would the '69 charger be an icon if there was no DOH?

cavemanno1 · April 30, 2011, 04:27:37 PM

would it be as populas and well know as it is today if they never made the DOH?i know i wouldn't know the car if it wasn't for the show!not an other dukes topic just wanna know what you think!would be more left around and cheaper to buy or people would leave them to rott!

Brock Samson · April 30, 2011, 04:33:35 PM

The message body was left empty

PrisonHack · April 30, 2011, 04:46:02 PM

I don't think they would be near as popular. I probably wouldn't even know/care what a charger was if it wasn't for the DOH.

cavemanno1 · April 30, 2011, 04:47:39 PM

nop,its not about the dukes,there are more than enough topics about that!

bull · April 30, 2011, 05:29:18 PM

Oh jeez. This guy's giving Richard Cranium a run for his money.

stripedelete · April 30, 2011, 05:59:59 PM

Not one reply to the attached thread said the equivalent to, "My attraction to the Charger was via DOH only and therefore I would have never have been a Mopar fan." In other words, if DOH was such agreat influence, wouldn't there have been more answers along that line?
So one could answer "yes" to your question and sight the thread as empirical data. (does that make sense or am I taking a leap in logic and should just have another beer?)

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,80138.0.html

I would say "yes", I considered it iconic before DOH.

resq302 · April 30, 2011, 06:29:24 PM

Actually for me, I fell in love with the car (general lee) by watching the TV show. As I got older, I was drawn more to the body lines than actually what the general lee was. Granted, it was an iconic "character" of the show and every general lee is a "1969" Dodge Charger, but not every 1969 Dodge charger is a general lee!

jb666 · April 30, 2011, 06:32:56 PM

Oh here we go again.....

Where's Richard, I'll grab my ankles

greenpigs · April 30, 2011, 06:45:18 PM

It is the search function go ahead and try it.

Brock Lee · April 30, 2011, 06:52:26 PM

I think it should be the other way around. The quality of that program was so atrocious, the Charger redeemed it (barely). Had they gone with anything else, I feel that show might have lasted 2 seasons and been long forgotten about.

JT01 · April 30, 2011, 07:14:34 PM

Im a huge Dukes fan and Charger fan but I think it depends on the age group. Some of the older guys that was around when these 69s was new and seen them all the time will say no people around my age 38 when the show came on may say yes because I never seen a 69 till the show and only seen 2 69 Chargers in person until the mid 90s when I started going to mopar events. I think the Dukes helped some but if there was no Dukes the 69 is one of the alltime best looking muscle cars.

freddyd02 · April 30, 2011, 07:33:07 PM

The 68 is an icon and has been used in many films.. So even if there was no DOH the 69 still would have been used in movies and tv shows and still be as popular as it is today.. its even drawn in the cartoon "Venture Bros" on cartoon network.. the badass body guard drives one.

freddyd02 · April 30, 2011, 07:37:56 PM

And his name is "Brock Samson" too

Back N Black · April 30, 2011, 08:22:40 PM

The Dukes did not do it for me, even at 12 years old the DOH was too cheesy for me.

Tilar · April 30, 2011, 08:26:54 PM

I wanted a 68 Charger before Bo and Luke ever went through puberty.

terrible one · April 30, 2011, 09:11:39 PM

I never watched the Dukes until AFTER I got my Charger. It was Bullitt that did it for me. Granted that was a '68, even better

Sabre · April 30, 2011, 10:12:02 PM

Quote from: resq302 on April 30, 2011, 06:29:24 PM
Actually for me, I fell in love with the car (general lee) by watching the TV show. As I got older, I was drawn more to the body lines than actually what the general lee was. Granted, it was an iconic "character" of the show and every general lee is a "1969" Dodge Charger, but not every 1969 Dodge charger is a general lee!

Same for me, the show introduced me to the second generation Charger. It was that show and that car that made me look for Charger (toys) when I was a kid, Chargers in other shows, and movies. I wanted anything and everything about Chargers because of that show and the General Lee.

az69rtcharger · April 30, 2011, 11:20:59 PM

I had my Charger before the DOH, for me it was seeing it in Bullet then again in Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, so I bought my first 69 Charger in 1976, to me I always hated it when people would say Hey its a "Dukes of Hazard Car" I hated the DOH show when it came out, it stereotyped Chargers and Charger owners as being "Hicks" and "Red Necks"

Ghoste · May 01, 2011, 06:38:07 AM

Would it be? It was already iconic BEFORE that show.

HeavyFuel · May 01, 2011, 08:20:22 AM

Probably more so.

It's like asking if Clint Eastwood would be an icon without "Any Which Way But Loose?"

SFRT · May 01, 2011, 11:45:54 AM

It would be for me. I dont think I have ever seen an episode of that stupid show. The Charger for me has always been the ultimate american musclecar design.

Piston_Freddy · May 01, 2011, 11:48:57 AM

Quote from: SFRT on May 01, 2011, 11:45:54 AM
I dont think I have ever seen an episode of that stupid show.

Mike DC · May 02, 2011, 01:35:09 AM

DOH's producers chose the Charger in 1978 because it was already iconic.

cavemanno1 · May 02, 2011, 02:05:25 AM

i was born in '79 and 10000 miles from you guys!i guess it comes down to an age group and country then!i didn't know it was already an icon and seeing all the general lee clones i thought that the show made it well known!either you like the show or not you can't deny its influense!like everything else its got a good and bad side as well!wrecking all those cars was a crime even more so they were already an iconic make!

Kern Dog · May 02, 2011, 02:33:21 AM

People that didnt like the Dukes show MUST have the sense of humor of a rock. I hate dealing with people that are serious all of the time. Store clerks, waitstaff, DMV employees. These flatliners must have very little joy in their lives. If not the Dukes slapstick humor, what then? I find Monty Python type stuff annoying, but I dont insult it. Maybe the serious types have no control of what they find funny. That is very sad for them.

The original topic? No, the car certainly IS more popular because of the show. 147 episodes, 2 TV movies , one large scale Hollywood movie and maybe a couple more that went straight to video.... The car was and IS as popular as it is because of the show. It is a great car on its own merit, but the Dukes gave it worldwide exposure.

Brock Lee · May 02, 2011, 02:51:59 AM

Quote from: Red 70 R/T 493 on May 02, 2011, 02:33:21 AM
People that didnt like the Dukes show MUST have the sense of humor of a rock. I hate dealing with people that are serious all of the time. Store clerks, waitstaff, DMV employees. These flatliners must have very little joy in their lives. If not the Dukes slapstick humor, what then? I find Monty Python type stuff annoying, but I dont insult it. Maybe the serious types have no control of what they find funny. That is very sad for them.

The original topic? No, the car certainly IS more popular because of the show. 147 episodes, 2 TV movies , one large scale Hollywood movie and maybe a couple more that went straight to video.... The car was and IS as popular as it is because of the show. It is a great car on its own merit, but the Dukes gave it worldwide exposure.

Lets see... Dukes is a comedy and Monty Python is annoying. Mmmkay!

ChargerSG · May 02, 2011, 05:44:46 AM

Doh isent my favorit serie but i love Monty python

I think the Doh is a American thing, it never runned in Sweden that i know. The first Charger i saw on tv was Bullet, and it was woow

and when my father bought a 1969 trackpack RT/SE in 75 the goal was set since it is the best Charger

So no, here in Sweden anyway

Chris G. · May 02, 2011, 05:53:41 AM

DOH has Zero to do with the value of the '69 Charger.

Ghoste · May 02, 2011, 07:06:48 AM

Huh? Some of the funniest posts I've ever read on this site were by people who don't like the DOH. I don't understand how the things that different people find funny have to do with whether or not the DOH made the 69 Charger iconic.

UH60L · May 02, 2011, 01:44:08 PM

Quote from: stripedelete on April 30, 2011, 05:59:59 PM
Not one reply to the attached thread said the equivalent to, "My attraction to the Charger was via DOH only and therefore I would have never have been a Mopar fan." In other words, if DOH was such agreat influence, wouldn't there have been more answers along that line?
So one could answer "yes" to your question and sight the thread as empirical data. (does that make sense or am I taking a leap in logic and should just have another beer?)

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,80138.0.html

I would say "yes", I considered it iconic before DOH.

Well, one of the replies to this thread will...right now.

I was born in 1970. I didn't know what a mopar was, or what a dodge charger was, until I saw the show when I was 9 years old. It was completely because of the show that I became a mopar guy (though more charger guy than mopar guy). If it had not been for that show, I would not own a '69 charger right now. (I'd probably own a mustang because my wife really loves those....)

Many people won't admit that the show influenced them to be charger guys because they are afraid of the stigma of the confederate navy jack (flag) that was on the roof of the car. Even though that show was in no way racist; it promoted helping your neighbors, no matter who they were or what they looked like.

The funny thing is, when I was driving my car, before it went in for body work, it was painted all white, and 90% of the people who asked me if I was gonna make a general lee were black. Not one of them had any heartache about it. One black kid that worked at the nearest chevron station would always ask "how the general was doin" every time I stopped for gas.

But hey, what do I know. I'm just living my life, you guys ave "empirical data" about my life, so I must be wrong....

Oh, and as for the original question, I think they would still be popular cars, but there might be fewer of them around.

UH60L · May 02, 2011, 01:58:32 PM

Quote from: SFRT on May 01, 2011, 11:45:54 AM
It would be for me. I dont think I have ever seen an episode of that stupid show. The Charger for me has always been the ultimate american musclecar design.

I always equate comments like this to little kids who say they don't like onions. Mom "why don't you like onions?" Kid "they're yucky" Mom "have you ever tried eating them?" Kid "no" Mom "then how do you know they're yucky?" Kid "they just are, and I'm not eating them and you can't make me!"

I have never watched a single minute of the "2003 to whenever" attempt at remaking the tv series "battlestar galactica". Thus I can not honestly tell you if that show was "stupid", or if the directing sucked, or if the characters were overplayed, or anything else about it. What I can honestly say is that I have no desire to watch it based on the information that the Sci-Fi channel released ahead of time about the new show. (and comments from friend who watched it)

But hey, keep hating them onions...

UH60L · May 02, 2011, 02:16:30 PM

Quote from: Mike DC (formerly miked) on May 02, 2011, 01:35:09 AM

DOH's producers chose the Charger in 1978 because it was already iconic.

They picked the car because the car in the show was supposed to be a race car, a "stock car". The charger would have been an easy pick in 1978/79 because of it's use in NASCAR less than 10 years prior.

Also, the show and it's inspirational movie were based on a real life moonshine runner, Jerry Rushing. The car he used in real life was "a modified 1958 Chrysler 300D capable of 140 mph", so they needed something that would live up to that, without the fins.

1969chargerrtse · May 02, 2011, 02:31:58 PM

Just this weekend two guys that saw my car made Duke jokes. It kinda bugs me but I know the GL was loved by most so I let it go.

7chargers · May 02, 2011, 02:41:30 PM

My

is that maybe not for everyone but for me it made me fall in love with the Charger from when I was young boy. I continued to love the car and even more becuase they were not like your average 60's mustang that alot of the kids had in high school. So when you saw a Charger in the wild it was a big deal. I didnt even get my first ride in a Charger until a few years back and it was everything and more. Well as the years went on my love fell more for the car not nessarly the Orange paint and the 01 but as luck would have it I stumbled on a 69 Charger GENERAL LEE and it's a blast.. My kids still watch re-runs on CMT and love when dad take them out in the car they see on T.V just like I thought it was cool back in the early 80's. As far as the ones that disrespect there show and can't stand the publicity the 2nd gen Chargers get because of the show/movie I say good for you! Your exercizing your right to be an American and voice your opionion and me knowing I did 3 tours to preserve those right didnt go to waist!!!

SRT-68 · May 02, 2011, 03:00:37 PM

Quote from: terrible one on April 30, 2011, 09:11:39 PM
I never watched the Dukes until AFTER I got my Charger. It was Bullitt that did it for me. Granted that was a '68, even better

That movie had much more effect on me than the DOH. I have always been a Mopar fan and always loved the Charger.

Patronus · May 02, 2011, 03:04:32 PM

yawn...

Mike DC · May 02, 2011, 04:04:06 PM

QuoteThey picked the car because the car in the show was supposed to be a race car, a "stock car". The charger would have been an easy pick in 1978/79 because of it's use in NASCAR less than 10 years prior.

Also, the show and it's inspirational movie were based on a real life moonshine runner, Jerry Rushing. The car he used in real life was "a modified 1958 Chrysler 300D capable of 140 mph", so they needed something that would live up to that, without the fins.

Yeah, I know the GL's backstory.

I'm just saying the producers didn't make the Charger a great car. They picked it because it already was a great car.

Having said that, IMHO the General Lee certainly didn't hurt the Charger's popularity.

When's the last time you heard someone say "I wouldn't want some mullet-head redneck car like a 69 Charger"? It doesn't happen. The DOH helped the Charger's image in some people's eyes but I don't think it really hurt the car's image in the eyes of other people. It's too easy to remember the car in Bullitt where it had such a different mojo.

(But the effect of "Smokey and the Bandit" on the image of the late-70s Trans Am, on the other hand . . . )

G-man · May 02, 2011, 06:24:23 PM

The fact is, it IS more popular due to it. Irrelivant of who may think what, thats a fact.

A lot of 'non' car people know the Charger because of DOH, Fact. Thats how media advertising works. Do you think Dodge would have let there car be advertised that way if the whole world already knew how good a Charger was? Even they themself knew the power of advertising. Like it or not, the fact is it is more popular because of it. If DOH was never made, then many people (non car people) would just think its an old beat up car (the very thing it was back then, just an old car). Nobody knew these cars would rise in price back then.

It doesnt say NOBODY would care about the charger if it wasnt for DOH but the fact is many people that wouldnt know 2 cents about it now do due to DOH which means by fact it is more known/popular. Just go to the car shows and you will understand. Its a concept unavoidable, thats just how it is.

Back N Black · May 02, 2011, 07:21:01 PM

Whats up with the GL fans? why so sensitive when discussing the GL. Get over it!

BIGBLCK11 · May 02, 2011, 07:51:21 PM

Quote from: UH60L on May 02, 2011, 01:44:08 PM

The funny thing is, when I was driving my car, before it went in for body work, it was painted all white, and 90% of the people who asked me if I was gonna make a general lee were black. Not one of them had any heartache about it. One black kid that worked at the nearest chevron station would always ask "how the general was doin" every time I stopped for gas.

I was talking to Skip68 about the flag, even on the front plate for my Charger. He can chime in on this if he wants (although not a post), about having his GL back in Tennessee. The ONLY people that had a problem with the flag were white. Although, I am not saying it is keeping anyone from admitting the show's influence or not.

SFRT · May 03, 2011, 12:38:22 AM

Actually, I love onions.

SFRT · May 03, 2011, 12:46:36 AM

see the thing is...lets say your a fan of DOH and got yerself a Charger because of it....what if....they had used a different car...say a Mustang or a Camaro or Chevelle....

would you guys be building a General Lee Chevelle? or Camaro?

TiMopar · May 03, 2011, 05:46:01 AM

Quote from: Ghoste on May 01, 2011, 06:38:07 AM
Would it be? It was already iconic BEFORE that show.

What he said.

bill440rt · May 03, 2011, 07:44:19 AM

Well, good morning Punxsutawney!! It's Groundhog Day... again.

SRT-68 · May 03, 2011, 09:20:47 AM

Pretty much anybody in the world can ID Mickey Mouse, McDonalds and the General Lee. Just like any car guy in the world is well aware of what a '71 Hemi 'Cuda is. Despite my obvious bias towards Mopar cars, the Dodge Charger is the best looking car from the muscle car era. DOH, Bullitt, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry just made it a superstar. Like others have said, look what Smokey and the bandit did for the trans am.

aussiemuscle · May 05, 2011, 05:40:46 PM

Quote from: Brock Lee on May 02, 2011, 02:51:59 AM
Quote from: Red 70 R/T 493 on May 02, 2011, 02:33:21 AM
People that didnt like the Dukes show MUST have the sense of humor of a rock. I hate dealing with people that are serious all of the time. Store clerks, waitstaff, DMV employees. These flatliners must have very little joy in their lives. If not the Dukes slapstick humor, what then? I find Monty Python type stuff annoying, but I dont insult it. Maybe the serious types have no control of what they find funny. That is very sad for them.

The original topic? No, the car certainly IS more popular because of the show. 147 episodes, 2 TV movies , one large scale Hollywood movie and maybe a couple more that went straight to video.... The car was and IS as popular as it is because of the show. It is a great car on its own merit, but the Dukes gave it worldwide exposure.

Lets see... Dukes is a comedy and Monty Python is annoying. Mmmkay!

To be fair, Python is british, which have a slightly different view of 'funny', british tend to be more 'wordy' in their humour.

my earliest memory of the Charger is matchbox Snake Dragster

i think every range has it's 'best' model, 69 for the 2nd gen charger, so it'll always be the most desirable. I'm sure if it was for Dukes, more 'average' people wouldn't know one charger from the other.

Brock Lee · May 05, 2011, 09:29:20 PM

Monty Python does at times go over the heads of some that don't like thinking with their comedy. However it seems most that I have known that don't like it either can't relate with the types portrayed, can't laugh at themselves, or have a problem with Python picking on some of their ideas and/or beliefs.

Dukes of Hazzard was NOT a comedy. It was an action/adventure show with comedic elements. However, I will be the first to say that looking at the acting and some of the crap they tried to pass off in that show, it truly was a comedy. Just like all the horror movies of years past are looked back on as "funny".

UH60L · May 05, 2011, 11:58:05 PM

Quote from: SFRT on May 03, 2011, 12:46:36 AM
see the thing is...lets say your a fan of DOH and got yerself a Charger because of it....what if....they had used a different car...say a Mustang or a Camaro or Chevelle....

would you guys be building a General Lee Chevelle? or Camaro?

Good point.

Actaully, yes, I probably would own whatever car they had used in the show. That show is the reason that I kept wanting a '68 or '69 charger since 1979. It took me until 2004 to finally get one. In between, I finished high school, got married, joined the Army, went to places all around the world, had 2 kids, got out of the Army and joined the National Guard, got a full time job back in my home town, bought a house, and all of the intimate and inticate details involved in all of those things. Yet, all throughout my life, I have wanted a charger. Thank goodness for e-bay, otherwise I might still be looking.

So, yeah, if they had used a chevelle, then I would probably be chevy guy with a chevelle in the garage right now. (maybe it would have been cheaper to restore/get parts...) If they had used a mustang, I would have gotten one along time ago...my wife has a fascination with old mustangs.

UH60L · May 06, 2011, 12:38:02 AM

Quote from: Back N Black on May 02, 2011, 07:21:01 PM
Whats up with the GL fans? why so sensitive when discussing the GL. Get over it!

The same could be said about non-fans.... some people tend to be posting things which appear to be nothing more than a troll to start an argument.

Sometimes it seems there is no in-between, people on here are either:

1) a fan of the show at one time or another and see nothing wrong with someone taking a car they own and making it look like the General Lee...

or

2) never a fan (or in some cases supposedly never watched the show) and therefore hate the very thought of the show, any mention of the show, or any thread discussing any topic related to the show concerning the dodge charger or more specifically the '69 model.

Maybe we should talk about the much beloved bullit chase secene. You know, the one where, to an average person who wasn't a mopar fan, it looked like a mustang could keep up with a '68 charger, that said mustang could handle all those jumps as well as a '68 charger, and that quite frankly used the same beetle so many times that VW got better product placement than Ford or Dodge.

(I remember reading somewhere that the mustangs had to have their suspension repaired after nearly every "jump" going down that steep road, and that they had some mechanical problems as well, but the chargers withstood almost everything the stunt guys threw at them)

I like the bullit chase too, but let's be realistic, to the average person watching that movie, even today, it makes the'68 charger look like it couldn't outrun a pony car. How is that a good thing?

Now on the other hand, a certain tv show portrayed the charger as a car that was almost superhero like, could jump over or outrun almost anything, and quite frankly the charger was the most popular star of the show. Regardless of the show's stories, plots or setting, I would think that the tv show did more good for the car than the bullit chase scene did.

It cause me to spend 25 years looking and finally get a charger in 2004.

I set two life-long goals for myself when I was a kid. One was to own and drive a '69 charger. The other was to own, and fly, an F4U Corsair. Gee, I wonder why that's my favorite WWII fighter plane.....Baaaaa....Baaaaa....Baaaaa (cue air raid siren).

One down, one to go.

News:

would the '69 charger be an icon if there was no DOH?