5 Best '80s TV Cars, Ranked

If you were a fan of action-packed television and cool cars, then the '80s was the decade for you. The unwritten rule of the time seemed to be that you couldn't solve crimes or fight injustice without a sweet ride to take you there. 

In some cases, these cars actually helped catch the bad guys — while others just made the drive more enjoyable. A few became so popular that they were practically characters all by themselves, in which case just mentioning their name is now enough to flood the mind with glorious '80s nostalgia. But of all the cars we watched speed, flip, jump, and wheelie back in the day, five stood out as just a little cooler than the rest.

Of all the dynamite cars that flooded the screen on "Miami Vice," Sonny Crockett's (Don Johnson) Ferrari Testarossa gets the nod — partly due to its incredibly sleek design, but also because it's an actual Ferrari. 

Before "Miami Vice" hit the airwaves, the show's producers reached out to Ferrari about featuring its cars in the show. Ferrari declined, so the producers took a Chevrolet Corvette and built a replica of a Ferrari Daytona Spider around it. For the first two seasons of the show, that's what Crockett drove.

When "Miami Vice" started taking off in the ratings, however, Ferrari offered the show a deal that producers were more than happy to accept: destroy the replicas they'd made and, in return, get two free Testarossas. "Miami Vice" agreed, even destroying one of them on screen by having it get blown up by a drug dealer's missile. 

So, for the remainder of the show, Crockett cruised the streets of Miami in an honest-to-goodness Ferrari Testarossa. If you close your eyes, you can still picture his hair blowing in the breeze, sunglasses on, as he effortlessly flies down the road to a synth-pop soundtrack. 

Sometimes, the best part of a vehicle isn't what's under the hood, but who's climbing out of it. Enter "The A-Team." When the bad guys saw B.A. Baracus' (Mr. T) GMC Vandura roll up on the scene, they knew trouble was heading their way.

This van didn't just transport Hannibal (George Peppard) and company from scuffle to scuffle, however: It also doubled as their base of operations, offered weapons storage, and came in very handy when the team had to crash through the occasional wall. It was also exceptional when it came to protecting them from gunfire, a feature that's likely not standard on any GMC van you can get your hands on.

While some TV producers like to use vehicles as glorified product placement, "The A-Team" went in a different direction, heavily customizing the van so it would stand out and feel more unique. It worked, too: If you were channel flipping and came across that black-and-grey van with its iconic red stripe, it was time to put down the remote and watch the fireworks.

They say clothes make the man, but sometimes the man makes the car — and you just can't help but smile when Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) makes a witty remark before flying off in this bad boy.

Whereas Ferrari wasn't initially thrilled to partner with the producers of "Miami Vice," the company was apparently more than happy to work with the "Magnum P.I." crew. Magnum's Ferrari 308 GTS on the show was sleek, shiny, and the perfect shade of red for cruising around Hawaii. The car's original color was actually a bright shade of yellow, but producers made the switch so it would pop on the screen. 

Multiple versions of the 308 GTS were used during the eight-year run of the show, and each car was returned to Ferrari when filming wrapped at the end of a season. The company would then undo any alterations made for filming purposes before putting it up for sale. Among others, one major change involved overhauling the driver's seat to accommodate Selleck's 6-foot-4-inch frame. 

If you had to name one iconic car from the 1980s, chances are you'd go with the 1969 Dodge Charger — otherwise known as the General Lee — used by them good ol' Duke boys on "The Dukes of Hazzard." This is arguably the most recognizable car on this list for several reasons. There's the orange paint job, the "01" on the door, and yes, a slightly problematic Confederate flag decal on the roof — but let's just focus on the positives, shall we? 

Among the other unique features on the General Lee was its welded doors. According to show lore, the doors were welded shut due to the car's racing history. This meant that Bo and Luke had to find more unconventional ways of getting inside, like jumping or sliding in through the window. If you grew up in the '80s, odds were good you tried this with your car at least once.

While the General Lee didn't have much in the way of superpowers, it sure seemed capable of doing things that your average Charger couldn't. The General always seemed to be called upon to leap over gaps or soar over other cars to accomplish its mission. Of course, all those super-cool stunts caused some wear and tear over the years: Over 300 different cars donned the orange paint job for filming across seven seasons of "The Dukes of Hazzard."

The Knight Industries Two Thousand from "Knight Rider" was everything you wanted a car to be. Its design was sleek and sporty, it had those very '80s red lights in the front, and, of course, it was capable of taking out the bad guys all by itself.

While the other cars on this list are fun, enjoyable, and useful in their own ways, KITT's AI system was way ahead of its time. Michael (David Hasselhoff) could tell KITT to activate turbo boost easier than any of us can get Siri to dim the lights. And when it comes to features, KITT is second to none. Sure, some of the previous cars were fast, but did any of them come with flame throwers, flares, and a grappling hook? 

What really sets KITT apart, though, is that it was actually a character in the show. Being voiced by William Daniels gave KITT a witty, comedic personality that played off Michael's own character. A car that can go fast, look slick, and jump over police cruisers is cool enough, but a car that becomes your best friend is even cooler.