KITT cogworks
April 4, 2006 7:55 AM   Subscribe

"Knight Rider, a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist." [audio] These people are cool, they have the cars to prove it. So can you. And then go to the convention. One man's shadowy journey. Could Heat Vision be next?[utube]
posted by bigmusic (35 comments total)
 
dammit, now I miss my '87 Firebird that I'd planned to do this to once I got enough money saved up.. (then I found out that the red scanner light and yoke-style steering wheel are illegal in Texas for normal daily-driver cars..)
posted by mrbill at 8:02 AM on April 4, 2006


Totally. Freaking. Awesome. And this photo answers a question I immediately had: what do these guys do on dates or other official girl/family-related business where having a Knight Rider car doesn't garner as much awesome points? The answer, of course: just keep rocking the KITT goodness.

This is almost like body modification, in that once you go there, you're that guy that has the Knight Rider car. Unless you have this as a second car, which would of course be weak.
posted by dammitjim at 8:03 AM on April 4, 2006


Server Crater Smoking?
posted by cavalier at 8:26 AM on April 4, 2006


So they made a t.v. show out of that rap song?

This says it all.
posted by Smedleyman at 8:31 AM on April 4, 2006


Well, we burned thru that first server. sorry webmaster.

So, the [audio] first link was to the knight rider theme song.

The "These people are so cool" links are probably the same as the folks on this board
posted by bigmusic at 8:42 AM on April 4, 2006


Good job guys. Real good job.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 8:44 AM on April 4, 2006


"I do not think I will ever be done with this car. There are just so many options that you can do. Things to make it even better. I know it probably sounds weird, but One Man Can Make A Difference......"

Awesome.
posted by eperker at 8:46 AM on April 4, 2006


wouldn't it be really hard to drive with those yoke-wheels?

Also, what IS the difference between KITT and KARR, besides personality, tinted windows?........heh, ok, i looked it up: Originally, KARR appeared just like KITT, with a red light scan bar, but his voice display was yellow. When KARR returns in "K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R.", KARR's scan bar is now yellow and he later gets a two-tone paint job rather than the original all-black finish.
posted by TechnoLustLuddite at 9:23 AM on April 4, 2006


Who cares if Knight Industries perfected AI?

Kitt is still not as cool as this car, which has its own cult following. Not to mention a much better theme song.
posted by MasonDixon at 9:30 AM on April 4, 2006


Kitt is still not as cool as this car,

And neither even approach this or this.
posted by doctor_negative at 10:03 AM on April 4, 2006


Did anyone else read this as Knight Ridder? I was expecting a shadowy flight into a newspaper that doesn't exist.

...just me then, okay, sorry...
posted by blahblahblah at 10:20 AM on April 4, 2006


Also, what IS the difference between KITT and KARR, besides personality, tinted windows?........heh, ok, i looked it up: Originally, KARR appeared just like KITT, with a red light scan bar, but his voice display was yellow. When KARR returns in "K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R.", KARR's scan bar is now yellow and he later gets a two-tone paint job rather than the original all-black finish.

No, no, no, no, no. That's just the superficial difference. The real difference is that KARR is unable to think anything other than logically. The episode where KITT used that fact to destroy KARR (or at least send him over the cliff) was one of the defining moments of my telly-as-babysitter childhood. It was also, coincidentally, the exact point in time where I realised that David Hasselhoff was a wuss.
posted by mad judge pickles at 10:22 AM on April 4, 2006


My buddy Steve would never forgive me if i didnt take this opportunity to show off his replica (Self links ahoy), and the time we took it to be featured in a pilot tv show with other replicas.

(The guy who arranged the tv pilot, Martin Fillery, STOLE our video footage we shot of the day. I would beat his god damn face in if given the chance - he ruined the day for us)
posted by lemonfridge at 10:50 AM on April 4, 2006


Anyone ever see this? I'm trying to imagine the pitch meeting. "Instead of one cool car, we have more than one car! They all kind of suck, but there's more of them! And they fly around in a giant GTL vehicle!"

My favorite part was how obvious they made the "personalities" of the cars. The pick-up truck was a tough guy with a Texas accent. The red convertible was a prissy Valley girl.

Plus, the show didn't have the killer freeze frames before going to commercial break.
posted by brundlefly at 11:02 AM on April 4, 2006


I was just postulating the other day that the problem with all media after the 80's is the lack of focus on vehicular awesomeness.

Seriously, can you name one vehicle from any fictional context that will achieve the legendary status of K.I.T.T., Airwolf, The General Lee, The A-Team Van, the Mach 5, or Space Battleship Yamato, etc?

These replica guys should get together and start a fantasy car rental business.
posted by Durhey at 11:25 AM on April 4, 2006


No, no, no, no, no. That's just the superficial difference. The real difference is that KARR is unable to think anything other than logically. The episode where KITT used that fact to destroy KARR (or at least send him over the cliff) was one of the defining moments of my telly-as-babysitter childhood. It was also, coincidentally, the exact point in time where I realised that David Hasselhoff was a wuss.

Actually it wasn't that KARR could only think logically which made him drive off the cliff, but rather his focus was on self-preservation as opposed to KITTS focus which was protect Michael (human life). Therefore KARR swerved to avoid the collision, KITT anticipated this.

If KARR was thinking logically he wouldn't have driven off the cliff at all.

*hums theme song*
posted by skinnydipp at 11:44 AM on April 4, 2006


I've always been partial to This car.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 12:17 PM on April 4, 2006


Seriously, can you name one vehicle from any fictional context that will achieve the legendary status of K.I.T.T., Airwolf, The General Lee, The A-Team Van, the Mach 5, or Space Battleship Yamato, etc?



/denial

+ what PurplePurpoise said.
posted by brundlefly at 12:35 PM on April 4, 2006


skinnydipp, you're right. The last happy memory of my childhood is now destroyed. Thanks.
posted by mad judge pickles at 12:35 PM on April 4, 2006


I'm just enough of a computer geek that I want to see all of these cars at a convention, just row after row after row -- but each one should have a red light in the front that communicates with the other lights via an ad-hoc network, and so all of the lights move in unison.

Yup. Computer geek. Yup.
posted by davejay at 1:00 PM on April 4, 2006


brundlefly, unless you're building one in your backyard ...

Yeah, I have to say that K.I.T.T. is one of the tops here, even though I couldn't stand watching the show (even after I found out that the voice was Dr. Craig!) because of its overall cheesiness and recycling of Star Trek plots (as in the above-mentioned logical confrontation). While I agree that the General Lee and the Batmobile are cool too, they are different brands of coolness, and after all K.I.T.T. is the only one that isn't "the K.I.T.T." -- i.e. it's the name of a character.
posted by dhartung at 1:28 PM on April 4, 2006


I'm workin' on it, dhartung. I'm workin' on it.
posted by brundlefly at 1:45 PM on April 4, 2006


In addition to KITT, my list of favourite movie cars definitely includes the Dodge Challenger from Vanishing Point and the BAD truck from Duel.
posted by Laotic at 1:56 PM on April 4, 2006


Oh, hell yeah. Duel rocks. You have to love a truck that makes lion noises while it's dying in slow motion.

I'll also add the clown truck from Maximum Overdrive. And the car from the Evil Dead films.
posted by brundlefly at 2:12 PM on April 4, 2006


I liked Knight Rider for a while, until Michael Knight's evil brother showed up and... looked exactly like him.

Wasn't Michael shot in the face in the pilot? Didn't he have plastic surgery that altered his appearance so much that the original bad guys didn't recognise him any more?

Are you telling me now his brother shot himself in the face? He chose to look like Hasselhoff?

In other news, Street Hawk sucked.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 3:49 PM on April 4, 2006


They mention the Space Battleship Yamato but no love for the SDF-1 Macross? For shame.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 3:51 PM on April 4, 2006


In other other news, it turns out that Rex Smith who played Jesse Mach in Street Hawk is finding it difficult to secure roles that *cough* "challenge and fulfill his values", so has become a licensed realtor.

No mention of viewings by prototype combat motorcycle.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 3:58 PM on April 4, 2006


Seriously, can you name one vehicle from any fictional context that will achieve the legendary status of K.I.T.T., Airwolf, The General Lee, The A-Team Van, the Mach 5, or Space Battleship Yamato, etc?

Ahem

posted by BarePaw at 4:59 PM on April 4, 2006


Mr Bismarck: I have no idea why I remember this, but the deal is when they gave Michael his new face, they used the face of the evil Garth because the Foundation for Justice though he was dead and wouldn't need it anymore. Makes perfect sense right?
posted by Leonard at 6:12 PM on April 4, 2006


Apparently none of you have ever heard of the last of the VB Interceptors.
posted by 235w103 at 7:23 PM on April 4, 2006


PurplePurpose covered that, 235w103. And, yes... all cars shall bow down before it.
posted by brundlefly at 7:49 PM on April 4, 2006


Ohhh, my mistake.
posted by 235w103 at 7:51 PM on April 4, 2006


It's all good 235w103 - good taste man, good taste.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 8:48 PM on April 4, 2006


Indeed.
posted by brundlefly at 8:49 PM on April 4, 2006


Or V8 interceptors, as the case may be.

"The Last of the VB Interceptors" would, however, be an excellent name for a rock band.
posted by dansdata at 11:05 PM on April 4, 2006


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