Knight Rider: The Car That Talked Back

Friday Night, 8 PM, 1983

"Shh! It's starting!"

The Knight Rider intro came on and my brother and I went silent. That red scanner light sweeping back and forth. The guitar riff. David Hasselhoff running in slow motion. And then the car - the black Trans Am driving through darkness like a panther made of steel.

Every kid in America wanted KITT. Not just the car. The car that talked back.

My Best Friend Was Going to Be a Car

I was eight years old when I decided I would someday own a talking car. This seemed perfectly reasonable. After all, if Michael Knight could have one, why couldn't I?

KITT wasn't just a vehicle. KITT was a friend. When Michael was in trouble, KITT worried about him. When Michael made a bad decision, KITT would gently point out the flaw in his logic - in that slightly sarcastic voice that somehow made a car feel human.

William Daniels did the voice. I didn't know that at the time - I just knew that the car sounded like the smartest, most patient friend you could ever have. Years later, when he showed up as Mr. Feeny on Boy Meets World, my brain did a backflip. KITT was teaching kids in Philadelphia now.

The Features We Practiced in Pretend

Every playground in America had kids pretending to be Michael Knight, making that "turbo boost" sound with their mouths as they jumped off swings.

Turbo boost was the big one. KITT could jump. Like, really jump. Over trucks, over walls, once over a river if I remember right. The car would hit a ramp, fly through the air, and land perfectly every time. Physics didn't apply to KITT.

We'd act out all of it. "Activate super pursuit mode!" (The car got even faster somehow.) "Deploy oil slick!" (Bad guys would spin out.) "KITT, I need you!" and the car would come driving itself - no driver - to save the day.

Looking back, Knight Rider basically predicted self-driving cars by forty years. But we didn't care about predictions. We cared about the idea that your car could be your partner. Could be your friend.

The Real Trans Am Problem

Here's the thing about KITT being a Trans Am: every kid saw that show and then went car shopping in their mind. And real Trans Ams existed. You could actually buy the car from Knight Rider.

Sort of. You could buy a black Trans Am with T-tops. You could even find one with that style of nose. But it wouldn't talk. It wouldn't drive itself. It wouldn't have that red scanner light in the front (though some people did add aftermarket versions that swept back and forth, doing nothing).

My neighbor Mr. Patterson had a black Trans Am. It was the closest I got to KITT in real life. One day I asked him if it could talk. He laughed for about thirty seconds.

The Episode That Mattered

The KARR episodes were the best ones. KARR was KITT's prototype - same body, same abilities, but with one crucial difference: KARR didn't care about humans. KARR only wanted to survive.

This was heavy stuff for an eight-year-old. The same car, but evil? Just because it was programmed differently? It made me think about what made KITT good. Not his abilities - KARR had all the same abilities. What made KITT good was that he chose to care. He chose to be a friend.

I didn't have the vocabulary for it then, but the show was teaching us about ethics. About the difference between power and morality. About how you treat people mattering more than what you're capable of doing.

All wrapped up in a show about David Hasselhoff jumping a car over stuff.

What Remains

I'm a grown man now. I drive a sensible sedan that absolutely does not talk to me. The closest I get to KITT is my GPS, which tells me when to turn and sometimes mispronounces street names.

But somewhere in my brain, that fantasy still lives. A sleek black car that knows me. That cares about me. That would race across the city if I needed help.

"KITT, I need you."

"I'm on my way, Michael."

Maybe that's silly. Cars don't work that way. They never will, not really. But Knight Rider gave a generation of kids the dream that they could, and sometimes a dream is enough.

"Knight of the Phoenix":

• The first episode
• Michael Knight is shot
• He gets a new face
• He meets KITT for the first time
• The adventure begins

The Theme Song

That music was unforgettable:

• Synthesizer heavy
• Very 80s sound
• You can probably hear it now
• One of the best TV themes ever

Impact on Car Culture

Knight Rider made people love Trans Ams even more.

What Happened:

• Trans Am sales went up
• Kids wanted KITT toys
• People added red lights to their cars
• Car shows featured KITT replicas
• The car became a legend

KITT Toys and Games

Every kid wanted KITT stuff:

• Die-cast cars - Small KITT toys
• Remote control KITT - Drive it around
• Video games - Be Michael Knight
• Lunch boxes - Take KITT to school
• Halloween costumes - Dress like Michael

The Legacy

Knight Rider ended in 1986. But KITT never left our hearts.

Why We Still Love It:

• It showed us the future
• Car and driver as partners
• Good always beats evil
• Technology can help people
• The car had a soul

KITT Today

You can still see KITT cars at:

• Car shows around the country
• Museums with TV props
• Fan conventions
• Some people build their own
• The internet keeps KITT alive

The show might be old now. But KITT will always be the coolest car on TV.

Did you dream of owning KITT? Share your memories in the guestbook!