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Special Post: “Bo and Luke Use Autotrader.com”

In which the General Lee is finally given a rest, and the boys get a new car…

So my wife was telling me about an ad she heard on the radio featuring the Dukes of Hazzard. I was intrigued, and took to the internet to find it. I never did find the radio ad, but I did come across what is probably the visual portion of the same campaign.

We open with the General Lee being chased by some modern cop cars, being piloted by a much older Bo and Luke, returning to the roles for the first time since 2000’s “Hazzard in Hollywood” TV movie (which I’ll get around to reviewing much, much later).


Bo remarks that they’ve still got it, implying (to me, at least) that they once again returned to their non-Hazzard professions of NASCAR driver (Bo) and Smokejumper for the US Forest Service (Luke), as established in 1997’s “Dukes of Hazzard Reunion’ TV movie (again, more on that in the future). I’m thinking they’ve both retired, and returned to Hazzard to live out their days doing as they please, which is apparently running from the police as they did when they were younger men. Luke would presumably be in his early 60s, which is a bit early, but not impossible, and Bo would be in his mid 50s, but if he earned and invested well, and let’s assume he did, he’d be set for life by now.


Anyhow, Luke says that while they may still have it, the General Lee has seen better days. Bo agrees, noting that today’s police cars are much faster than they used to be, while the cops are right on their tail. Luke says that’s why he’s on Auto Trader, right then and there, on his phone!


The cop car gets a little too close and bumps the General Lee from behind, causing the car to go through a fence, and Bo has to back the car out of a pig pen, saying he wishes the General had a backup camera. Luke says that Auto Trader can get you that, too! Bo tells him to make sure to get one where the doors open, to which he replies “I think they all do!” “Really?” exclaims Bo.


I was pleased to note that somebody paid attention and actually gave the cops Georgia plates, even though they don’t even show it for an entire second, I had to go frame-by-frame to get the snapshot.


After the General Lee does a jump and crashes through a barn, Luke ends up with a rooster in his lap, and a disgusted look on his face.


The sheriff catches up with them and Luke gives him a friendly “Hey, Lonnie!” I guess Rosco must be long retired, unless they’ve called down the thunder of the State Police.


While evading the sheriff with another long jump (and an automated alert from Auto Trader!) they pass a billboard that indicates that maybe Daisy’s started up a business in her later years:


Bo says they have to get out of this chase, tells Luke to save his search, and throws the phone at an oncoming Detour sign, causing it to flip the other way! Bo says Luke can pick the search back up on his tablet, and Luke seems impressed. I’m impressed they have Wi-Fi in Hazzard County!


After the cops take the fake detour, it appears the boys are going to crash into a suspiciously ramp-shaped pile of logs. Instead, they hit the jump and end up crashing through the front window of an Auto-Trader dealership. That must’ve been some jump!


The dealership guy doesn’t seem terribly shocked, they’re even on a first-name-basis with him (his name’s Rusty). Maybe Bo and Luke own the dealership? It worked for Cale Yarborough after he retired! Anyway, Bo asks to see a Dodge Viper, Luke piping up to ask if they can get it in orange.


So they drive off into the sunset, and that’s the end of the commercial. It’s a fun little nostalgia piece, and you can tell both Schneider and Wopat were having fun revisiting roles they hadn’t played in 14 years, give or take an episode of Smallville. Maybe I’ll review that when the time comes.
On a different note, I’m not a fan of the General Lee’d Dodge Viper; it looks a little too sleek or something for my taste. Here’s my take on what a 2013 Dodge Charger, which is what Luke first looked up, might look like:


As for the General Lee, I can only hope they out him up in proper storage, as is befitting such a beloved vehicle, rather than this, which is actually a model someone built, available for bid on eBay! It’s expensive, but look at all that detail! If I were a rich man, it’d be on its way to my house right now.


I’ll see you all soon for Season 2, Episode 9, “Witness for the Persecution.”

Comments

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