These are the TV Shows with the Worst Cars

Burn Notice and the forced product placement Hyundai in every episode. It was...bad.

I’ve never seen Burn Notice, so I’ll have to take your word for it. However, doing a little digging on the internet reveals that Burn Notice and Hyundai are pretty much a meme at this point, which cannot be good.

Holy shit this is so bad.

Submitted by: IstillmissmyXJ

Here it is a year since Jalopnik pointed out how wildly wrong it was for a teenager to be driving a restored you-would-not-believe-how-expensive-they-are-in-the-real-world Bronco on Mare of Easttown:

https://jalopnik.com/hbos-mare-of-easttown-has-a-huge-car-casting-fail-1847049467

Seriously, what on Earth was the transportation coordinator of the show thinking? It’s like a TV show set at a ranch where the owner’s daughter rides a unicorn—so “realistic”.

We wrote about this before my time here at Jalopnik, so it doesn’t really count. But shit yeah, when I was watching this show that really peeved me. Apparently it peeved Jason too (may he rest in shit).

Submitted by: the 1969 Dodge Charger Guy

Nothing says state of the art, super cool, super powerful technology, like Ford’s 1996 model lineup! We have a Ford Expedition, Ford F-150, Ford Mustang Convertible, and a pair of motorcycles with fiberglass glued all over them.

And, they all talked.

Of course, they talked, dude. Also TIL this was a show. I remember the one from the mid-2000s with a Mustang. I somehow blocked this shit’s existence from my brain.

I’ll be honest, sometimes I miss the bubbly Fords.

Submitted by: Knyte

Hot take: The Ferrari 308 GTS in Magnum PI.

Yes, it was iconic. Yes, it was a huge part of the show’s success. And yes, I never missed an episode.

But the backstory behind why he had it was preposterous. He was live-in security for a successful but reclusive author, so of course said author is going to allow him to use his Ferrari in his side hustle as a private eye and not care that Magnum is driving it like he stole it in every episode?

No. Just, no.

You’re bold, my dude. I respect it though. It literally makes zero sense. That being said, in the coke-filled 80s, anything goes. It’s bold and dumb, just how I like it.

Submitted by: The Ghost of James Madison’s Rage Boner

I’m going to vote for Harrow, only because of complete lack of realism. The main character drove his father’s Fiat 124 Sport Coupe out of nostalgia. Thing is, he’s shown successfully getting from place to place in it without breaking down, even once. I was flabbergasted. They do show it burning to the ground at one point, but that was an act of vandalism. We all know a Fiat from that period would never have given a vandal an opportunity to burn it; it would have done the job first itself.

TIL there are TVs in Australia. Neat.

Suggested by: SchwarzeEwigkt

Anybody remember “Night Heat”, the late night Canadian police series from 1984-1989? The detectives patrolled the street in Chrysler K-Cars.

Canadians have TV? You’re kidding.

SEINFELD.

There is objectively no car on this show that became iconic except for the Chrysler LeBaron which was owned by Jon Voight.

A series which has no memorable cars, means that they’re all rubbish.

This is so wrong, it’s disgusting. You’re completely forgetting Jerry’s stinky BMW, his Saab convertible, the Cadillac he bought his father, the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 parked on the street and Kramer’s ASSMAN Impala. Be gone with you.

Suggested by: Rollo75

It’s Britain’s favorite police television programme, THE BILL!

Wanna see a car chase between a Rover Metro and an Austin Allegro with a combined horsepower that’s still in the double digits? YOU CAN!

Tune in to ITV to watch the smashing intro... and then change over to Kommissar Rex (which at least got Alfa Romeos in its later years) instead.

Get your shit together Britain. On God this sounds made up.

Suggested by: Skipp

Special Unit 2.

Randomly found it and saw they had a modified Chrysler LHS as their main car. I had no words.

This is good, actually. Cab forward early-2000s Chrysler products are under appreciated. There. I said it. Judge me if you must. I do not care in the slightest.

Suggested by: FijiST

I always thought it was a weird choice that in Gilmore Girls Lorelai would drive a half door custom khaki colored Wrangler, and never once taking the top or door inserts off.

I need to watch this show so badly. It’s been on my list for years. Now I see that Lorelai had a good taste in cars, which makes the show look even greater to me. One of these days.

Suggested by: sschwing

NBC’s Heroes that only drove Nissans - and mostly meh Nissans. (Ok, a version of Ali Larter did have a Nissan Z). It was so forced that it made Michael Bay and the GM product placement in Transformers seem like a stealth shot. Not only that but they put in an ad or picture constantly in everything - like they got a note from their ad department about adding pictures of Nissans when they were in an office setting ... because.

I think the credits even show “Nissan Rogue” as the headliner in the cast list. Even Hayden was fed up with that preferential treatment.

This show was a huge favorite among my friends and I back in the 5th grade. I’m very sorry to make you feel old. Also, the product placement worked because I remember wanting a Nissan Rogue. I thought it was the goddamn bee’s knees.

Also, Hiro Nakamura loves his fuckin’ Versa.

Suggested by: FutureDoc

Car casting is never about whether or not the car itself is good, but whether or not the car makes SENSE. Like you want a car that, when you see it, makes sense for the character driving it.

Worst car casting is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and their tactical Acuras and Lexuses. The car casting there is terrible not merely because it’s blatant product placement, but because there’s nothing tactical about luxury SUVs.

God that is so irksome. Is SHIELD a governmental organization? Are we paying for these MDXs??? I must know.

Suggested by: MaximilianMeen

Ozarks. It didn’t make any sense. I’m sure the writers will claim they were trying to be under the radar. But it looked more suspicious that a successful couple who own casinos, restaurants, hotels and a menagerie of other businesses drive an old Oldsmobile and a Honday Odyssey.

You are wrong and we have written about it.

Suggested by: treessimon

Payne Auto is a family owned auto maker that brings an outsider in as CEO to turn the company around. The new CEO is pretty sure her family owns a Kia that’s parked somewhere in New York and that makes her uniquely qualified to lead this company. One of her first efforts is an autonomous car with an algorithm that doesn’t recognize people of color.

As far as car design and innovation, yikes...

I don’t get this show, and I don’t want to get this show. It looks very silly, and from what I’ve heard, not very realistic.

Suggested by: 900turbo

It slightly bothered me to see some of the cars I. The earlier Walking Dead episodes. For a while there were a bunch of Hyundais. If memory serves me correctly, that period of the the show was sponsored by Hyundai. I remember Rick getting a SUV with an open diff stuck in the mud in one episode thinking that’s a great example of cars not meeting the expectations of how they look.

None of the cars in Walking Dead make any sense. By the way, is that show still on? I actually have no idea. I don’t think anyone does.

 Suggested by: ricknroll_jeph