Once I heard that a new Knight Rider was in development, I got excited. I was a MASSIVE fan of the original and I was looking forward to an updated and possibly better version of the show a la Battlestar Galactica. I’ve been purposefully avoiding reading or watching anything on the new show, but gave in recently and watched a promo clip
Well, after watching the trailer, I must say I’m considerably less enthused than I was just 1 minute and 30 seconds before. It looked pretty lame and they’ve royally screwed up THE ONE THING that makes the show cool; the car.
You see, KITT, the cool Pontiac Trans Am from the original Kinght Rider is now a freaking Ford Mustang in the new series!!! WTF!?! I understand that there’s no new Pontiac Trans Am out there to use. Fine. I get it. But, of all the cars to choose from, why the Mustang? It’s the most boring, widely owned, newer “muscle car” out there right now and I think someone made an awful call when casting the ’stang. Why not just get a Toyota Corolla, slap a red light on front and be done with it? The Ford Mustang is to muscle cars as the Toyota Corolla is to cars in general; They’re LAME. If the Creative directors (and I hesitate to use the word “Creative”) had been using their heads, they would have done what (I hate using him as an example of something good) Michael Bay did in Transformers and replace the old car (Bumblebee, a VW Bug) with a newer, cooler, not yet widely available vehicle (Chevy Camaro). For Knight Rider, the new Dodge Challenger would have been perfect.
One other, albeit minor, issue is the voice of KITT. I was a little pissed when I heard KITT talk and it wasn’t William Daniels, the original KITT voice. However, I quickly realized that the voice coming out of that stupid-ass Mustang was none other than Will Arnett. While I wish they could have stuck with the original voice, I have to say that Will Arnett makes a solid second choice.
I’ll give the new show a go and post a follow-up letting you know whether or not the show sucked it. Until then, what do you think about KITT as a Mustang?
January 9th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Totally NOT down with the Mustang choice. I feel like the new Kitt recently finished filming The Fast and the Furious 17 and now has his follow-up role. It’s fairly obvious that the creators of the show are looking to movie trends to complete their gaps, which sucks. Bottom line, Kitt doesn’t have a rear spoiler that sticks a foot above the trunk.
Will Arnet rules, though. Hopefully Kitt has a sarcasm program built in.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Good points, ya’ll. KITT is supposed to be a car that I’ve either a) never seen before or b) rarely ever see at all, especially here in Arkansas. Looking at those pictures was like driving down College Avenue on any given Thursday night. Lame.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
No one had a problem during Transformers when Bumblebee went from a VW to a Camaro.
January 10th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
the mustang is about as exciting as a juicer made explicitly for prunes.
January 11th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
This has broken many GM fans’ hearts. It’s serious stuff. Should have used the the new Camaro. or a Toyota.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:04 am
I heard that the new camaro was an option, however, GM, didn’t pony up near the kind of cash that Ford is paying to have their stang featured as the knight industries 3000.
February 17th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
this is bull shit, I’m watching the show as i type and i hate the mustang. they could have just made up a new car or used the Camaro (at least then it would be the same type of car as a Firebird) Like the article said, the mustang is the muscle care equivalent of a Toyota. I read that the overwhelming majority of mustangs sold have 210 hp v6’s in them, hardly a true muscle car engine.
and by the way, there are a lot of people upset about Bumblebee being a Camaro (but is is better than a new beetle)
February 25th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Look, GM got it’s Infomercial when Transformers came out.
Yes the 210 HP may not be a true muscle car, neither is the 250 HP the V-6 Camaro will have when it finally is released, but you can’t argue that the 550 HP the Shelby GT500KR has in CURRENT models is NOT muscle car numbers.
GM was approached, they didn’t want to do it (not that they really can afford to anymore)
February 29th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
For all the people out there who hates the mustang, i respect your opinion. however i do not agree with you when you say that the mustang is not a muscle car. i mean, yes the v6 has only 210 hp, but what about the GT500 Super snake?….that car has over 600 horse power and it is a v8 4.6l engine, now that is pretty strong, whereas the Pontiac GTO or the Camaro have a huge 6.0 engine and are only producing 400hp, which i think is lame….anyways, eventhough they changed the car for a mustang, i think the show is pretty thight.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:44 am
STOP WITH THE FUCKING NEW KNIGHT RIDER. WHY DO PEOPLE WRECK GOOD MOVIES. NOBODY WANT TO SEE A FOUND ON ROAD DEAD, OR FUCKING OWNER REALLY DUMB STUPID ASS MUSTANG TRYING TO TAKE A PONTIACS PLACE, NEVER HAPPEN. NOW KNOCK IT OFF
May 28th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
JUST TO BE SHORT AND TO THE POINT, NONE OF U HILLBILLY BUTTCRACK MOUTAIN MF’S DO NOT KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT WHAT AN AMERICAN ICON IS IF IT BIT YOU ON YOUR COCK SUCKER. GET WITH IT GRAB A BAG OF ICE AND PUT IT DIRECTLY ON YOUR SORE PUSSIES AND QUIT YOUR PISSING AND MOANING. EXCEPT THE FACT THE MUSTANG WAS THE BEST PICK FOR THE SHOW AND SAVE YOUR BITCHING FOR GAS PRICES OR POLOTICS YOU LITTLE NANCY BOYS. HAVE A GOOD DAY!!!!
May 28th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Neither short, nor to the point and you cannot spell.
But “HILLBILLY BUTTCRACK MOUNTAIN MF’S” is my new favorite band.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
HI FARRAH, THANK YOU FOR CORRECTING ME. IT DID NOT REALLY INVOLVE YOU AS A LADY AND I LIKE YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR. ARE YOU MARRIED?
May 29th, 2008 at 7:19 am
HILLBILLY BUTTCRACK MOUNTAIN MF’S is an awesome band name. I’m in.
STANG6TY5 - I take it you own a Mustang? a ‘65 perhaps? Well, I agree that the Mustang is an American icon… at least any Mustang built before 1974. Yes, your ‘65 would qualify as still being a cool car in anyone’s book. However, since ‘74 the ‘Stang has been, well, lame. Ford’s trying to recapture what the Mustang used to be, but they never will. Sure they’ve crammed some significant HP under the hood(Even the 6 cylinders have some get up) nowadays, but no matter what they do, it’s official, new Mustang’s are simply no longer cool. Sorry. It’s the truth.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:42 am
STANG6TY5 - You may be an ignorant bastard…but you’re funnier than a cop bike wreck. “IF IT BIT YOU ON YOUR COCK SUCKER”…that’s good stuff. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to “GRAB A BAG OF ICE AND PUT IT DIRECTLY ON MY SORE PUSSY” and listen to my favorite “HILLBILLY BUTTCRACK MOUTAIN MF’S” album.