This article appeared in the November, 2005 issue of CAR COLLECTOR magazine under the heading Behind The Scenes with THE GENERAL LEE On The Dukes of Hazzard' Movie Set.'

DODGE CHARGERS: AT LEAST 26 LOOK-ALIKES HAD
15 MINUTES OF MOVIE FAME AS THE GENERAL LEE'

If your car's radiator is boiling because you somehow missed the Dukes of Hazzard movie released in August, don't fret. You'll have a chance to catch it on video or DVD in a few months. And seeing it at home, on you television set, will be a lot like watching the original TV show which ran from 1979-85.

But perhaps the similarity will end there, inasmuch as different actors than those in the original TV series, or the 1997 and 1999 reunion' movies, are in the leading roles, and true-blue Dukes fans will notice some differences in the fabled and beloved General Lee as well.

For instance though the aforesaid 26 different 1969 Dodge Chargers were used as The General Lee in making the movie, more than 321 of these well-known, legendary orange-colored Muscle Cars were seen as the screwball Dukes' fabled "01" in the television series. However, in the interest of automotive movie nostalgia, The General Lee seen in the last close-up shot in the movie is the best condition existing original from the TV show. This vehicle was designated the "Hero Car #1" and was used in nearly all of the close shots with actors in it. The name "Hero Car" simply identifies a close up car. Any time you see the actors with a car, that is a Hero Car. Everything else is a second unit car (stunt car). The lower the number, the nicer the car. For example... Hero #1 will be in nicer than Hero #5. Hero Cars are usually taken better care of and are not used for hard driving scenes.

Another one of the three original General Lees from the TV series and reunion movies was a Hero Car #2, mostly used in publicity photos. This car made its TV debut in 1981 but had a brand new crate motor 528 CI Hemi installed in Jan 2005.

"Hero Car #1 is the best of the bunch of the cars left from the TV series," notes Travis Bell, a former Indianapolis radio disc jockey and automobile enthusiast who is such an authority about all things concerning The General Lee that Warner Brothers hired him as part of the team that sent out to collect a sufficient quantity of cars, wheels, and replacement parts so there would be enough surviving General Lees' to complete the flick. Bell, a true aficionado

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