Past Car Of The Future, KITT
Today I wanted to shift gears a little *side note, that pun always cracks me up* We talk about some serious stuff around here. I tought it would be fun to switch it up.
I mentioned on the Facebook Page yesterday that Netflix now has Knight Rider on streaming. Not the one from 2008, the original one from 1982. I remember watching this show as a kid. I was pretty little when it was on TV. But who could forget that theme song, or that awesome red light on the front. It was so cool to hear a car talk, and it had turbo boost!
Now I watch the show as an adult(subjective) and a car pro, I see all the 80’s “cheese” the show had. Tons of plot holes, amazing acting, cornball special effects, you name it, Knight Rider has it. But around all that cheese was a car that is extremely futuristic for the time. I want to look at a few features that KITT had, and how they car common in today’s cars.
- Silent Mode
Made for quiet movement, makes me think of E-Mode in hybrids. - Com-link
This allowed Micheal to contact home base. We can look at this like OnStar, or a pairing with a smart phone. - Deflatable Tires
The tires in the show where slightly different. Today we have tires built to run with little air pressure. - Mircoscanners
This is is just one part of an overall “awareness” system that KITT has. KITT is equipped with sensors throughout the entire car. They are used to visually track anything. This along with the Anamorphic Equalizer(the cool red light in the front) are responcable for KITT’s location awareness. Think about today’s adaptive cruise and lane change assist. - Auto CruiseWe have the technology for this right now. Cars that can drive themselves. While this has not hit the mainstream, it was big at the Chicago Auto Show.
- In-dash entertainment.
KITT could play video, music and even video games on his video screen in the dash. - Alpha Circuit
This is said to be KITT’s main control system, and is the reason it can drive itself. The Alpha circuit could be viewed as a body module today. The computer that is the center hub for all car functions.
I am sure we could spend all day talking about cool “future” cars. So saying that, what was YOUR favorite “future” car? Post it up in the comment section! And now, you will have the theme song stuck in your head all day 😉
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I keep dreaming of the Jettson’s style cars that fly around and have cockpits and drop out floors after you take your husbands wallet 🙂
THAT would be so cool! I have not seen The Jettson’s in forever.
the deflatable tires also remind me of the off-road vehicles (and I believe even consumer versions of some jeeps and hummers) with the ability to deflate (and perhaps re-inflate) tires from within the car. If I’m not mistaken, the technique came from the need for hummers in desert ops to self-remove air in the tires to create a wider base and more traction on the fly. this might be a little more in-tune with the intentions of the auto-deflating from the show compared to run-flats. I didn’t bother to research my comment before I made it, so I could be a little off-base on my assertions above, but still, yeah, I used to love watching knight rider when I was a kid. I might even still have a Kitt matchbox-sized car at my mom’s house…
I think you are on the right track Jeremy. I have heard about that too.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/self-inflating-tire2.htm
KITT was very cool, and the Turbo Boost button was the best! KITT is high on my list too, but my favorite 1980s car is the DeLorean in Back To The Future.
I remember watching it as a kid too. Now I am going to have to check it out when I get the chance.
My favorite part was driving into the semi trailer as it was going down the road.
I thought talking cars were cool, too bad we still don’t have that. Then again, would we really want to hear what our cars have to say to/about us?
Well, very nice ideas about KITT, it was the most popular car in 80’s.
Thanks for the valuable information about KITT. This post has let me know various information regarding the operation of cars.
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