Mopars on Television
See also our "Mopars driven by celebrities" and "Mopars in Movies" pages.
Chryslers, Dodges, Plymouths, and Jeeps in television shows
The following series are noted in particular for their portrayal of Mopars:
| TV Show | Notable Car(s) |
|---|---|
| Hill Street Blues | Almost exclusively Mopar squads - Monacos, Furys, M-bodied Gran Furys, and Dodge vans. The bad guys mostly drove GMs. Chase scenes in the gritty cop show were realistic, with heavy fishtailing and no “Chevette beating Corvette” rubbish. And no Mustangs! |
| Viper | Featuring a Dodge Viper, a vintage Plymouth Cuda, and every product Chrysler made at the time, including a number of concept cars and prototypes (some of which were publicly destroyed in the first episode). Mustang-free! |
| Two Lane Blacktop | Hemi Cuda, Dodge Daytona |
| Dukes of Hazzard | Jarod Pearson reminded us. Responsible for the destruction of a shocking number of Dodge Chargers, it cemented that car's fame; it also featured Mopar patrol cars. Only the really bad guy, Boss Hogg, failed to drive a Mopar (if you retroactively count Daisy’s Jeep as a Mopar). |
Police, crime, and detective shows
| TV Show | Notable Car(s) | Thanks... |
|---|---|---|
| Adam-12 | Plymouth Satellites in early episodes | Scott B |
| Alien Nation | Lead alien has Dodge Dynasty. Was there symbolism? | JohnB300M |
| A-Team | Dodge van and many 1976 Dodge Darts, Plymouth Valiants, and F-bodies used by the military police. “I had the misfortune of watching many (rare) A38 Darts get demolished.” | Shoe |
| Batman | Bruce Wayne had an Imperial; squads were Dodge C-bodies; A100 vans too | Damian Birch |
| Baywatch | Dakota 4x4s on beach patrol (early episodes) | Scott B |
| Breaking Away | 1967 Coronet, 1972 Charger | Damian Birch |
| CHiPs | Dodge Monacos, Plymouth Furys | Scott B |
| Car 54, Where Are You? | Main characters' cars | Curtis Redgap |
| Crime Story | Big 300 grille in the opening credits chase scene. Officer has black 1957 Chrysler 300. Many Mopar squads. | Damian Birch |
| CSI | Newer episodes have Charger police cars | Jerry Simcik |
| Dick Diamond | Curtis Redgap | |
| Emergency Squad 51 | Dodge D300 utility-body as fire rescue truck | Scott B |
| Gomer Pyle | dartndodge | |
| Green Hornet | The Green Hornet's customized Imperial limo was driven by Bruce Lee as Kato, sidekick to Van William's Green Hornet. | Ken Farmer |
| Highway Patrol | James Hale | |
| Hunter | Hunter drove a Dodge Monaco until the later episodes. Monaco taxis are sometimes sprayed-over civil cars – you see it when the doors open. DeeDee McCall drives Dodge Daytonas (1980s) including a Turbo Z and Shelby. | Fenderbass, Ewald Stein, Tom Powell |
| Law & Order | Diplomats, Gran Furys (early seasons) | Curtis Redgap |
| Mannix | Mike Conners' car | Curtis Redgap |
| Mayberry RFD | When Ken Berry replaced Andy Griffith (and the name of the show changed from the Andy Griffith Show), the cars switched from Fords to Mopars. | Ken Farmer |
| Mission Impossible | Martin Landau drives a 1968 Dodge Charger. Peter Graves seems to like C-body convertibles, particularly Dodge Polaras. From 1968 on, you can see a variety of Mopars - Dodge Coronets, Chrysler Imperials and New Yorkers, especially fuselage Chryslers from 1969-73. The show ended when the fuselage Mopars did. | Patrick Lynch |
| Myth Busters | Jamie has a white 95-01 Dakota and second-gen Neon | Jerry Simcik |
| Nash Bridges | Prominent 'Cuda convertible. Steve Inman: "...Don Johnson kept one of the Cuda Convertibles ... none were actually Hemis. Three were 318s and one was a 440. One was sold on Ebay, as well as pieces of one that was destroyed by a bomb ... Revell has an accurate model kit." | Fenderbass |
| Nightman | Drove a Plymouth Prowler | Paul C. Jensen |
| Peter Gunn | Peter Gunn drove a 1957 or 1958 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible (1958-63) | Bruce Berry |
| Police Squad! | Leslie Nielsen drives a 1974 Plymouth Satellite (and hits the cans when parking). | Ewald Stein |
| Police Story | 1960 Chrysler 300 black convertible driven by lead character | Ed Smith |
| Rockford Files | Though GM predominated (with bad guys tending to drive Fords now and then), squad cars were usually Mopars or AMCs, and there are some odd guests, including a brand-new-looking Chrysler Town & Country woodie. | |
| The Shield | Mackie drove a 2001-03 black Durango, then switched to an LX-type Charger. Shane drives a 2004-07 club-cab Dakota. | dakotasport94, 71cuda |
| Simon & Simon | Dodge Power Wagon with bold graphics | Scott B |
| Sledge Hammer! | 1980s Dirty Harry parody; he drives a beat up, bullethole-ridden Dodge St. Regis. | Tannon Weber |
| T.J. Hooker | Many 1979-80 Chrysler/Dodge/Plymough police cars. In one chase scene with a 1974 Impala, T.J. just drives his St. Regis as the Impala fishtails and slides around. The balance of the Chrysler chassis is evident in the way it handles without drama. (Update: 1982-83, he drove a 1977-78 Monaco; from 1983-86, he drove a 1979-80 St. Regis; his personal car started out as a Gran Torino but later switched to a Dodge Diplomat). | Fenderbass, CBODY67 |
| The Mod Squad | Two 1971 convertibles, factory-altered with 1972 taillight and headlight sections. | JCMichael, Fenderbass |
| Walker, Texas Ranger | “One of our member's cars (a 1973 Barracuda) was used for several episodes. The car was not in great shape, but the staff made upgrades to it....Their vehicle manager told the owner that when they changed from GM to Chrysler products, they were able to decrease their total fleet due to the greater durability and reliability of the Chrysler products.” Walker drives a silver Ram, 1994-97 model. “Trivette had a purple Prowler for a short period. ADA Cahill drove a JX-body Sebring Convertible. In the "BLACKOUT" episode, original air date 06 April 1996, during the chase scene with the helicopter vs. Barracuda, a Sebring convertible can be clearly seen and the cars were not released in the Cincinnati sales zone until the first of May 1996.” | Fenderbass, CBODY67, Jerry Simcik, Jonathan W Morrisey |
Valiant Van for Australian TV (by Chris Keating)
A single Valiant VH panel van was custom-built by Chrysler in 1971 for use by Crawfords Productions, which was producing three weekly police drama series, one of which ("Division 4") was set at a suburban police station. Suburban police stations in Victoria used modified panel vans, termed "divisional vans," as patrol vehicles (the rear tailgates were replaced by a single door, and bars were fitted to the windows of the van section.) Registered LDH-018, the custom van was also used in episodes of "Homicide," "Matlock Police," and "Bluey," by which time (1976) the front sheet-metal had been upgraded to VJ. The van was also used extensively in the first year of "Cop Shop" (1977), and was last seen in the background in an episode of "Special Squad" (1994).
Animated television
| TV Show | Notable Car(s) | Thanks... |
|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons | Young Homer has a 1970 Road Runner with a half-height Superbird spoiler; Snake has a Dodge Charger. The "F series" truck is called "Female series." Mel Gibson drives Homer in his Dodge Caravan. | StratusSymbol |
| Beavis and Butt-head | Todd drives a souped up 1973 Plymouth Duster | Daniel Dey |
| Daria | Trent Lane drives a 1973 Plymouth Satellite coupe. | Daniel Dey |
| King of the Hill | Boomhauer drives a B-body with a bumblebee stripe - Super Bee? Dale drives a Mini Ram or Caravan C/V | David A. Saunders, “yoda” |
Other shows
| TV Show | Notable Car(s) | Thanks... |
|---|---|---|
| Angel | Main character (Angel) drives a 1967 Plymouth GTX convertible and has a Viper and 1970 Plymouth Super Bee in his garage | NASCARman |
| Bachelor Father | Robert Forsythe drove a '59 or so New Yorker convertible | CBODY67 |
| Beverly Hillbillies | Jane Hathaway always drove red B-body convertibles, with the exception of the final year of the series when she drove a red Challenger convertible. 1962 and '63 were Plymouth Sport Furies (a '62 non-Sport Fury may have been used initially but replaced.) 1964 was a Polara 500, 1965-69 were Coronet 500s. | Mike Sealey |
| Brady Bunch | Several Plymouth station wagons, Belvederes and Furys | CBODY78 |
| Daktari | Jeep Gladiator (CJ-10) with zebra paint (late 1960s, CBS) | John Boyle |
| Dead Zone | PT Cruiser, a Sebring Convertible, Jeep Wrangler, others | Ens Roland |
| Devil in the Flesh | Silver LeBaron convertible featured | Ens Roland |
| Dog Whisperer | He drives a recent Wrangler | poorboy616 |
| Early Edition | Lead (Gary Hobson) drove a Voyager/Caravan; recurring character drove a 1970s Plymouth Satellite with F-STOP license (all Mopar after the first season or two) | Dave |
| Fantasy Island | Plymouth Volares - heavily customized | Scott B |
| Fury | Jim Newton, played by Peter Graves, drove a 1957/58 Plymouth Suburban station wagon. (1950s show) | Patrick Lynch |
| Ghost Whisperer | Main character drives red Jeep Liberty | Robert Wilson |
| Gomer Pyle, USMC | Sgt. Carter drove a 1960 Dodge coupe (a Phoenix?) | Patrick Lynch |
| Happy Days | Cunninghams' 1948 Desoto (refered to as a 1949) | Paul Sahler |
| King of Queens | Family owns Jeep Liberty or Grand Cherokee depending on year | FreeLantz |
| Lassie | Dodge trucks during Lassie's time with the USFS ranger | Scott B |
| Leave it to Beaver | Even during the Ford/CBS years, Ward drove a Custom 300. They switched in 1959 with a new Plymouth Fury every year through 1963. Ward's boss drove a Dodge. The closing credits in 1959-61 showed Wally and Jerry Mathers walking when a 1959 DeSoto passes between them and the camera. | Mike Sealey |
| Malcolm in the Middle | Dodge Dynasty, first-gen minivan - in a 2001+ show - Dodge conversion van, Ram 50 | valiant67 |
| Marcus Welby | Chrysler New Yorker, Chrysler 300, depending on year. | Phil Bezaire and CBODY67 |
| Married With Children | Plymouth Duster, called a Dodge on the show. Though always called a dirty old piece of junk, it's clean and shining... | TwoCold |
| M*A*S*H | Dodge ambulance, Korean style Power Wagon (M-57?), and a 1948-52 civilian pickup | Paul Sahler |
| Mythbusters | Routinely use Chrysler vehicles | Rich Hutchinson |
| Navy NCIS | Intrepids; later, Dodge Stratus; later still, Dodge Charger | WPL-XB70, DR1500200 |
| New Red Green Show | Dodge van and K-car sure get beaten up and “modified,” and there other Mopars - see the celebrities page to find out what Red Green drives off-camera! | Fenderbass |
| Sky King | Lots of 1955-56 Chrysler products. One episode had a bomb hidden on the frame of a 1956 Belvedere Convertible. | CBODY67 |
| Veronica Mars | Veronica drives a late model LeBaron | WPL_XB70 |
| Whirlybirds | 111 episodes made, 1957-59. Stars drove a 1957 DeSoto Fireflite convertible (and Bell 47 helicopters). | John Boyle (Bell 47 pilot) |
| X Files | A few episodes were all Chrysler, mainly LH; most though were Ford and GM | JohnB300M |
Single-episode high coverage
| TV Show | Notable Car(s) | Thanks... |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone Loves Raymond | Spirit crashes into Raymond’s house; his father comments on tough American cars | FreeLantz |
| Here’s Lucy | Season One, Episode 24. Craig (Desi Arnaz Jr.) takes his driver's test in a 1965 Dodge Dart GT convertible. | Comoxian |
| Seinfeld | George owned a Chrysler LeBaron for one episode purported to belong to a celebrity (who turned out to be a dentist). | hemi magnum |
| Star Trek Voyager | Crewmen trapped in the past drive a Ram 1500 | Tom Elkins |
See also our "Mopars driven by celebrities" and "Mopars in Movies" pages.
