General Lee tops Edmunds' list of 100 greatest movie and TV cars

(November 5, 2011) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The 1969 Dodge Charger that famously portrayed the General Lee in The Dukes of Hazzard has been named "The Greatest Movie and TV Car of All Time" by Edmunds' InsideLine.com. Bo and Luke Duke's high-flyin', bootleggin' muscle car topped a list of 100 cars chosen by Edmunds.com editors as the most iconic on-screen vehicles in Hollywood's storied history.

"Even Rosco and Boss Hogg would have to agree: no Hollywood car was more fun or more popular than the General Lee," said Scott Oldham, editor in chief at Edmunds' InsidelLine.com. "But what many people may not know is that 300 different Dodge Chargers portrayed the car over the course of the show's 145-episode run. That's more than two mostly-wrecked cars per episode!"

The other cars listed in InsideLine.com's top five are:

2. Goldfinger 1963 Aston Martin DB5: The greatest James Bond car is fitted by Q with "modifications" for this 1964 movie. It is the standard against which all spy, movie and TV cars are judged. Last year it sold at auction for $4.6 million.

3. The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Lotus Esprit: In this 1977 film, it's a Lotus that turns into a submarine. That's enough to make it the third greatest movie/TV car of all time.

4. Smokey and the Bandit 1977 Pontiac Trans Am: 1977's second most popular film. But you couldn't buy a Millennium Falcon, and Pontiac dealers had plenty of TransAms.

5. American Graffiti 1932 Ford Coupe: When this movie appeared in 1973, street-rodding was almost dead. John Milner's yellow '32 five-window made it relevant again.

To see the full list of InsideLine.com's 100 Greatest Movie and TV Cars of All Time — and to debate the choices with other car and Hollywood enthusiasts — click here.