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! (See story at end of page)
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; AMC Matadors later.	Scott B
Alien Nation	Lead alien has Dodge Dynasty. Was there symbolism?	JohnB300M
A-Team	Many 1976 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Valiants (later, F-bodies) used by the military police. Many were actual, rare A38 police models.	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. 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
Get Smart	Sunbeam Alpine rebadged to look like a Sunbeam Tiger in opening credits may have been Don Adams' personal car (ref.)	BRiley, dartndodge
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’ cars included a ’Cuda and a 1968 Dart; the ’Cuda is now (2009) hitting the car shows and the Dart is still around (thanks, Hemmings)	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 1958 DeSoto and Chrysler convertibles, while Lt. Jacoby drove a 1958-59 Plymouth Savoy.	Bruce Berry Eight Track Dave
Police Squad!	Leslie Nielsen drives a 1973-74 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	GM dominated (bad guys drove Fords now and then), but squads were usually Mopars or AMCs, and guests could drive anything, including a mint Town & Country woodie.
The Shield	Mackie drove a black Durango, then switched to an LX Charger. Shane drives a 2004-07 club-cab Dakota.	dakotasport94, 71cuda
Simon & Simon	Rick’s Dodge Power Wagon with bold graphics (along with several others — continuity was poor). The “main” Power Wagon was reported by Hemmings to be on a Universal Studios back lot in 2009.	Scott B
Sledge Hammer!	Hammer drives a bullethole-ridden Dodge St. Regis.	Tannon Weber
Special Unit 2	Sgt. O’Malley drove a 1998-2002 Chrysler Concorde	Good Ole Dodge Boy of New England
T.J. Hooker	Many 1979-80 Chrysler/Dodge/Plymough police cars. In one chase scene with a 1974 Impala, T.J. calmly drives his St. Regis as an Impala fishtails and slides around; the Chrysler chassis handles without drama. (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 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 staff made upgrades to it....Their vehicle manager said that when they changed to Chrysler products, they were able to cut their 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. Cahill drove a JX-body Sebring Convertible. In the "BLACKOUT" episode [6 April 1996], during the chase scene with the helicopter vs. Barracuda, a Sebring convertible can be seen and the cars were not released in that sales zone until May.”	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 made the weekly police drama Division 4, set at a suburban police station. Suburban police in Victoria used modified panel vans, termed "divisional vans," as patrol vehicles (rear tailgates were replaced by a single door, and bars were fitted to the van section windows.) Registered LDH-018, the van was also used in Homicide, Matlock Police, and Bluey; by 1976 the front clip had been upgraded to VJ. The van was 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. Is Homer’s car pink as a tribute to the La Femme?	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; 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 (show ran 1999-2004).	NASCARman
Bachelor Father	Robert Forsythe drove a 1959 or so New Yorker convertible	CBODY67
Beverly Hillbillies	Jane drove red B-body convertibles, except in the final year (red Challenger convertible). 1962 and 1963 were Plymouth Sport Furies (a standard 1962 Fury may have been used initially.) 1964 was a Polara 500, 1965-69 were Coronet 500s.	Mike Sealey
BJ and the Bear	“The Ultimate Police Car” (one episode) was a Plymouth Fury
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
The IT Crowd	British show; spoof commercial featured “better looking ambulances” with multiple camera shots of a black Chrysler Voyager (2008)	Dave
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
Rod Serling’s Night Gallery	1970 Chrysler Newport in The House segment	gottacook
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

The Hill Street Blues story

CPDGreg wrote:

Hill Street Blues cars in the opening title sequence were former Chicago Police cars that were still driveable after being used for The Blues Brothers movie. The original plot had the show taking place in Chicago; that's where all the stock footage and overview shots were filmed. However, after The Blues Brothers was released, the City of Chicago decided they did not like the way their police were portrayed in the film and would not authorize the use of the term "Chicago Police" or the insignia for any more film/TV productions taking place in the city. The cars were all changed to METRO POLICE, blue lights were changed to red so people would not mistake the film cars for official police vehicles, and the opening shots at the Maxwell Street station were all reshot.

The three cars shown in the Hill Street Blues opening were 1976 Dodge Monacos. The cars that were used with the actors were almost entirely Plymouth B-body sedans and were not Chicago police cars. There were a few 1974 or older Satellites for outdoor shots on the backlots in California in the early seasons and then they switched to 1975 and 76 Plymouth Fury B-body cars.

The CA cars had a mixture of lightbars- Mars, SignalStat and a generic copy of a Federal TwinSonic. We had two marked cars that were kept in Chicago for city shots- 2202 and 2256 - and they both had Mars brand lightbars. They were 1975 or 76 Furys (there were no visible differences between the two years). These film cars were old, tired sedans that only needed to look good for the camera. Cosmetically, they were police cars. One was a former suburban Chicago area cop car and the other was just a retail Fury. Inside they were trashed. 2256 had a camera mount where the passenger front seat should have been and a generic bucket seat for the driver. They were repainted often for other use in productions that were filmed around Chicago in the mid-1980s including the films Code of Silence, Running Scared, and those stupid Steven Seagal cop movies. They were also used on TV for the short-lived series Lady Blue and an episode of TJ Hooker filmed in Chicago. They cars were often repainted twice a week depending on the production schedule, going from a taxi for a commercial shoot to a police car in a film taking place in NYC.

See also our "Mopars driven by celebrities" and "Mopars in Movies" pages.

---

---