Knight Rider

[Manofplastic]

The 2008 series was a huge fail because it stepped away massively from what the original series was about and made it successfull; believability and connection.

The original series could be described as a 'undercover black ops cop' series that helps out the little man. Almost robin hood-esque in some ways if you may.

The 2008 series had none of that. It was over the top, over rediculous. transforming cars into totally different vehicles, the talking car voice had zero character nor personality, the actor was forgettable, had no charm, and the mustang was too 'tuner' to be concidered something special or worthwile.

The special thing about the KITT transam was that it was an already super-sleek and aerodynamic looking car, but it looked very well executed, it had a dark look on it somehow, and it was a believable black ops /govment ride.

the mustang is just built completely opposite and it looked pale and plastic.

I don't want the series to take a Japanese car. I like the Acura/Honda, dont get me wrong, but it's jus not fitting. The Trans Am in it's era still was THE hot sportscar, a remnant of the muscle car era that went aero and eco. the more sinister and powerful brother of its camaro counterpart.

the mustang is outplayed and just not that appealing to fit that category, especially that version. The current version could have been a better fit, but still not.

I think the classic KITT still has it. I think it would appeal because 90% nowadays doesnt know what that car is or that it ever excisted.

The star of the FnF was a Supra and a Charger, both cars past their prime.

The 82 Trans Am would still do very well. If Justin Lin gets involved, perhaps he should bring it to tFNF franchise. WITH the HOFF. now THAT would be AWESOME. for real.

 

[Alex Murphy]

Well in Agents of SHIELD, Ghost Rider goes round in that vintage Dodge Charger or whatever it is. It's not some modern car. And Coulson has Lola as well, which is also another vintage car with modern technology. No-one watching it thinks that they should have the latest modern vehicles. They just accept them as they are. Just like audiences accept Bond with the Aston Martin DB5. They always return to that car.

If they just make KITT some other model, what will really set this series apart from the 2008 series which wasn't well received?

And at least if they're not going this exact route, they should have a modern Pontiac Trans-Am (even though I'm not sure Pontiac makes cars anymore). Bond has modern Aston Martins when he's not driving the DB5. When he drove the BMWs during the Brosnan era, that was very bland.

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Pontiac was a brand of automobiles manufactured and sold by General Motors (GM); though production ended in 2010, Pontiac remains a registered and active trademark of GM.

Pontiac

 

[elgaz]

Well if they want to stick with GM for authenticity and still have KITT be an attractive coupe type car, the options are really Camaro or Corvette. I prefer the Corvette as it's sleeker and the more driver focused interior would work well if they want to tech up the dash.

 

[Dark Raven]

I'd go with the top picture, as it looks more similar to the Pontiac and original KITT. I don't like the square front of the car in the second picture. It looks too similar to the 2008 series with Val Kilmer as KITT.

 

[Manofplastic]

Corvette with pop up headlights would do fine, i must say

 

[elgaz]

Saw this mockup online

 

[Manofplastic]

The still present headlights don't do it good, neither does the chrome strip in the middle. wheels just don't fit.

BUT it looks miles better than a ford mustang in it's place. that was like sacriledge to be honest. nothing against mustangs, but john delorean must have been rolling in his grave.

 

[Dark Raven]

Saw this mockup online

The general shape looks reminiscent of KITT. It should be that kind of sleek shape, and black too, not red like in Knight Rider 2000. And definitely not boxy like the 2008 Ford Mustang.

 

[NHawk19]

The Zo6 posted above is pretty perfect. Just change the hood similar to the mockup shown. The wheel covers are a nice touch on the mockup but I'm I'd make the rim black or grey. They should get rid of the chrome thing on the front too. Outside of that they'll need to just add something to explain KITT's turbo boost and ability to go without refueling.

Then they need the companion vehicle(s). Like the rig setup or perhaps a C130.

At this point though this has to be a complete re-do outside the established universe right? That other stuff just got to ridiculous.

 

[DrCosmic]

So... the KITT model problem. Just like you can't magically make the 1980s Trans Am relevant like the Delorean (a design that still holdsup today, imho) or the Aston Marton (a design that still holds up today in virtually everyone's opinion), you also can't capture that 'unique' feel for KITT with just a Vette, or a Viper or a Mustang or any of the other hot to trot often-bandied about vehicle. KITT needs to be special and be a character all on his own, which means he needs to stand out in a way that is not just 'the cool kid with a red stripe.'

The easiest and clearest answer, imho, is to split the difference. A 2010 Pontiac Trans Am. It captures the idea of being from a bygone era without being completely out of touch with modern aesthetics, and it has a very large front end space that needs to be kitted so it can be KITT-ed, and that leaves the designers a lot of room to make KITT something more readable and - this is important - expressive than just a red dot back and forth. That kind of room to add art to the character, and I'm talking about the whole headlight-to-headlight area as a next gen KITT-bar, not only allows the show to symbolize it's scope over the original, but add a dynamic aspect to the car which will only aid in storytelling. Plus, it being the modern model of the same car heads off most of the purist rankles.

After that, you don't need to give him all kinds of super tricked out technology. He's an AI that can hack, including other cars, so the modernization of other cars and cities around him now lends to his own abilities to make KITT more dynamic and powerful. This also re-inforces the idea that KITT - the AI - is the special thing, and not necessarily the car itself, though a little low sci-fi tech wouldn't kill, so long as all of the abilities remain consistent so that the show can remain grounded.

But, as others have said, the key is his personality. This is well trodden fare nowadays, what with JARVIS being such a compelling character in the Iron Man franchise. We also have fun AI buddies from Data in Stark Trek to DoRiaN in Almost Human to give jumping off points for KITT's character development and storylines.

 

[terry78]

I think you should kind of mix it up and not have him be the cliche dry witted AI, but actually have a few personality foibles and be kind of insufferable, but also insecure.

 

[Dark Raven]

I don't want him insufferable. That's a cliche as well, especially if Michael Knight and KITT don't get on at first. That's been done to death, and was done in the 2008 version too.

William Daniels's KITT was dry-witted, but he had some personality foibles of his own. He wasn't bland and personality-less like Val Kilmer.

 

[terry78]

You can pull it off without it being a cliche, it's kind of like that guy that thinks he knows it all and is fully confident in it, but it's not the case.

 

[DrCosmic]

Which was kind of the novelty of the original KITT, and one that hasn't really been done to death. The Proud AI is usually reserved for villainous AI, so seeing it in a hero could be really interesting. Add to that the idea that the AI is being trained (at least in the AI sense) and you can have a really interesting dynamic that can keep the dry humor from feeling tiresome. Another way to keep the dry humor fresh is with genuine comedy writing, observational humor and the like.

 

[elgaz]

The easiest and clearest answer, imho, is to split the difference. A 2010 Pontiac Trans Am. It captures the idea of being from a bygone era without being completely out of touch with modern aesthetics, and it has a very large front end space that needs to be kitted so it can be KITT-ed, and that leaves the designers a lot of room to make KITT something more readable and - this is important - expressive than just a red dot back and forth. That kind of room to add art to the character, and I'm talking about the whole headlight-to-headlight area as a next gen KITT-bar, not only allows the show to symbolize it's scope over the original, but add a dynamic aspect to the car which will only aid in storytelling. Plus, it being the modern model of the same car heads off most of the purist rankles.

I'm not from America so forgive me, is this the car you mean? I googled 2010 Pontiac Transam.

Seems very similar to the Camaro I posted. Quite bulky and muscle-car looking. As has been said, part of KITT's original appeal was the sleek and slim silhouette, and many characters in the show often remarked on it and complimented Michael Knight on the car. I could see that happening much more with the Corvette.

I think you should kind of mix it up and not have him be the cliche dry witted AI, but actually have a few personality foibles and be kind of insufferable, but also insecure.

Agreed. The examples of other AIs like Jarvis and so on have been thrown up, but I'd actually look to Data in Star Trek TNG as a good base to work from. Grew as a character as the series progressed and he learnt more, and was often subject to the same insecurities as humans. He was actually quite likeable and far from being the cliched sarcastic/sardonic AI.

 

[terry78]

I also don't want some weird plot twist like him being based on Michael Knight's father who created him or some ******** like that, lol. Because you know that's probably being tossed around.

 

[dark_b]

I also don't want some weird plot twist like him being based on Michael Knight's father who created him or some ******** like that, lol. Because you know that's probably being tossed around.

i bet that was the first idea they had.

 

[Dark Raven]

KITT will turn out to be Michael's actual father whose consciousness has been put into an AI.

 

[DrCosmic]

I'm not from America so forgive me, is this the car you mean? I googled 2010 Pontiac Transam.

Seems very similar to the Camaro I posted. Quite bulky and muscle-car looking. As has been said, part of KITT's original appeal was the sleek and slim silhouette, and many characters in the show often remarked on it and complimented Michael Knight on the car. I could see that happening much more with the Corvette.

Ah, I see what you mean. I'm not always on my game on cars, and so it seems as though the 2010 Trans Am *is* a Camaro, so they probably should look similar. It seems that 2003 is the year that Camaros/Trans Ams go from the sleek look to the Bumblebee look. Perhaps you're right, a 7th gen Vette might be the best move to capture the feel of the car, and it's not an over exposed design, so that might just be the best bet.

Not as huge a fan of the particular mock up model and implementation of KITT, but I see what you're getting at with the overall idea.

Plus you can make the new KRO a 2016 Trans Am. There's Meta for you.

 

[elgaz]

The 'vette also comes as a targa top like the original KITT, so it makes open-top driving (and ejector seats ) much more feasible

 

[Dark Raven]

I don't like the back of that Corvette for KITT. I didn't realise it sloped down like that.

 

[elgaz]

I love it personally, very aggressive looking.

 

[Dark Raven]

You can't see the slope on that picture from that angle though. Once you look at it not directly from the back, then the shape of it is too different from KITT. KITT always had more of a back.

 

[Pittman4Two]

I don't think there's any chance KITT it a Trans Am. Part of the marketing would be to have a vehicle that's readily available to the public.

Back when Smokey and the Bandit came out, Trans Am's couldn't be built fast enough. Same with yellow Camaros due to Bumble Bee's popularity.

I agree that the Corvette is the way to go unless you go foreign with the new NSX.

 

[elgaz]

You can't see the slope on that picture from that angle though. Once you look at it not directly from the back, then the shape of it is too different from KITT. KITT always had more of a back.

I understand that, but I think we have to accept this is not going to look exactly like a modern incarnation of a 1982 Trans-Am. It's probably as close as we can get whilst retaining some GM/Pontiac authenticity.

Also, KITT had rear seats IIRC? Corvette doesn't, so they had no need to have the longer sloping rear roof to accomodate rear passengers. IMO the shorter rear overhang gives it more of a muscular roadster look whilst the rest remains sleep enough to make it attractive.