider fanboys-girls they showed video of KITT employing Turbo Boost (before a very long press conference where the actor that plays Mike Tracer admitted he drives a supercharged Bullitt). The video apparently also featured the actors getting into a truck version of KITT — a KITTchero if you will. More »
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This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than Island That Rust Forgot. I've got quite the stockpile of photographs from Denver, thanks to Kitt, EJacobs, and my own bimonthly visits to the Mile High City. Today we're going to have another 3-Fer-1 Colorado-palooza, with one BMW from each of us! More »
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It's official — "Turbo Boost" is back for KITT. One of the biggest disappointments in the Knight Rider made-for-TV movie was the total lack of KITT's signature, once-per-show super-move — turbo-boost. After getting the green light for series production, the new Knight Rider series has already calmed our fears the super-speedy feature was overlooked. NBC's released this short promo clip with a very un-Kilmer like KITT saying "just wait until you see my turbo-boost." We will, oh Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR-bodied KITT, we will. [via KnightriderOnline] More »
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What with all the great DOTSBE photos coming in from readers all over the globe, we haven't had a chance to show any Denver cars for a few weeks. This means we have quite the backlog, because in addition to Denver regulars Kitt and Ejacobs, I get shipped to Denver for work every so often and shoot the occasional street-parked vehicle myself while in town. Today is Kitt's turn, with this clean BRAT she found in her South Denver 'hood. It seems that every third vehicle in town is a Subaru, but you don't see many of these things around. More »
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After seeing some old Citröens down on the Oslo street yesterday, Denver's Kitt ran right out and shot a Citröen in her neighborhood. And not just a garden-variety DS or 2CV- this here is a genuine JFG-worthy SM! Looks like this one may be paying one of its all-too-common visits to the shop, but it's still alive and on the street! More »
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Scientists and researchers at Stanford must have quite the fascination with David Hasselhoff and his KITT because they are working on making the talking-car technology a reality. The lead on this team, Clifford Nass, says that a more intelligent car that knows about the driver and communicates with the driver can help provide a safer and more engaging driving experience. More »
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If you thought the GT500KR in the Knight Rider made-for-TV movie was a disgusting piece of product placement, you ain't seen nothin' yet. What could be worse? How about the four remaining contestants in American Idol massacring Johnny Cash's song Ring Of Fire? What makes it extra terrible was the so-called "music video" which involved the Idols bullfighting with a Mustang which was apparently the cousin of KITT. Feel free to watch the clip with your sound turned off— we don't want to scar you. More »
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So Knight Rider the TV show is going to be airing this fall on Wednesday nights, hoping to draw attention away from those 16 variations of CSI that CBS is running. Sickened by the obvious endings and lack of Will Arnett, we're going to skip on the Knight Rider Live-Blog and leave it in the capable hands of AutoBlog's Alex Nunez. How they got the on-again-off-again bisexual bad girl from Degrassi: The Next Generation to write for them is anyone's guess, but we think it'll go over well with the surf lesbian FBI agent demo the show appeals to. [AutoBlog] More »
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Just when you thought you'd seen the last of KITT, it's back — at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach. We wonder if this means there won't be a full television series based on the movie after all. Yes, these were the actual cars used in the made-for-NBC movie. That means that these actually aren't even GT500KR models, but a pair of dressed-up Mustang GTs "inspired by the GT500KR." Though for the final bid of $300,000 for both the "Attack-Mode" and normal KITT, Ford included the rights to buy an actual GT500KR at MSRP. Just don't get too worked up about the wretched excess, because all the money is being written-off going to charity. [Barrett-Jackson] More »
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While hanging out at the Audi Forum event last night we bumped into our fair share of celebrities, including the cast of some show called Gossip Girl that the kids seem to enjoy. It was one of those events. But then one half of America's favorite comedy power couple, Will Arnett, arrived. We have an awkward almost man crush on the man who was to voice KITT and then, all of a sudden, wasn't. We talked with him for a while about his unfortunate departure from Knight Rider and then he expressed his enjoyment of Jalopnik! More »
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There was a time when we thought Knight Rider might be saved by having WIll Arnett voice KITT. This was right before they announced Will Arnett would not voice KITT. The excuse they gave had to do with this other job as the voice of GMC Trucks. This clip from Arnett suggests that the producers may have been going in a different creative direction. [MTV] More »
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For those not wanting to sit through the first 108 minutes of the two-hour Ford commercial that was Knight Rider, we've got the less-than-climactic climax (and no, Lesbian surf FBI agent is not involved in said climax). We don't want to give too much away, but needless to say GMC products did not fair well. If you didn't see the exposition, you may wonder how KITT manages to survive such a powerful impact. One word: Nanorobots. More »
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You've seen our first exclusive pics of the new KITT. You've seen our knee-jerk reactions in the live blog as we watched the premiere. But in case you missed it (or you avoided it), we've got the intro sequence of the new Knight Rider up and ready for you to watch as many times as you'd like to. Behold the CG! Watch the close-up beauty shots in awe! Attempt to read the font! Listen to the re-mixed theme music! More »
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Tonight's the first episode — err — part of the Knight Rider movie/mini-series/season, and we'll be live-blogging it live on NBC starting in a few minutes from the comfort of the Jalopnik world headquarters. So keep track of the Knight Rider tag to keep track of all of the Mustang-filled action all evening and keep track of the full live-blog between Hardigree and I after the jump: More »
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