OK, opening a can of worms, but, What is so Great about the General Lee?

[Mike DC]

       
I agree with that feeling.  The GL was a 1970s street machine. 


I think the TV show's producers actually did a pretty good job of picking things that aged well.  The GL could have just as easily been a '79 Trans Am with T-tops, big fender flares, sidepipes, etc. 

   

[Ghoste]

Sometimes I truly wish it was.

[gschmidt211]

C'mon, who hasn't wanted to do this in a General Lee!?!?!?!?

[gschmidt211]

I have said it a few of the other GL threads. Yes I wanted a 69 Charger because of the show but not a GL clone. I just never could get over the brush guard   & orange color.

It's not only a brush guard, it's a barn guard.

[Mike DC]

Sometimes I truly wish it was.

I wonder if the appeal of DOH would have been as big & long-lasting if the had used another car.  I doubt it.  


I have no delusions that the Charger wouldn't still be popular.  They were popular badass cars long before DOH and they would still be popular badass cars without it.  

DOH mainly helped by giving the car more exposure IMHO.  Most people didn't learn the car was fast from DOH for the same reason they didn't come away thinking it could really fly.  People know Hollywood can make any car look powerful & invincible.  (Or at least they knew that by the later 80s if not by 1979.)  The Charger earned most of the high-performing rep from people's experiences with it in real life.

[nvrbdn]

there were a lot of shows with a lead role being a vehicle. i feel that the show was fun in its day and could be entertaining. daisy was hot. but the car was awesome. the lines of the general, watching the car doing dirt burnouts. that body was the hottest car around. no matter what, that show did excite alot of people about the dodge charger. if the general was a chevy nova,there might be a strong chevy guy following, but i wouldnt have the dukes collection in my closet.  but i would still have my charger in the garage since i was in love when the 68 rolled out to the dealerships.

[Cooter]

I dont see why more people dont build generals with old cragars or slots, with big meats in the back...70s style. that would make them cooler, and lose the bumper guard.

Along those lines of thinking, it would have been like taking Cathy Back in the show only not letting her were those low cut blouses, or those "Daisy Dukes".

Again, LOTS of "Star Cars" have come and gone, but the GL will live in the hearts of all forever.
Sure that black Trans Am was badass in S&TB, That Black '70 Charger in F&F, The 1976 Ford Torino in S&H, etc., but NONE will be like the General Lee.
Even with the Resurge in popularity from Year one. Try as they all may, the GL will always take top honors. For some reason or another, I think THAT'S what the real problem the haters have with the GL. They know once that car shows up anywhere, Be it forums, Car shows, Cruise nights, their own damn backyards, it will always take center stage. Even to a Hemi Daytona. Afterall, all the Wing car just needs is Orange paint, Some "01" decals, and a flag on the roof to be as popular...

[resq302]

Cooter,

There is one like that...... the Duketona!  Only it has from what I saw a green tail stripe.   

[areibel]

I dont see why more people dont build generals with old cragars or slots, with big meats in the back...70s style. that would make them cooler, and lose the bumper guard.

That's the thing, they won't!  You MUST have the right Vectors, the saddle tan interior, the brush guard, whatever else makes it the General.  You can put steelies, Rallyes or Cragars on a Hemi car and it's still a Hemi car, but to be a General you gotta do the whole deal!

[Lennard]

Cooter,There is one like that...... the Duketona!  Only it has from what I saw a green tail stripe.   

[Lennard]

That's the thing, they won't! You MUST have the right Vectors, the saddle tan interior, the brush guard, whatever else makes it the General. You can put steelies, Rallyes or Cragars on a Hemi car and it's still a Hemi car, but to be a General you gotta do the whole deal!

Bullshit, you don't HAVE to do nothing. The people that build/own one usually just WANT it to be mostly correct.

[440]

Why green of all colors  

I wonder what a General would look like with those stacks Lennard ?

[marshallfry01]

I have always loved watching The Dukes of Hazzard. I honestly don't think I would love it if it wasn't for the general lee. I watched the show when I was little. Unlike other kids watching spongebob, catdog, or barny, etc, I wanted to watch the general lee!  It just made a lasting impression I guess. But the older I get, the more I want a general lee. I love orange on a car. Any car. And I think saddle interior looks great in a charger, oh and I like vector wheels!  So put all of that together and it's almost a general lee already. And everyone knows what it is. That's another reason I want one. Not everybody drives an American icon!

[Kern Dog]

Dino:

The "Unemployed" Duke boys were nephews to Uncle Jessie, who owned a farm. I suppose you have always bought your food and never planted/grown any. Farming is work. Sitting around, waiting for your gubmint cheddar is easy.
The Dukes never took steady work  because of their loyalty to Jessie and the family farm.

[68X426]

What is so Great about the General Lee?

Johnnyseville69, the correct answer to your question is: it's NOT a Chevy.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

 .18, pretty much sums up the feelings of us General Lee "haters".    


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THNDxq8uxOo

[dodgeboy67]

i grew up in the dukes era. dad had 3 2nd generation chargers in the driveway. every time i seen the duke boys racing around it made my dad that much cooler for owning a charger. every time i rode with dad i imagined myself being one of the duke boys.

everyone has a reason to like or dislike the general lee, but i think the most important thing, is that chargers are being preserved. after all, its only paint and decals.

[BrianShaughnessy]

What's great is that it made the 69 Charger one of if not the most famous car in the world...  and the 68s and 70s got to tag along for the ride.      I didn't even know the show was on until I bent up pushrods in Sinnamon back in the day and had to spend Friday night at home     So I watched some shows,  I watched reruns later,  I saw the movie.  I got entertained.  All good.

I don't worry about what other people want to do with their cars...  imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.   In that respect,  DOH is probably one of the most iconic shows on TV just for the fact that it continues to live on almost 30 year since it went off the air.    Anybody ever heard of a Seinfeld festival yet?  Me neither.   Star Trek yeah OK,  but all those other critics darlings shows just go away after 7 years. 

So I have a few friends with GL clones...  all the better for them.    One makes $$$ touring with John Schneider even with the 68 marker lights and another shows up at local shows and the kids and girls come around and want their picture taken with his car even if he knows the paint and body work isn't the greatest.   It's fun.  And it's all good.   

In honor of Thanksgiving...  just stop the hate.   If you were at a car show and the only other mopar dude had a General Lee... would you be a stuck up snob and not talk to them?    Because it probably shows more about your character than theirs.

[jessejames]

From what my mother tells me... At the age of three I started watching the show. Here in Wisc. you would get a fish fry on a friday night and sit in front of the TV and watch DOH and then Dallas was on after. Probably my favorite memories as a kid! That car just did it for me! Seeing it fly through the air! With that bright orange paint with the flag and "01" on the side. And I always felt the saddle interior just set the car off. Looks great with the orange paint. And then later to find out my father bought a 69 charger brand new and I came home from the hosptial in that car made the general lee even cooler!!

It funny you say that the only reason you watched the show was for Daisy Duke. Years later when the reunion show came on my dad told me the same thing. He could care less about the car... The only reason he watched was because of the short shorts she use to wear.  

[John_Kunkel]

The show sucked, the wannabe clones reflect a lack of imagination.

Written like an old curmudgeon without any sense of humor.

Written by a guy who probably loved all the Burt Reynolds "yee-haw" movies too. Ignorant redneck humor and symbology are not for everybody.

[Chris G.]

DOH is probably one of the most iconic shows on TV just for the fact that it continues to live on almost 30 year since it went off the air.    Anybody ever heard of a Seinfeld festival yet?  Me neither.   Star Trek yeah OK,  but all those other critics darlings shows just go away after 7 years. 

You're not seriously comparing DOH to Seinfeld...are you? If the Seinfeld cast ever did some sort of fan reunion, there would a huge turnout. The DOH will never be remembered for the actual show, it will be remembered for the car.

And John Schneider is making peanuts for these meet and greets...just ask him. Jerry Seinfeld gets $$$ every time his show is on...which is pretty much any time of the day.

The GL is by far the most recognised car in TV history...the show...not so much.

[BrianShaughnessy]

DOH is probably one of the most iconic shows on TV just for the fact that it continues to live on almost 30 year since it went off the air.    Anybody ever heard of a Seinfeld festival yet?  Me neither.   Star Trek yeah OK,  but all those other critics darlings shows just go away after 7 years. 

You're not seriously comparing DOH to Seinfeld...are you? If the Seinfeld cast ever did some sort of fan reunion, there would a huge turnout. The DOH will never be remembered for the actual show, it will be remembered for the car.

And John Schneider is making peanuts for these meet and greets...just ask him. Jerry Seinfeld gets $$$ every time his show is on...which is pretty much any time of the day.

The GL is by far the most recognised car in TV history...the show...not so much.

Not comparing them directly...   not trying to ruffle anybodies feathers.  BUT I haven't seen a Seinfeld reunion show or a movie or fan conventions or anything of the like.    Except for Jerry himself,  the other 3 are screwed.

[Lennard]

I hate the look of small tires in the rear of any Charger... maybe I should start a thread about that ones a month.
It would get old very soon...

LIVE AND LET LIVE!

[JB400]

I hate the look of small tires in the rear of any Charger... maybe I should start a thread about that ones a month.
It would get old very soon...

LIVE AND LET LIVE!

What are you doing looking at the rear of a charger?  You must be driving a Volt

[Mike DC]

          
The GL is a lot more well-remembered than the DOH show.  The rabid DOH fanbase & conventions reflect a niche market of fans more than a broad public appeal.  




Even the GL's memory is fading.  Without another decent TV/movie/something soon, the memory of the show will fade among the general public.  Car guys will still know it for generations to come but that's a smaller subculture.


My girlfriend is 24 years old, born in 1988.  When she met me, she didn't know anything about DOH or recognize the GL.  She recognized the term "Daisy Duke shorts" and that's it.  This is a chick whose parents own 400 acres of rural land.  She has her own 4-wheeler.  She listens to Country music.