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''The General Lee'' (sometimes referred to as simply "the General") is the name given to a 1969 Dodge Charger driven by the Duke cousins Bo and Luke; along with cousins Coy and Vance (in season 5) in the television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. It is known for its signature horn, its police chases, stunts — especially its long jumps — and for having its doors welded shut, leaving the Dukes to climb in and out through the windows. The car appears in every episode but one ("Mary Kaye's Baby"). The car's name is a reference to American Civil War general Robert E. Lee. It bears a Confederate flag (a rectangular variant of the square battle flag of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia) on its roof, and also has a horn which plays the first twelve notes of the song "Dixie". The idea for the ''General Lee'' was developed from the bootlegger Jerry Rushing's car, which was named for Lee's favorite horse, Traveller. Traveller was also the name of the car in ''Moonrunners'', the 1975 movie precursor to ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. ==History== Although the estimated number of ''General Lees'' used varies from different sources, according to former cast member Ben Jones ("Cooter" in the show), as well as builders involved with the show, 320 ''General Lees'' were used to film the series. Others claim about 255 were used in the series. Approximately 17 still exist in various states of repair. On average, more than one ''General Lee'' was used up per show. When filming a jump, anywhere from of sand bags or concrete ballast was placed in the trunk to prevent the car from nosing over. Later in the series the mechanics would raise the front end of the car to keep it from scraping against the ramp causing it to lose speed, thereby providing a cushion for the driver upon landing. Stunt drivers report enjoying the flights but hating the landings. Despite the ballast, the landing attitude of the car was somewhat unpredictable, resulting in moderate to extremely violent forces, depending on how it landed. On many of the jumps the cars bent upon impact. All cars used in large jumps were immediately retired due to structural damage. Chargers from model-years 1968 & 1969 (no 1970 Chargers were used until the 2005 movie) were sourced and converted to ''General Lee'' specifications (taillights, grills, etc.). Despite popular belief, according to all builders involved over the years, obtaining cars was not a problem until later years. By that time, the car was the star of the show and Warner Bros. (WB) moved building of the cars in house to keep the cars consistent in appearance. Later in the show's run, when it got too hard and/or expensive to continue procuring more Chargers, the producers started using more "jump footage" from previous episodes. In the final season radio-controlled miniatures were occasionally used to the chagrin of several cast members. Episodes 1 to 5 were filmed in the Georgia towns of Covington and Conyers in November and December 1978. Georgia episode cars consisted of six Dodge Chargers. The first General Lees were built by Warner Bros. and shipped to Georgia where John Marendi (picture car coordinator) labeled the first three cars "LEE 1", "LEE 2", and "LEE 3" in no particular order for film editing purposes. LEE 1 was a second unit car with a full roll cage. It is a 383 V8-powered 1969 Charger equipped with air conditioning (A/C). It was originally code T3 "Light Bronze Metallic" with tan interior, three-speaker dash, and chrome rocker trim. After the now-famous jump over Rosco P. Coltrane's police cruiser by stuntman Craig Baxley, it was stripped of its front seats and 1969-specific grill and taillight panel. LEE 1 was used once more as the "Richard Petty" tire test car in the fourth episode ''Repo Men''. LEE 2 was also a second unit car with a full roll cage and tan interior. It was used for the opening scene in "One Armed Bandits". In this scene, Bo and Luke were chasing Rosco's police cruiser with the ''General'' after Cooter stole it; during this chase, LEE 2 is shown making a jump (the first that Baxley performed). LEE 3 was the first unit 1 close-up car and the first General Lee built by Warner Brothers; it is seen in the first publicity photos. It was originally a F5 Medium Green Metallic R/T SE (Special Edition) model. It was powered by a 440 Magnum engine with 375 HP, the car weighed , and also had A/C with power windows and a wood grain dash. This car had a tan interior and a removable roll bar that allowed installation of a camera for in-car shots. This car was painted 1975 Corvette Flame Red with a special base coat; the base coat was used after they found LEE 1's paint appeared to be blotchy due to the direct application over factory paint. Eventually, the first three ''General Lees'' started to show visible damage, so the crew had to start making more. The first ''General Lee'' built in Georgia was a 1968 Charger converted to look like a 1969; the tail light panel, front grill, and front seats taken from LEE 1 were used. The paint used on these cars was Chrysler code EV2 or "Hemi Orange". Interiors not originally tan were sprayed with SEM brand "Saddle tan" vinyl dye. The first three Georgia ''Lees'' had a set of crossed flags (a Confederate flag and checkered flag) on the panel between the rear window and trunk lid. Although four sets were created, only three were used. They were discontinued due to the continuity of the General Lee graphics, making it one less thing to be used. The three surviving cars went back to California and had the crossed flags removed upon reconditioning. The wheels were generally American Racing brand "Vectors" throughout the show and were mainly mounted on P235/70R14 B. F. Goodrich Radial T/A tires with the blackwall side facing out. LEE 1 was sold to professional golfer Bubba Watson at the 2012 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction for US$110,000 (US$121,000 after buyer premium).〔(Barrett-Jackson 2012: Dukes of Hazzard 1969 Dodge Charger General Lee falls flat )〕〔(Barrett-Jackson Lot: 1291 - 1969 DODGE CHARGER 2 DOOR )〕〔(Masters Winner Bubba Watson Owns The Original 'General Lee' )〕〔(Bubba Watson Bought The General Lee )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「General Lee (car)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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