I loved the car and the show. My 18th birthday present from my parents was a 1983 black Trans Am with the crossfire injection V8 and a 4 speed auto. It had t-tops, tan interior and black pie plate aero wheels. What a blast it was to drive and be seen in. When they shot an episode at a winery in Sonoma county, where I lived, I went and they opened the gates for me and I drove right into the production. Met and got pictures with David Hasselhoff!
Man the mid 80’s and 90’s was the absolute best for growing up as a child watching TV. Knight Rider Airwolf Dukes of Hazzard A-Team And the cartoons omg He-Man Voltron Thundercats Transformers. When being a Boy was cool.
I just got back from Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This was maybe my 4th time there in a span of 20 years. I always have to checkout the “Stars Car Museum”. This year I went through it and did not see the Knight Rider vehicle. I proceeded to ask about it and they said the museum owner sold it. I was and am so disappointed. It was a huge part of my childhood and seeing it there was always a joy and a treat that added value to the entire trip. They said it sold very quickly, like in a day or two. They now have an ever growing number of “Fast and Furious” cars to attract the newer generations but I’m sad they decided not to keep my generations most memorable vehicle.
@@joshgray1331 I was just gonna say.... LOL. the Tesla is pretty close, im surprised they haven't been able to license a little talk box graphic for the teslas.
@@Lowclasswarrior778 I love high horsepower and high performance, but some of these millennials don't understand that it is oftentimes more about how the car makes you feel, than whether it hits 0-60 in 2 seconds, or not. Such is the case with K.I.T.T. And, it's easy enough to LS the thing, and voila !!!!!!!! You've got speed, too. You really can have your cake and eat it, too, if that's what you're after. I'd be happy to own K.I.T.T. with that old 305, myself.
I remember going to Universal Studios, and sitting in that car when I was a kid. Wow. I am so glad someone has preserved an iconic piece of Hollywood history.
Long after the show ended, a KITT car was on display in the Glenfield mall in Auckland. I'm guessing late 80s or early 90s. At the time I was so disappointed that the dashboard was so fake though! 🤣
I like how straightforward Joe is -- he doesn't act overly excited and was happy to point out that the back of the car is mostly filler etc. That's cool.
The coolest video I’ve ever seen on K.I.T.T. I can’t believe they were gonna junkyard this car, like no one was interested in it at Universal Studios, or a friend of someone there. That crazy!!!!!!
I cannot believe this is the actual car I sat on in Universal studios!! I still have the picture from 1993!! Great memories guys, great memories indeed!!
I sat in that actual car at Universal in the '80s! So cool to see it again. I'll never forget sitting in the car talking to KITT with my sister. That moment was one of my favorite memories.
I was going to say the same thing...... I sat in it with my dad. I remember talking to Kitt (universal employee not far away on a radio). I still have the picture of me and ET....those were the days.
Knight Rider Historians ---I wish i had pics of that moment...mom and dad werent big picture takers lol. I'll never forget it though. Jaws (Bruce) hanging up, the A Team GMC...Universal used to be my home.
Wow, as this is the Show Car kept at Universal Studios; I realized I have sat in this very car as a 7 year old, having visited all the way from Hong Kong at the time with the family. My parents captured the excitement and awe on my face when I finally got to meet KITT. What an awesome blast from the past!
the guy helping thekids in and out of kit was done (6 years later) for kiddy fiddleing.. they pissed them selfs with shock and fear.. the car they loved and looked to for protection became a evil monster, the fear them kids must have felt .. what you think kit said to them kids to make them piss themselfs.. kids have just been molested once and are about to be felt up again .that car should be destroyed!!!!
i remember my old man repaired body work on KITT car #9 when on tour in Lancaster PA. i still have pictures of it till this day of it at the body shop.
I'm a big Knight Rider fan, I watched it religiously Friday night at 9:00 p.m. every Friday night for all the seasons! And yesterday I went to the celebrity car museum in Branson and got to sit in Knight Rider and that pictures and videos taken! You all came too if you visit the Hollywood celebrity museum in Branson Missouri!
I loved knight Rider when I was a kid and I'm a girl born 1979. When I first saw knight rider with my parents. I asked my dad can we get a talking car.
I was born in 78, and I remember Knight Rider being pretty much universally loved by kids my age. I don't remember it being specifically a boy thing. It wasn't like Gi Joe vs Barbie lol.
@@javier77th I have to admit, I liked "The A team" even more than Knight Rider at the time, but I still really liked Knight Rider. It was in my top 3 along with Dukes of Hazzard. Oh yeah, Knight Rider, A team, and Dukes of Hazzard. Those were the days!
@@Joesmusclecargarage Username checks out! I agree, even for my millenial colleagues in their 30's, Knight Rider is often not more than a hazy memory of some old show.
I sat in the car too with my friends. We started talking about how the car was disappointing in person. Then suddenly a voice came on and started to address us. It was KITT. That made our day!
I feel like Jay has lost his sense of childhood curiosity based on his seemingly indifference towards this iconic car and the interesting facts brought up by the owner. Too many peoples idea of becoming an adult all but squashes out the unique creativity and joyous curiosity that can, has and will improve this world through those beloved dreamers who embrace childlike expression. Never stop dreaming!
Not KITT, but a few years ago I was waiting in traffic and I heard a car driving at speed on the opposite side of the road. It was Colin Mcrae in his Subaru flying past. Amazing experience.
I grew up loving this show due to the car. Kitt, the batmobile, and the general lee were my reasons for watching those shows. A couple years ago I ended up selling my black '94 Firebird that I had for 21yrs. From the day I got it, I had people telling me I needed to get that red light going back and forth on the front. Had a manual transmission, and the interior still looked new the day I sold it. Had a ton of fun in that car, and at times it did all the talking for me when it came to women.
I remember my dad commenting when he entered that car in universal studio. It was advertised 'KITT' could speak any language. Strangely enough my dad pretended he could only speak French and the poor guy at the other end of the mic had a hard time conversing, until my dad agreed to switch to English. He was thrilled about the experience, and I was jealous of him. So happy to see the car still exists and is taken care of by an enthusiast. Well done!
Me and my brothers watched the Knight Rider show in the eighties and marveled over how it was even possible to make a show that good! We were of the opinion that it had everything - a cool main character, the meanest car ever and even humor! AND beautiful women! Just WOW! 🤣
I was 16 when that show went on the air. I was so inspired by that car that, being into electronics, I built a circuit and modified my own car with a the same lights that went back and forth on the front of KITT. Talk about nerding out! Oh, and I had the hots for Patricia McPherson. There! I've aired all my dirty laundry.
I thought that thing looked pretty plastic piece of heap even back in the days and I'm glad they trashed bunch of these making the show. (then again I still got couple of KITT rc cars stored from my childhood lol).
What a trip down memory lane. I especially appreciated the story about the car being displayed at Universal Studios. It struck home because mine was one of the "tens of thousands of butts" that sat in the car in the mid-to-late '80s! It's fun to see that this is the actual car but a little saddened that Universal would simply send it to the junk yard. Thanks for saving KITT, Joe!
I got to see it at universal in 91, I was 21, for some reason, i wasn't aware you could sit in it. I didn't see anyone there helping or any kids getting in it etc.
@@spaceavenger54 I was there in 86. I was literally speechless and had trouble getting the words out to KITT. Poor KITT had to break the news to me that the show had been canceled. I went back to Universal some years later and it was like you said. KITT was just shoved off into a corner and visitors were no longer allowed to get in the car. Universal Studios really blew it by getting rid of their vintage attractions.
Growing up in the 80's & 90's Knight Rider was my favorite show next to Airwolf, Duke's of Hazard & then "Smokey & the Bandit", ALL GREAT CAR SHOWS & MOVIE'S!!! IT IS NO WONDER THAT I AM A CAR PERSON TODAY!!! Knight industries 2000-Kitt could do it all! Always saved the day!!! JAY IS THE MAN! DAVID HASSELHOFF'S BEST SHOW WAS KNIGHT RIDER IN MY BOOK!!!
I'm 20 right now and this show is still amazing, might be from before my time but if you haven't seen it you're simply missing out. Too bad that within a good 30-40 years almost no one will remember KITT
Nice to see a younger generation watching the classics. I'm 46. So the eighties and the nineties were my years. There were so many great shows and everyone watched The same shows hell there was only like 20 channels and no internet.... Everyday in school my friends always seen the same shows as me. It was such a good time..
I remember seeing kitt at universal, when on vacation when i was a kid... however, it was so hot the day we went, our tour bus overheated, and many of the rides including kitt were broken due to heat. Instead of being able to sit in, dad and mom bought me an icecream and sat we sat near the car, watching the led light bar track. In the mid 90s jc whitney still sold red and amber versions of the lightbar, i had a 87 nissan pulsar nx se that had a small grill between the popup headlights that the red lightbar fit perfectly in, and it had a recess in the airdam that i fit 2 sets of fogs in it. My own spin on kitt i guess.... It was also t top, fun car, lots of good memories about the show... thanks for sharing....
I was 11 years old when "Knight Rider" debuted on NBC in Los Angeles (Jay Leno's station too I believe). People around my age (mostly men I'd imagine) can at least somewhat relate to these guys. Maybe it wasn't Shakespeare in the Park, but how many 11 year old boys can really appreciate that? Not many probably. Essentially, "Knight Rider" was a really entertaining show with sufficiently good acting, a cool car, a cool semi/mobile headquarters and plenty of action. Plus, that theme song's pretty unforgettable.
And that's it, it was good entertainment. People also scoffed at A team, but it was just entertainment, and fun at that. Who cares if the acting was poor or even goofy, look at how well William Shatner has done with the same schtick. He's got not only an original show prop, but one that later became a prop seen and sat in my hundreds of thousands of fans, how cool is that?
@Green Giant And the iconic horn in the General Lee was kind of an accident. They were shooting at the bar location and some kid drove past and honked (air horn set that played the 12 tone 'Dixie'). The directors almost fell over themselves jumping in a car and chasing him down. He didn't want to sell it but eventually they offered him enough cash that he caved, and that's how the General Lee got it's horn.
I was fairly young, my first sight of KITT was something that looked like a car commercial, some guy wearing a lab coat with a clipboard, standing at Bonneville with KITT tearing across the salt flats with white powder billowing in it's wake, the red lights scanning on the front. At the time i didn't understand it was an ad for the series, i was just transfixed by the tech.
What is truly amazing is if you keep up with the Knight Rider Historians page, you will see that they found the original Flag Semi and are currently restoring it. Just recently they also found the original semi trailer and are working on it also.
@oneraceonedestiny This TV series firstly televised in Sri Lanka maybe late 80s. According to my knowledge Telivision imported to Sri Lanka beginning of 80s. Thanks for the reply.
Man! I sat in this exact car! In the driver seat at universal over the water just like he said! It talked to me and was AMAZINGLY COOL! How neat to now see Jay drive it and to know it’s still out there. I would love to get to see this car in person again one day!
I sat in that TransAm too way back in 1985! I vividly remember it by the water in Universal Studios Hollywood. My question to KITT was "do you have a girlfriend?" I don't exactly recall how "he" answered it, he kind of stuttered. But it was just one of my childhood dreams come true! Being a kid back in the 80s was just monumental. 🤩🤩🤩
Damn, I sat in this car when it was at Universal Studios!! I can't believe it. That's awesome this car is being taken care of by someone who loves the car.
After hearing what Joe said about Universal studios & about the car sitting there over-the-water I realize that when I was younger I actually sat in that car and had a conversation with it at universal studios, what a small world. Thank you Jay for the episode it was awesome love your show.
Back in 1992 I was on my honeymoon in California. We spent a day at Universal Studios. I remember sitting in that car on the little island he talked about. So cool to see Jay Leno driving it. So glad that guy was able to buy it and restore it.
My favorite episodes were the ones involving K.I.T.T. Going up against his Automotive Nemesis, K.A.R.R. as well as the Heavily Armored “Goliath” Truck.
Johnny Favorite Aw man you just brought back some great tv memories,, I think KITT actually died in that episode(mighta been a 2 parter if I remember).
Jonathan Wang “The Juggernaut” 2 parter played on TV (rerun) a couple nights ago, with that battering ram destroying KITT (well after that street washer truck sprayed KITT with that chemical) oh and the fake Devin lookalike. Truly Awesome TV.
I loved this as a kid too. It was so awesome and still is. I've been to Universal Studios in California in the late eighties, and probably sat it in this car. I remember sitting in it and you could ask it questions. Super cool as a kid.
As a 48y/o woman, I have to say I LOVED (and still LOVE) this car! So so so nice! I was raised in Cincinnati and actually met David Hasselhoff at a Toys R US When I was about 10! He was doing a meet and greet there! We got to actually shake his hand and as many moments I’ve forgotten at this age, THAT MOMENT is NOT one them! So so cool!
That Was my childhood car and Duke's of Hazards General Lee. That Orange Hemi 1969 Dodge Charger R/T is my favorite car. I love MOPAR. But everybody wants a KITT car from Knight Rider. Awesome review Jay Leno
Another great car! Rumor had it that Steve McQueen had some difficulty keeping up with the 440 Charger with the 390 Mustang GT. Within a year Ford would put the much more potent 428 Cobra Jet engine into the Mustang.
I'm glad someone saved KITT, I remember seeing it near the water and talking to other universal studios people in line. I also remember seeing it in the back lot covered in dust and I wish I had the money to buy it. I'm glad this guy bought it and saved it from the wrecking yard
My childhood was awesome, Knight Rider among other shows and toy lines. From my childhood I had Night Rider, Ghostbusters, ThunderCats, He-Man, Transformers, GI Joe, streethawk, Dukes of Hazzard, M.A.S.K. and a few others. After I left this comment I realized about 6 hours later that I forgot to mention Voltron. Performance car styling seems to be improving because even the Camaro kind of looks like KITT again even though it's not really a Trans Am but they were generally the same car.
BC Bell yeah nowadays people are buried in their cell phones even while they're driving and lot of times they're too busy texting to realize they're about ready to slam into another vehicle. I like my smartphone but I don't like it so much that my face is going to be buried in it every second of my day.
We had a far better upbringing than most kids today, shows that you mentioned I remember fondly... So glad to have watched this one... Never sat in Kitt but I have sat and was driven around in the original Batmobile from the T.V show at a British Airways open day me ol' man took me to, will never forget that beautiful day.
Another awesome video, Jay! I remember the *"Knight Rider"* TV series. It was among my favourite shows growing up, with *"the Dukes of Hazzard,"* coming in at a close second.
Jason Carpp .Jay Leno is the best man on Blue Planet Earth .I am so happy to see Jay on any video on you tube. I missed his ,,Tonight Show,, Hi Jay you are great and you garage is the best.It was great idea to have cars collection like yours. ! Cheers ! LOL.
One of the best episodes of JLG you have made! Thanks for the show and car info! No I’m not a Knight Rider fan but it was as interesting to us as it was to you about the car and it’s use in the TV or Movie! Jay, you really should do more of these “Movie/TV Car” episodes!
The problem is that, as in the Dukes of Hazard, most of the cars were destroyed during filming, or were left to rust after the show was cancelled, so alot of the 'celebrity cars' you see now are reproductions or shade-tree mechanics slap togethers
If I were you I would watch the premiere episode of the next season of Jay Leno's Garage on CNBC... It airs on April 19th and I am pretty sure it is going to be streaming on the CNBC website as well.
Thank you for sharing. I was 12 years old when Knight Rider primers. I actually used the theme song for homework assignment for my av class. Truely a forever memory.
I loved Knight Rider as a kid. I remember watching it every time it was on TV. Even to this day, the TV show is one of my favorite automotive show even though I know that everything about the car is fake. I used to watch this show on TV on the El Ray channel until I changed TV providers which has made it where I can no longer watch the show. Now I watch the show on Netflix. George Barris designed this car and everything he did to this car definitely made the show better. It's cool that this guy has this car. He knows and understands what this car means to a lot of people who grew up watching the show. Even though the show was set up where 1 man can make a difference which at the time no one really thought of until this show became a popular show. This idea is true, even to this day. Jay is a great automotive enthusiast and I wish I had the money and opportunities that he has and the ability to do what he does. Great episode!
mrbratt69 Barris only did the convertible and the Super-Pursuit KITT. Designer Michael Scheffe (Back to the Future DeLorean) was responsible for the original.
I love seeing history I grew up in . Brings out the kid in me . Knight Ryder was more futuristic than we knew back then . I’m 54 years old and I watch all the best tv ever , from the 70’s and 80’s . Keeps me young !!
They just found the original trailer to go with the GMC prime mover they already had... I can't believe it, they did some seriously amazing detective work and it's definitely the right trailer. I thought it would have been scrapped for sure, truck trailers rarely last that long. An important piece of my childhood saved, great work.
I LOVED Knight Rider as a kid. I asked my parents if I could change my name to Micheal Knight. I'm still so mad they didn't let me do it :P LOL- this car is soooo cheesy, but it's good nostalgia. It'd be fun if someone did a KITT Siri update and installed it in the car so you could talk to it. Pontiac Firebirds actually came stock with the oil slick, although it wasn't user-selectable.
Beautiful and timeless car. I came around after Knight Rider aired and never saw re-runs growing up that I recall. I was introduced to this car for the first time in Benchwarmers of all things and right after that, I started digging into just what KITT and Knight Rider were. The show has such a wide array of ideas pulled from a lot of different places: westerns, sci-fi, detective dramas, buddy cop films, spy movies, action movies, superheroes, comedy. All of this is then thrown into one big melting pot and somehow it all came together beautifully. But it did, and it all worked because at its core, the show was about a man and his car going out into the world and doing their part to help others and make the world a better place. On a funnier note, the commentary about the holes drilled into the floor of this particular car reminded me that in the pilot, Michael Knight swears KITT's interior 'looks like Darth Vader's bathroom' the first time he gets in and looks at it. Kinda comes full circle, huh? 😂
Thank you, Mr. Leno. Knight Rider is one of my favorite shows. I have seen every episode of the original. I have seen both movies and both sequels. This is a show that can be redone right now.
So were a bunch of that era of show such as The Six Million Dollar Man, Airwolf, Wonder Woman and so forth but Knight Rider cantered about the car (and William Daniels) more than the people...
I grew up watching Speed Racer, Speed Buggy, The Saint, Wacky Races, The California Kid, Starsky and Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey and the Bandit among the others. Cars used to be so integral to the style of TV and movies.
I sat in that car in Universal Studios over the water when I was 15 years old. They only let you talk to it for about 3 minutes and then the next person would sit in it.
I sat in it too when I was 5 or 6 years old in 1986 or 87. I remember asking KITT where Michael was and Kitt said he was visiting his mother. I have pictures somewhere. It was really shiny sitting on top of the water.
I've sat in it too. Probably a few times over different visits to Universal when I was a kid. It was such an awesome exhibit. Universal was so much better back in the day
If this was the display car at Universal then I got to be near it when my dad took me back in 1995, I have a picture he took of me, it was at night, but you can see the nose of the car hovering over the water and the KITT display sign. I wondered where that car went after they took the display off. I heard Universal parked it on the back lot and it the sun and water rusted it away they didn't care for it. Thought we'd never see it again, I'm glad Joe is as big a die hard fan as I was growing up watching the re-runs in the 90s. And it's restored and running again.
I sat in that car at Universal, like some other people here in the comments...and before you ask, no, I didn't pee. I specifically remember asking...as a 12 year old or so, 'how much G-Force is Michael exposed to during Turbo Boost?', to which he replied 'Michael is not exposed to G-Forces during Turbo Boost'. I wanted to scream at him for not understanding logic, even though I watched the completely ridiculous show that was pure make-believe, and wanted it to be real. The car and show, as a kid, was the coolest thing on the planet. Prior to that, I saw it taped several times when I was very young in Burbank, I was even on a side street where they built two giant ramps to simulate a Turbo Boost scene, plus, I got to meet the stunt driver and all. It was impressive to see that car fly through the air, even if it was only maybe 20 feet.
But according to Joe, the guy in the car with Jay, they had to drill holes in the floor for the pee to drip out...therefore you probably SAT in pee... ;-)
I was 10 when the show came out, so the perfect age to fall in love with the car. I used to have the large plastic toy with the action figure, which I remember being a very nice toy that looked like the real thing. The back license plate was actually a rocker switch that would trigger a KITT sound bite. I also had some kind of "blueprint" of the car on my bedroom wall for years, and I remember watching the show and and doing a drawing of the dashboard (this was before being able to record the show, so I had no still pictures to draw from). Great memories from an inspiring show!
I loved the car and the show. My 18th birthday present from my parents was a 1983 black Trans Am with the crossfire injection V8 and a 4 speed auto. It had t-tops, tan interior and black pie plate aero wheels. What a blast it was to drive and be seen in. When they shot an episode at a winery in Sonoma county, where I lived, I went and they opened the gates for me and I drove right into the production. Met and got pictures with David Hasselhoff!
Was that the episode with the plastic surgery guy in the religious winery?
@@FutureRailProductions I believe it was. I was at Korbel winery on River road in Guerneville
A Black Trans would have a totally different meaning today
@@anyhandlewoulddoOmg, so true!!! 😂😂😂
@@rickdeckardbladerunner2049 hahaha
Man the mid 80’s and 90’s was the absolute best for growing up as a child watching TV.
Knight Rider
Airwolf
Dukes of Hazzard
A-Team
And the cartoons omg
He-Man
Voltron
Thundercats
Transformers.
When being a Boy was cool.
I agree nowadays they want us boys to be girls and girls to be boys and unknown creatures from the barnyard
@@ray-ph7wr No they don't. Stop listening to old conservatives
Yes!!!
@@KeystrokeCowboy yes they do. Open your eyes you liberal idiot
We need more of that!
Even after 40 years, it's still a beautiful car.
I agree
iPhone activated
I just got back from Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This was maybe my 4th time there in a span of 20 years. I always have to checkout the “Stars Car Museum”. This year I went through it and did not see the Knight Rider vehicle. I proceeded to ask about it and they said the museum owner sold it. I was and am so disappointed. It was a huge part of my childhood and seeing it there was always a joy and a treat that added value to the entire trip. They said it sold very quickly, like in a day or two. They now have an ever growing number of “Fast and Furious” cars to attract the newer generations but I’m sad they decided not to keep my generations most memorable vehicle.
no its not
If you're 40, you remember reruns.
That was my childhood dream car. I'm 40 now and it's still my dream car.
black Tesla Model 3 performance with FSD...pretty close ;)
@@joshgray1331 I was just gonna say.... LOL. the Tesla is pretty close, im surprised they haven't been able to license a little talk box graphic for the teslas.
Until you realize it's got a 305 with 140hp....then the balloon deflates😂
@@romper4444 nah
@@Lowclasswarrior778 I love high horsepower and high performance, but some of these millennials don't understand that it is oftentimes more about how the car makes you feel, than whether it hits 0-60 in 2 seconds, or not. Such is the case with K.I.T.T. And, it's easy enough to LS the thing, and voila !!!!!!!! You've got speed, too. You really can have your cake and eat it, too, if that's what you're after. I'd be happy to own K.I.T.T. with that old 305, myself.
I remember going to Universal Studios, and sitting in that car when I was a kid. Wow. I am so glad someone has preserved an iconic piece of Hollywood history.
You didn't pee in it i hope😂
I envy you. There was a huge line to see KITT & my folks weren't willing to wait. That counts as a childhood regret.
I’m from Australia and 33 years ago, we went to Universal Studios and got to sit in KITT. I was so excited.
Long after the show ended, a KITT car was on display in the Glenfield mall in Auckland. I'm guessing late 80s or early 90s. At the time I was so disappointed that the dashboard was so fake though! 🤣
Me too!
Taxi driver in Vegas. Respect for this guy. Love your passions. I see the back to the future car all the time here.
Most profitable place to be a cabbie
I was one of the kids that sat in that car at Universal and talked to KITT! Awesome to see it still exists.
Did you pish yer pants?
Hopefully you're not one of the kids that Peed in it lol
@@wingerfan1 that happened? 😂😭
@@Northwind000 yeah. The car had drain holes put in the floor because several kids peed in it.
40 years old here, and KITT is still rad as hell.
I agree,I am still a fan and have driven KITT twice.
Only no one says 'rad'... 😂
@@LennyNero2019For those of us who grew up that era, it was rad!
Knight Rider is still one of my favorite TV series, love the car!
@@evanprieto4822 hon. can you not preach here? the person is trying to enjoy seeing the car
I wonder if the convertible version and the Super Pursuit Mode version are still out there? Now those would be collectible!
I own a diecast KITT but I'd love to have the real thing.
Man that guy looks so happy to be on the show talking about this.
I like how straightforward Joe is -- he doesn't act overly excited and was happy to point out that the back of the car is mostly filler etc. That's cool.
you can practically see the pits on the bumper haha
If the car doesn't talk back I'm not interested.
The coolest video I’ve ever seen on K.I.T.T.
I can’t believe they were gonna junkyard this car, like no one was interested in it at Universal Studios, or a friend of someone there. That crazy!!!!!!
I cannot believe this is the actual car I sat on in Universal studios!! I still have the picture from 1993!! Great memories guys, great memories indeed!!
It's not! The interior is different!
I sat in that actual car at Universal in the '80s! So cool to see it again. I'll never forget sitting in the car talking to KITT with my sister. That moment was one of my favorite memories.
I was going to say the same thing...... I sat in it with my dad. I remember talking to Kitt (universal employee not far away on a radio). I still have the picture of me and ET....those were the days.
mike kelley You said it. The A-Team van that could be lifted too...Only if that DeLorean really did go 88 mph...id go there in a heartbeat.
I wonder how many kids peed in that car, lol.
Knight Rider Historians ---I wish i had pics of that moment...mom and dad werent big picture takers lol. I'll never forget it though. Jaws (Bruce) hanging up, the A Team GMC...Universal used to be my home.
@@ZZ-xz6lc Oh yeah the black and red GMC van of the A-Team! Yes, I remember that you could lift it by the side. 😂😂😂
Wow, as this is the Show Car kept at Universal Studios; I realized I have sat in this very car as a 7 year old, having visited all the way from Hong Kong at the time with the family. My parents captured the excitement and awe on my face when I finally got to meet KITT.
What an awesome blast from the past!
I did too when 1 was brought to New Zealand when I was about 6 :) oh good memories man!
Please sir, you can not leave such comment without making it clear did you piss in it or not
@@gelisob I don't think he would remember, maybe his family. :-)
the guy helping thekids in and out of kit was done (6 years later) for kiddy fiddleing.. they pissed them selfs with shock and fear.. the car they loved and looked to for protection became a evil monster, the fear them kids must have felt .. what you think kit said to them kids to make them piss themselfs.. kids have just been molested once and are about to be felt up again .that car should be destroyed!!!!
I had to wait until 2005 or 2006.....well worth waiting a quarter of a century for!
KITT and Joe are legendary.I met KITT at Universal in 1996,and he was fantastic!
i remember my old man repaired body work on KITT car #9 when on tour in Lancaster PA. i still have pictures of it till this day of it at the body shop.
Awesome
Cool
Hello fellow Lancasterian
I'm a big Knight Rider fan, I watched it religiously Friday night at 9:00 p.m. every Friday night for all the seasons! And yesterday I went to the celebrity car museum in Branson and got to sit in Knight Rider and that pictures and videos taken! You all came too if you visit the Hollywood celebrity museum in Branson Missouri!
Need the "wooo wooo" sound effect as the light moves back and forth...
Thinking the same thing.
Same. That's all I could think about.
It's just not _right_ seeing the lights without the *whoosh-WHOOSH* *whoosh-WHOOSH* ...
Similar to the Cylons in Battlestar Galactica
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The episode of JLG I have enjoyed the most, hilarious 😆
I was a 2-3 yr old girl when the show came out and i loved that show...im 42 now and this is just awesome...
I loved knight Rider when I was a kid and I'm a girl born 1979.
When I first saw knight rider with my parents. I asked my dad can we get a talking car.
haha
I still use the theme music as my ringtone.
I was born in 78, and I remember Knight Rider being pretty much universally loved by kids my age. I don't remember it being specifically a boy thing. It wasn't like Gi Joe vs Barbie lol.
@@James-qu6ul The first episode had me hooked, haha
@@javier77th I have to admit, I liked "The A team" even more than Knight Rider at the time, but I still really liked Knight Rider. It was in my top 3 along with Dukes of Hazzard. Oh yeah, Knight Rider, A team, and Dukes of Hazzard. Those were the days!
True part of my generation. Never saw a more stunning car yet.
The Coyote from Hardcastle & McCormick was pretty cool too!
I'm happy to see somebody's living his dream, it's one of my favourite cars as well.
Respect to the 2 men whose passion for the car is inspiring. 🤜🤛
I bought a Trans Am from Joe a few years ago. Currently rebuilding it and making a Replica out of it. So cool to see him on the show.
Knight Rider
Airwolf
A-Team
Dukes of Hazzard
Six Million Dollar Man
.....Oh what childhood memories!!!!!
Jason Cummings CHips? Hunter? Magnum PI
My Secret Identity, super force, land of the giant,
Automan, Street Hawk, Hill Street Blues, MacGyver, Columbo, MASH, Cheers, TJ Hooker, Dallas (oh man Lucy Ewing o.0) ... lots of good stuff
Jason Cummings Miami vice
@@SgtSteel1 Hey don't forget Kojak and Police Squad.
Just imagine how many looks and jaw drops you'll get driving KITT around town.
... not even thinking it's the real one!
Not many. I’ve built several screen accurate KITT replicas over the years. They don’t get too much attention anymore.
@@Joesmusclecargarage Username checks out! I agree, even for my millenial colleagues in their 30's, Knight Rider is often not more than a hazy memory of some old show.
40 years old.. Time so fast.. But Kitt still timeless
My all time absolute favorite car... So much so that I built my own! Thanks so much Jay for allowing Joe and Aj to come out with the real car!!
How much did it cost to build
@@jesiahdechanel198 A lot of money that’s all I’m going to say lol
@@jesiahdechanel198 maybe 30k?
First fresh show I catch! Posted 10min ago. Thank you Jay Leno for helping me cope with a debilitating disease with your show and cars!
Man keep fighting!
Dang, harsh. I have a Muscular Dystrophy, but wish you the best. AIDS is no joke.
Cool. I sat in that very car back in 1989 at Universal in LA. I did not piss myself.
It was probably a replica.
I sat in the car too with my friends. We started talking about how the car was disappointing in person. Then suddenly a voice came on and started to address us. It was KITT. That made our day!
Oh.... Sure you did.
Funny you mention that for i think this car is a naff toilet .
i pissed in the car @ UNIVERSAL....best piss ever
I feel like Jay has lost his sense of childhood curiosity based on his seemingly indifference towards this iconic car and the interesting facts brought up by the owner. Too many peoples idea of becoming an adult all but squashes out the unique creativity and joyous curiosity that can, has and will improve this world through those beloved dreamers who embrace childlike expression. Never stop dreaming!
Imagine you're a 40 year old...and you're in traffic and this thing rolls by.
😀😀😀
I dont have to imagine, it actually happened. I followed him. We talked, i cried. The end.
Not KITT, but a few years ago I was waiting in traffic and I heard a car driving at speed on the opposite side of the road. It was Colin Mcrae in his Subaru flying past. Amazing experience.
@@jokester5812 Lol!!😄
Imagine being a 40(+) year old driving it.... lush!
I grew up loving this show due to the car. Kitt, the batmobile, and the general lee were my reasons for watching those shows. A couple years ago I ended up selling my black '94 Firebird that I had for 21yrs. From the day I got it, I had people telling me I needed to get that red light going back and forth on the front. Had a manual transmission, and the interior still looked new the day I sold it. Had a ton of fun in that car, and at times it did all the talking for me when it came to women.
I remember my dad commenting when he entered that car in universal studio. It was advertised 'KITT' could speak any language. Strangely enough my dad pretended he could only speak French and the poor guy at the other end of the mic had a hard time conversing, until my dad agreed to switch to English. He was thrilled about the experience, and I was jealous of him. So happy to see the car still exists and is taken care of by an enthusiast. Well done!
Me and my brothers watched the Knight Rider show in the eighties and marveled over how it was even possible to make a show that good! We were of the opinion that it had everything - a cool main character, the meanest car ever and even humor! AND beautiful women! Just WOW! 🤣
Best show ever,I am a huge fan and have driven a KITT replica.
I felt also the show was getting better by its 4th season. Would have been a good run for another 3-4 seasons.
I was 16 when that show went on the air. I was so inspired by that car that, being into electronics, I built a circuit and modified my own car with a the same lights that went back and forth on the front of KITT. Talk about nerding out! Oh, and I had the hots for Patricia McPherson. There! I've aired all my dirty laundry.
Ah yes....Bonnie. Who wouldn't want a brilliant, mechanically-inclined, gorgeous woman to work on their car?
+Rick Jasper - Single man?
That car is the reason why today, i am a certified petrolhead... Amazing how 36 years later,it still looks so cool.
I thought that thing looked pretty plastic piece of heap even back in the days and I'm glad they trashed bunch of these making the show. (then again I still got couple of KITT rc cars stored from my childhood lol).
Only from the outside
Would redo the dash with modern touchscreens
The interior beige think might stay
What a trip down memory lane. I especially appreciated the story about the car being displayed at Universal Studios. It struck home because mine was one of the "tens of thousands of butts" that sat in the car in the mid-to-late '80s! It's fun to see that this is the actual car but a little saddened that Universal would simply send it to the junk yard. Thanks for saving KITT, Joe!
Wow, I sat in this car when I was little. I can't believe this is the same car that was in Universal Studios. 😍😍
LOL thats where I sat in it too...for me back in.......89 or 90? Cant remember
@@stevenmanson8024 that is crazy. That's around the same time I went.
KITT is missed. I still have a photo back in '92 when I was 7 sitting in it at universal.
As a teenager at 15 I got to see the Knight Rider Kitt Car at universal in 1995. Great times!
I got to see it at universal in 91, I was 21, for some reason, i wasn't aware you could sit in it. I didn't see anyone there helping or any kids getting in it etc.
@@spaceavenger54 I was there in 86. I was literally speechless and had trouble getting the words out to KITT. Poor KITT had to break the news to me that the show had been canceled. I went back to Universal some years later and it was like you said. KITT was just shoved off into a corner and visitors were no longer allowed to get in the car.
Universal Studios really blew it by getting rid of their vintage attractions.
*"I still have a photo back in '92 when I was 7 sitting in it at universal."*
Did you pee?
I saw it too at Universal when i was a kid in the 80's , remember other kids kept asking Kitt where is Michael ? lol
Growing up in the 80's & 90's Knight Rider was my favorite show next to Airwolf, Duke's of Hazard & then "Smokey & the Bandit", ALL GREAT CAR SHOWS & MOVIE'S!!! IT IS NO WONDER THAT I AM A CAR PERSON TODAY!!! Knight industries 2000-Kitt could do it all! Always saved the day!!! JAY IS THE MAN! DAVID HASSELHOFF'S BEST SHOW WAS KNIGHT RIDER IN MY BOOK!!!
D.j. B you don’t have to scream.
Baywatch had a couple of big things going for it......
That hamburger commercial he made for AA was pretty good too...
A-Team not to be forgotten!!
D.j. B my show kitt
Oh man how many times I’ve rode this car trough my dreams...even when I was a child without a driving license!!!
This is a true legend
I'm 20 right now and this show is still amazing, might be from before my time but if you haven't seen it you're simply missing out. Too bad that within a good 30-40 years almost no one will remember KITT
Nice to see a younger generation watching the classics. I'm 46. So the eighties and the nineties were my years. There were so many great shows and everyone watched The same shows hell there was only like 20 channels and no internet.... Everyday in school my friends always seen the same shows as me. It was such a good time..
I'm 16 and enjoy seeing iconic history like this preserved. It makes me happy to know that pieces of fascinating times before me are still here.
I'm 24 and luckily my dad is also a car guy and got me into Knight Rider growing up. Can't let the classics be forgotten
Holy crap! I went and sat in that car when I was like 3 years old at Universal Studios!!! I remember the stage just above the water!
I remember seeing kitt at universal, when on vacation when i was a kid... however, it was so hot the day we went, our tour bus overheated, and many of the rides including kitt were broken due to heat. Instead of being able to sit in, dad and mom bought me an icecream and sat we sat near the car, watching the led light bar track. In the mid 90s jc whitney still sold red and amber versions of the lightbar, i had a 87 nissan pulsar nx se that had a small grill between the popup headlights that the red lightbar fit perfectly in, and it had a recess in the airdam that i fit 2 sets of fogs in it. My own spin on kitt i guess.... It was also t top, fun car, lots of good memories about the show... thanks for sharing....
JC Whitney wow. I used to get those catalogs, they were loaded with so much cool car stuff. I just looked them up and they're still around!
I was 11 years old when "Knight Rider" debuted on NBC in Los Angeles (Jay Leno's station too I believe). People around my age (mostly men I'd imagine) can at least somewhat relate to these guys. Maybe it wasn't Shakespeare in the Park, but how many 11 year old boys can really appreciate that? Not many probably. Essentially, "Knight Rider" was a really entertaining show with sufficiently good acting, a cool car, a cool semi/mobile headquarters and plenty of action. Plus, that theme song's pretty unforgettable.
And that's it, it was good entertainment. People also scoffed at A team, but it was just entertainment, and fun at that. Who cares if the acting was poor or even goofy, look at how well William Shatner has done with the same schtick. He's got not only an original show prop, but one that later became a prop seen and sat in my hundreds of thousands of fans, how cool is that?
@Green Giant And the iconic horn in the General Lee was kind of an accident. They were shooting at the bar location and some kid drove past and honked (air horn set that played the 12 tone 'Dixie'). The directors almost fell over themselves jumping in a car and chasing him down. He didn't want to sell it but eventually they offered him enough cash that he caved, and that's how the General Lee got it's horn.
I was fairly young, my first sight of KITT was something that looked like a car commercial, some guy wearing a lab coat with a clipboard, standing at Bonneville with KITT tearing across the salt flats with white powder billowing in it's wake, the red lights scanning on the front. At the time i didn't understand it was an ad for the series, i was just transfixed by the tech.
Only thing better was Air-wolf, A-Team,Swamp Thing and MacGyver.
@Green Giant Anyone else's dad have the same horn growing up? ;-p
What is truly amazing is if you keep up with the Knight Rider Historians page, you will see that they found the original Flag Semi and are currently restoring it. Just recently they also found the original semi trailer and are working on it also.
This car was one of a dream cars in my childhood. Thanks from Sri Lanka.
SL? no one cares... 😂
can u find a Micheal knight in sri Lanka 😛
@oneraceonedestiny This TV series firstly televised in Sri Lanka maybe late 80s. According to my knowledge Telivision imported to Sri Lanka beginning of 80s. Thanks for the reply.
Dont Hassel the Hoff,greetings from GERMANY we love Knightrider !
lol we know you do.
So many memories of this car...those headrests were always so fly to me
And black exterior with the cream colored interior...always a great look
Man! I sat in this exact car! In the driver seat at universal over the water just like he said! It talked to me and was AMAZINGLY COOL! How neat to now see Jay drive it and to know it’s still out there. I would love to get to see this car in person again one day!
I sat in that TransAm too way back in 1985! I vividly remember it by the water in Universal Studios Hollywood. My question to KITT was "do you have a girlfriend?" I don't exactly recall how "he" answered it, he kind of stuttered. But it was just one of my childhood dreams come true! Being a kid back in the 80s was just monumental. 🤩🤩🤩
I too met KITT at Universal in 1996,it was awesome,he talked to me and we had a great time.
They definitely need the theme song playing in the background. That was the thing that got me watching the show.
That's my ringtone :)
That theme was godlike.
Damn, I sat in this car when it was at Universal Studios!! I can't believe it. That's awesome this car is being taken care of by someone who loves the car.
i pissed in that same car@ UNIVERSAL....best piss ever
I also fell in love with the trans am body style from the show
Jay is such a master at interviews, so down to Earth that the person being interviewed can't help but feel really comfortable to open up more.
After hearing what Joe said about Universal studios & about the car sitting there over-the-water I realize that when I was younger I actually sat in that car and had a conversation with it at universal studios, what a small world. Thank you Jay for the episode it was awesome love your show.
Knight Rider had the best theme music.
And Airwolf and the original BattlestarGalactica! ;)
*cough*.... Miami Vice ... *cough*... *cough*
G1 Hunter (first and second theme music)
It's my ring tone!
G1, it did
Back in 1992 I was on my honeymoon in California. We spent a day at Universal Studios. I remember sitting in that car on the little island he talked about. So cool to see Jay Leno driving it. So glad that guy was able to buy it and restore it.
The car was well kept and looks pristine.
They gave our pal a good Simonize for the show.
This was one of the best, and funniest episodes ever. I think I was grinning the whole episode. Thanks Jay!
My favorite episodes were the ones involving K.I.T.T. Going up against his Automotive Nemesis, K.A.R.R. as well as the Heavily Armored “Goliath” Truck.
Johnny Favorite I agree Kitt and the armored truck episodes. We’re amazing
Herakles The one where K.I.T.T. was trashed by Goliath ❣️
Johnny Favorite Aw man you just brought back some great tv memories,, I think KITT actually died in that episode(mighta been a 2 parter if I remember).
Those were indeed the best episodes mate :)
Jonathan Wang “The Juggernaut” 2 parter played on TV (rerun) a couple nights ago, with that battering ram destroying KITT (well after that street washer truck sprayed KITT with that chemical) oh and the fake Devin lookalike. Truly Awesome TV.
I loved this as a kid too. It was so awesome and still is. I've been to Universal Studios in California in the late eighties, and probably sat it in this car. I remember sitting in it and you could ask it questions. Super cool as a kid.
As a 48y/o woman, I have to say I LOVED (and still LOVE) this car! So so so nice! I was raised in Cincinnati and actually met David Hasselhoff at a Toys R US When I was about 10! He was doing a meet and greet there! We got to actually shake his hand and as many moments I’ve forgotten at this age, THAT MOMENT is NOT one them! So so cool!
That's a cool memory hands down.
That Was my childhood car and Duke's of Hazards General Lee. That Orange Hemi 1969 Dodge Charger R/T is my favorite car. I love MOPAR. But everybody wants a KITT car from Knight Rider. Awesome review Jay Leno
Everyone? Give me a Bullit Mustang or even the Munster Coach!
Hell yea bro
Another great car! Rumor had it that Steve McQueen had some difficulty keeping up with the 440 Charger with the 390 Mustang GT. Within a year Ford would put the much more potent 428 Cobra Jet engine into the Mustang.
It's in GTA V.
SAME THIS AND THE GENERAL LEE ARE MY CHILDHOOD
I'm glad someone saved KITT, I remember seeing it near the water and talking to other universal studios people in line. I also remember seeing it in the back lot covered in dust and I wish I had the money to buy it. I'm glad this guy bought it and saved it from the wrecking yard
Bless his heart
Such an iconic car. Brings back memories.
I went to universal as a kid and sat in knight rider and talked to KITT. That’s great seeing it again. Awesome! Thank you
Next to the bandit trans am, this is probably one of my most favorite cars from TV. Something about a black Pontiac sports car just looks right to me
My childhood was awesome, Knight Rider among other shows and toy lines. From my childhood I had Night Rider, Ghostbusters, ThunderCats, He-Man, Transformers, GI Joe, streethawk, Dukes of Hazzard, M.A.S.K. and a few others. After I left this comment I realized about 6 hours later that I forgot to mention Voltron. Performance car styling seems to be improving because even the Camaro kind of looks like KITT again even though it's not really a Trans Am but they were generally the same car.
James N me too!
James N Same here. Now they have............uh..... Snapchat. So sad.
BC Bell yeah nowadays people are buried in their cell phones even while they're driving and lot of times they're too busy texting to realize they're about ready to slam into another vehicle. I like my smartphone but I don't like it so much that my face is going to be buried in it every second of my day.
Exactly my childhood too. The quality of toys back then were far better than the thin plastic these days. They had a heft and toughness.
We had a far better upbringing than most kids today, shows that you mentioned I remember fondly... So glad to have watched this one... Never sat in Kitt but I have sat and was driven around in the original Batmobile from the T.V show at a British Airways open day me ol' man took me to, will never forget that beautiful day.
Another awesome video, Jay! I remember the *"Knight Rider"* TV series. It was among my favourite shows growing up, with *"the Dukes of Hazzard,"* coming in at a close second.
Nice thing about the Knight Rider car is you can drive it around town and not get beaten up.
Are you sure about that? I would think that if someone wants your car bad enough, he might be crazy enough to beat you up.
Jason Carpp .Jay Leno is the best man on Blue Planet Earth .I am so happy to see Jay on any video on you tube. I missed his ,,Tonight Show,,
Hi Jay you are great and you garage is the best.It was great idea to have cars collection like yours. ! Cheers ! LOL.
Jan Polubinski I agree. I very much enjoy his videos. ☺
Knight Rider had KITT, Dukes of Hazzard had Catherine Bach in short-shorts. No contest.
Was a 90s kid and this ran during the day on one of the local channels. Grew up on this show. Good times
I sat in that very car when I was 8 or 9 yrs old. I remember it being at Universal Studios Hollywood. Man that is awesome
Jay you should have shocked those guys and brought in the Hoff. hehehe.
I was hoping he would but nah
Lol woulda been classic
Jay was kind enough to give the airtime let alone hunt down and pay Hasslehoff for his appearance.
@@Mike_Muffler Jay is loaded. Im sure money wouldnt have been a issue
@@macksun WHATEVER!!
One of the best episodes of JLG you have made! Thanks for the show and car info! No I’m not a Knight Rider fan but it was as interesting to us as it was to you about the car and it’s use in the TV or Movie! Jay, you really should do more of these “Movie/TV Car” episodes!
The problem is that, as in the Dukes of Hazard, most of the cars were destroyed during filming, or were left to rust after the show was cancelled, so alot of the 'celebrity cars' you see now are reproductions or shade-tree mechanics slap togethers
If I were you I would watch the premiere episode of the next season of Jay Leno's Garage on CNBC... It airs on April 19th and I am pretty sure it is going to be streaming on the CNBC website as well.
Thank you for sharing. I was 12 years old when Knight Rider primers. I actually used the theme song for homework assignment for my av class. Truely a forever memory.
I loved Knight Rider as a kid. I remember watching it every time it was on TV. Even to this day, the TV show is one of my favorite automotive show even though I know that everything about the car is fake. I used to watch this show on TV on the El Ray channel until I changed TV providers which has made it where I can no longer watch the show. Now I watch the show on Netflix. George Barris designed this car and everything he did to this car definitely made the show better. It's cool that this guy has this car. He knows and understands what this car means to a lot of people who grew up watching the show. Even though the show was set up where 1 man can make a difference which at the time no one really thought of until this show became a popular show. This idea is true, even to this day. Jay is a great automotive enthusiast and I wish I had the money and opportunities that he has and the ability to do what he does. Great episode!
mrbratt69 Barris only did the convertible and the Super-Pursuit KITT. Designer Michael Scheffe (Back to the Future DeLorean) was responsible for the original.
It's 0-60 in 0.2 of a second actually
mrbratt69 the 80s would not have been what it was without Knight rider!
mrbratt69 I sat in kitt in 86..saw David to
Jeff Chabotte ok, I thought George built the original Kitt, still cool information to know
Knight rider, Skywalker, Airwolf, Wraith, Dukes of hazard, Magnum P.i, Smokey and the bandit, damn we had cool rides on t.v
Best shows were from the 80s. Today it's total crap
That ghostbusters wagon is fire. Harold and maude jag is fire. I can name some icons
hardcastle and mccormick, fall guy, chips,
Dee Eight StreetHawk? That music... ❤️ it
Dont forget the white testarossa from miami vice...
Jay Leno, you cannot guess how much I am jealous of you, sitting and driving KITT, since the KITT is my childhood's biggest dream.
I love seeing history I grew up in . Brings out the kid in me . Knight Ryder was more futuristic than we knew back then . I’m 54 years old and I watch all the best tv ever , from the 70’s and 80’s . Keeps me young !!
This last week I was planning on watching knight rider again, very NICE
chevy no coincidence 😁
I was born in the 90 but this show was a big part of my childhood too.
*THIS IS AN AMAZING VIDEO...BRINGS BACK SOME GREAT MEMORIES....THANKS JAY FOR CREATING THIS VIDEO!!!!*
They just found the original trailer to go with the GMC prime mover they already had... I can't believe it, they did some seriously amazing detective work and it's definitely the right trailer. I thought it would have been scrapped for sure, truck trailers rarely last that long.
An important piece of my childhood saved, great work.
Pawn stars: "the best I can do is 500 bucks"
LOL!!!
🤣🤣🤣
and I'm takingall the risk, I have to pack it, display it..
"but it still has the original paint and tires". "Okay I can do $550, but not a penny more".
😂😂😂😂😂
I LOVED Knight Rider as a kid. I asked my parents if I could change my name to Micheal Knight. I'm still so mad they didn't let me do it :P LOL- this car is soooo cheesy, but it's good nostalgia. It'd be fun if someone did a KITT Siri update and installed it in the car so you could talk to it.
Pontiac Firebirds actually came stock with the oil slick, although it wasn't user-selectable.
blurglide I believe Garmin did make a limited addition Knight Rider GPS System that uses William Daniels Voice.
What movie car isn't cheesy?
Beautiful and timeless car. I came around after Knight Rider aired and never saw re-runs growing up that I recall. I was introduced to this car for the first time in Benchwarmers of all things and right after that, I started digging into just what KITT and Knight Rider were. The show has such a wide array of ideas pulled from a lot of different places: westerns, sci-fi, detective dramas, buddy cop films, spy movies, action movies, superheroes, comedy. All of this is then thrown into one big melting pot and somehow it all came together beautifully. But it did, and it all worked because at its core, the show was about a man and his car going out into the world and doing their part to help others and make the world a better place.
On a funnier note, the commentary about the holes drilled into the floor of this particular car reminded me that in the pilot, Michael Knight swears KITT's interior 'looks like Darth Vader's bathroom' the first time he gets in and looks at it. Kinda comes full circle, huh? 😂
Thank you, Mr. Leno. Knight Rider is one of my favorite shows. I have seen every episode of the original. I have seen both movies and both sequels. This is a show that can be redone right now.
Even today, I find Knight Rider so ridiculous and yet so earnest in its silliness, that I find it totally entertaining
So were a bunch of that era of show such as The Six Million Dollar Man, Airwolf, Wonder Woman and so forth but Knight Rider cantered about the car (and William Daniels) more than the people...
As a kid, my favourite shows were good guys stopping bad guys, and you loved them for it.
Great to see Jay back in the denim shirt!
I grew up watching Speed Racer, Speed Buggy, The Saint, Wacky Races, The California Kid, Starsky and Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey and the Bandit among the others. Cars used to be so integral to the style of TV and movies.
Ha ha, Speed Buggy! Nobody ever mentions that one. It was Scooby Doo with a dune buggy instead of a dog.
SoundOfYourDestiny There is a comic book by DC Comics where Speed Buggy races The Flash.
Yeah,try that with a Toyota Corolla...
I have to admit I sat in this car at Universal! Glad to know it is still around! Loved that car!
After school it was knight rider , air wolf , and Tom and jerry for me.
Yup, Knight Rider, Airwolf, A-Team, Fall Guy, and The Real Ghostbusters made my childhood complete.
Airwolf was awesome
Don’t forget Magnum, P.I., too!
Gi Joe, transformers,......
Don't forget Automan's Lambo
When I was a kid and watched Knight Rider the Turbo Boost scenes were always my favorites ones.
Yeyyy knight rider.... my favorite show years ago.... 😉👍🍻
I got to sit in one as a kid and have the photo. Loved that moment. Love how these guys have fun with enjoying their geek over this car.
I sat in that car in Universal Studios over the water when I was 15 years old. They only let you talk to it for about 3 minutes and then the next person would sit in it.
did you pee in it?
I sat in it too when I was 5 or 6 years old in 1986 or 87. I remember asking KITT where Michael was and Kitt said he was visiting his mother. I have pictures somewhere. It was really shiny sitting on top of the water.
I think this is the car I sat in when I was like 10! I was born in 1976, and I remember this car from universal studios.
I've sat in it too. Probably a few times over different visits to Universal when I was a kid. It was such an awesome exhibit. Universal was so much better back in the day
hmmm were you wearing diapers?
If this was the display car at Universal then I got to be near it when my dad took me back in 1995, I have a picture he took of me, it was at night, but you can see the nose of the car hovering over the water and the KITT display sign.
I wondered where that car went after they took the display off. I heard Universal parked it on the back lot and it the sun and water rusted it away they didn't care for it.
Thought we'd never see it again, I'm glad Joe is as big a die hard fan as I was growing up watching the re-runs in the 90s. And it's restored and running again.
I sat in that car at Universal, like some other people here in the comments...and before you ask, no, I didn't pee. I specifically remember asking...as a 12 year old or so, 'how much G-Force is Michael exposed to during Turbo Boost?', to which he replied 'Michael is not exposed to G-Forces during Turbo Boost'. I wanted to scream at him for not understanding logic, even though I watched the completely ridiculous show that was pure make-believe, and wanted it to be real. The car and show, as a kid, was the coolest thing on the planet. Prior to that, I saw it taped several times when I was very young in Burbank, I was even on a side street where they built two giant ramps to simulate a Turbo Boost scene, plus, I got to meet the stunt driver and all. It was impressive to see that car fly through the air, even if it was only maybe 20 feet.
But according to Joe, the guy in the car with Jay, they had to drill holes in the floor for the pee to drip out...therefore you probably SAT in pee... ;-)
That I cannot deny.
we had holes in our car but to let the rainwater get out :D:D:D:D
PASSIVE LASER RESTRAINT SYSTEM BROOOOOO hahahaha
i think we've all sat in that car. i have the pictures too prove it :)
I was 10 when the show came out, so the perfect age to fall in love with the car. I used to have the large plastic toy with the action figure, which I remember being a very nice toy that looked like the real thing. The back license plate was actually a rocker switch that would trigger a KITT sound bite. I also had some kind of "blueprint" of the car on my bedroom wall for years, and I remember watching the show and and doing a drawing of the dashboard (this was before being able to record the show, so I had no still pictures to draw from). Great memories from an inspiring show!