If the General Lee had been a Chevelle instead of a Charger

[Ghoste]

If they had used a Chevelle or Torino instead of a Charger would you still have become a Mopar person you think or did the DOH imprint itself on you that whatever car the Duke boys drove that was the direction you were bound?

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

Mother Mopar has always built some cool cars, but the DOH has left a serious impression on so many... 

[Drache]

I mostly grew up on my dad's stories of him and his cousins with my dad's charger long before I ever watched the Dukes. DOH just clinched it though.

[Cooter]

Charger is a Charger and a Chevelle is still a Chevelle. I have owned/own both, and both offer different things. Although, the Charger being chosen to be the most iconic car ever created, is just a stroke of genius, and icing on the cake.

Richard Petty drove plenty 1964-1974 plymouths, but doesn't make me wanna go out and buy one, paint it blue with a huge "43" on each door like the DOH does most people. It's the popularity of the show, how it connects with so many that draws folks to the DOH..Of course a good looking car doesn't hurt either. I'm gonna say doesn't matter what type of car it was, the General Lee would always be the General Lee for my generation.

[doctor4766]

It's hard to say if I would have liked the DOH with any other car... possibly. But it was how it was.
Maybe someone could photoshop a Torino, Chevelle or Camaro dressed up as a GL. Might have looked just as cool?
No smart cars, no tractors and no Capris though...

[Charger-Bodie]

Its hard to answer that question honestly. Chevelles have some cool features, they just dont have it all. They look heavy, if you get what I mean. The Charger looks lean and mean.

[TheGhost]

Never really been a Chevy fan.  Don't think a flag on the roof and numbers on the door would have changed that.

[paironines]

My mom had a 69 Charger and my uncle a 68 at the same time, so its safe to say that I'd wind up in a Charger.

[JT01]

I grew up in a camaro family which i own a 71 SS but the Dukes is what got me into Mopars

[Drache]

Now if my dad hadn't of rolled his Chevelle end over end almost killing himself and a friend... he never would have bought the Charger and I might have grown up a Chevy Boy....

[Old Moparz]

If they had used a Chevelle or Torino instead of a Charger would you still have become a Mopar person you think or did the DOH imprint itself on you that whatever car the Duke boys drove that was the direction you were bound?

I'd still be into Mopars, but I'd start an orange paint factory since there were trillions more Chebbies out there that people would be turning into Generals & I'd be rich.   

[41husk]

Chevells are cool but they don't have the lines like a 2nd gen Charger.  I sat in cudakens garage one night stairing at his 69.  The next day I was on line looking for a 2nd gen.  More addicting than crack

[Ghoste]

This is a surprise then because all of those topics where people are going on and on and on and on about how the GL is the greatest thing that ever happened to Chargers and how the 300 sacrificed for the show pales alongide the the thousands of Chargers that are only on the road because of the DOH runs counter to what I am reading here. 

[resq302]

I grew up watching the show but fell in love with the car cause of the sexy lines of it, not because it could fly through the air with the greatest of ease.  (its the landing that needed work)   

[Mikesmoparperformance]

The lines of the car the beauty of it did it for me. If it was a Chevelle or Torino Then i still was a mopar fan. But would no the Charger a bit later on. When I saw the show I thought that car i must have!

[Mike DC]

 
Plain and simple - I got hooked on the car because of the show.

But it might never have hooked me as hard if it hadn't been such a gorgeous car.  Hollywood is all about visual images.  I might want a Vanishing Point replica a bit more if it had been a white 1970 Charger R/T instead of the Chally.  IMHO the Challys don't look quite as good as Chargers.   

[bobs66440]

I was always a Chevy guy up until I got my Charger a couple of years ago. Chrysler products always seemed a little odd to me I still do like many Chevys, but I've gained a true respect for Mopars, and I love my Charger more than any other car I've had for sure.

The show had no effect on me at all. For the most part, I didn't really like it.  

[Ghoste]

At the risk of insulting the GL fans though Bob, I would consider you to be more of a mainstream Charger fan.  It's the DOH Charger lover that I asked this question towards.
And it sounds like trolling as I read it back but it isnt, it was a question that arose in my little brain from a number of comments in a variety of threads.

[41husk]

I don't know the 70 Challengers look pretty sweet and could be had in convertible, RT, SE and TA.  It had a mean stance and all drive train options. 70 was by far the best year for the Challenger.  I know I can sit and look at them both for hours on end, and there is nothing like putting the top down on those perfect days

[rarefish]

My comments might surprise some, but I never really watched or cared for the show much when it was on. When I watched it, it was for Daisy Duke. I never was really interested in the GL and always thought of it as just a TV prop. During the mid 80's when GL's copies started showing up at car shows, I thought how embarrassing it would be to admit that you owned such a car and who in there right mind would do such a thing to a Charger. In those days if you were 15 and under you might get excited about seeing one, but any one older would usual laugh at the sight of one. I know people today who still do.

[charger_fan_4ever]

Always had a sweet spot for 67 camaros. Hugger orange with the flag on the roof I could see it.

Mind you it was more the bullit movie and DMCL that got me hooked. I watched the DOH as a kid at the time. Still watch it. Cool it was a charger, but I liked the show itself. Was sad to see them wrecked.

[Brock Lee]

I was a fan of the car first and foremost when this show was new. A Chevelle would not have been as cool to me. Why? There were two on every block. I would look for Chargers because I loved the General Lee. Usually I saw 1968 and 1970's, which were close, but not quite the same. Even then, they were only something I saw here and there, not daily. The Charger was a little more elusive because they were not all over the place. At that time Chevelle's and Nova's were literally everywhere. A Chevelle would have been no big deal at all as they were not special. And there were many other models using the exact same body watering things down.

[Indygenerallee]

I am a Mopar guy first and foremost, My last name was a Chrysler,Dodge,Plymouth dealership! Mopar is in my blood and it will never go anywhere I loved the Dukes as a kid but the 69 Charger is a 69 Charger one of the baddest musclecars ever built imo, to myself getting one was like laying my hands on the holy grail!

[Kern Dog]

If the show had used a Gm or a Ford, yeah... things would have been different. The Dukes would have been doing engine swaps every other episode, running down to Cooters trailer park for advice. He'd stop cooking crystal meth for a few minutes to give them advice as well as a long, paranoid rant about intrusive government and surveilance implants that were placed into his brain when he slept.....

I remember seeing Chargers before the show, but TV really cemented the image into my brain. I DO give the show credit for the popularity of the car.

[Fred]

The lines of the Charger did it for me 

[XS29L]

If the dukes drove a chevelle Rossco would have caught Bo and Luke FOR SURE !!   

[Plum Crazy 68]

Several of my friends had Chevelles because they grew on trees in the Eighties, and they certainly could have crashed more.  DOH might still be on TV today because there are a lot of Chevelles!

[mauve66]

i was into mopars way before ever seeing DOH, watching petty on tv in 73-74 and my dad owning a 69 RR (73-74) did it for me, he had a 67 stang before that (66-73)and i can hardly remember it at all

when i finally saw the DOH in the late 70's it was only because of a girl i was interested in.................

actually a RR is still my fav but i can't afford 2 toys.................

[bull]

It's hard to say but I doubt it. There were lots of popular show cars when I was a kid but none resonated with me like the Charger. Had the Charger been the choice of James Rockford or one of the Simon brothers I probably would have felt the same about it. On the other hand I wonder if the show had been as popular had they picked something else. Doubtful. The 69 Charger just really seems to fit that role.

I imagine it's like asking someone who's experianced love at first sight if it mattered that it took place at the grocery store instead of the dance. Probably not so much where and when as it matters how.

[General_01]

I was a year away from being a Camaro guy. My sister was buying a '67 with a 6 cylinder in it from our cousin. She gave her a down payment, but decided she didn't like the car. I was going to try and save up(I was 14 at the time) and buy it. Our cousin eventually showed up and took the car home since she found another buyer.

[Ghoste]

I had thought of the question as a kind of chicken or egg for the GL fans but it sort of spun into another thing.  Which is cool because that's how conversation should go.  I'll just have to keep wondering I guess.

[General_01]

Good question Ghoste, but tough to answer for me. I liked all the driving shows when I was a kid. The General, KITT, Starsky's Torino, Magnum's Ferrari, Rockford's Firebird, etc., etc. were all cars I wanted to have. The only one of the bunch I did get was the GL. Maybe because I already liked Chargers. Guess we will never know since we can't go back in time and do it.

Anybody got Doc Brown's DeLorean so we can go back in time and create a parallel universe and see?

[Fred]

It was never the show that influenced me. I loved them long before the show was born.

[bobs66440]

Good question Ghoste, but tough to answer for me. I liked all the driving shows when I was a kid. The General, KITT, Starsky's Torino, Magnum's Ferrari, Rockford's Firebird, etc., etc. were all cars I wanted to have. The only one of the bunch I did get was the GL. Maybe because I already liked Chargers.  

Yeah, try to find a Torino that isn't rusted away now. They are very rare in any condition. I'm not a big Ford fan specifically, but that car on that show looked really cool to me.

[c00nhunterjoe]

The show introduced me to the car but I've grown to love it for many of its other features besides the orange paint and confederate flag. Once I bought my car the true appreciation for the charger shined. The lines are incredible. Its in a league of its own compared to other 60's cars.

As for the chevelle question. I'm sure I would have still liked the show no matter what car was used. A chevelle is a fun car to drive but it doesn't have the lines

[Bobby41909]

I was introduced to the Charger by the DOH.  As a kid I fell in love with the hero car but as I got older it was the lines and style that drew me back to find one to restore.  Sure they could have used a different car but I doubt it would have been so popular.  Let's not forget Torino's were jumping street hills during that time and the Bandit was jumping bridges.  Sure they have a following but its a ton smaller than the DOH...IMO.  For me its the Charger as a General and not the shows plot or acting...lol

I wouldn't call myself a Mopar guy either even though I have a 69 Charger and an 09 Challenger.  I love the lines on those car designs.  I find most (not all) other mopars lacking.  I also have a 69 Camaro for the same reason but again other Chevy's don't do anything for me.  I guess I am just an odd duck.  I am definetly not a Brand loyal guy.  Design crap and put my favorite company logo on it and it's still crap to me.

[Joshua]

My Charger was the family car for a few years groing up.....DOH had nothing to do with it.....
But I did watch the hell out of it at the time.....

[Dino]

If it was a chevelle then we would have watched that orange car do all the fancy driving and jumping.  It would still have been immensely popular.  Or do you think everyone that watched the show loved chargers more than any other car?  Doubtful. T

I watched S&H to see the Torino burn the tires, but it's a pretty lame car and I wouldn't buy one if it was half priced.  I just wanted to see a car do something spectacular, nowadays we're too pc to show that on tv.

I love the charger because of what it is, the best looking muscle car ever built.  I would still own one if it never was shown on tv, that's just how it is.

[BIGBLCK11]

For me, the General Lee was cool because it is a Charger, not a Charger is cool because it was the General Lee.

[1974dodgecharger]

The lines of the Charger did it for me 

X2 until they released the cordova I was losing it with the 3rd gen already...though.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

The DOH TV show had nothing to do with my interest in the Dodge Charger. In fact back in the day I was annoyed with the show because I knew their stunts were destroying Chargers.
I remember thinking they should be using Chevrolets not Chargers for he11's sake.

[UH60L]

I was born in 1970, and honestly didn't know what a charger was until I saw the Dukes.  I'd seen a few mopars and even chargers when out driving with my dad to the store, but didn't know what they were, just that "oh, that's a neat looking car".  After 1979, I told my dad that someday I would own a dodge charger with a 440 in it.  It only took 25 years......

If they had used a chevelle, it's entirely possible I'd be posting on some chevelle web site right now.

[charger_fan_4ever]

For me, the General Lee was cool because it is a Charger, not a Charger is cool because it was the General Lee.

Well said.