Autoblog

click above for more new high-res images of KITT

As we all know, Knight Rider will be returning to television this Sunday at 9PM EST on NBC. The new Michael Knight played by Justin Bruening and his car companion KITT, voiced by Val Kilmer, made an appearance on the Today Show this morning (disclaimer: the Today Show is also an NBC program) to promote the mini-movie that will eventually become a full series next fall. Bruening reveals a bit more about the story we'll be watching this Sunday, some of which we already knew and a few new bits. His character is playing the estranged son of the original Michael Knight, a role that will be reprised by David Hasselhoff himself in the movie, though the new Mike Knight is unaware the guy standing next to him with the same name is his dad. Bruening also reveals the loophole that supposedly fills in the 25-year gap between the original series and the new one, which is that the original writers never identified KITT's inventor. OK, well we'll have to see how that one plays out. Ford, meanwhile, which paid a pretty penny to have the GT500KR Mustang play the part of nuevo KITT, has released three more photos of the Knight Industries car, which make lovely desktop wallpaper backgrounds if you're a true fan. We'll decide our degree of fanboyosity after we watch the movie this weekend.


[Source: Jalopnik, Ford]

If you found the news that NBC had struck a deal for an American version of Top Gear promising, the latest speculation on candidates for hosting the show should have you salivating. The original British program on the BBC uses a mix of automotive journalists and television personalities to make the dynamic and beloved team of hosts. Since Clarkson, May and Hammond nixed the idea of hosting the American show as well, BBC producers then began interviewing American automotive journalists – um, I'm still waiting for my call – in an effort to imbue the new show with some "journalistic credibility", but Inside Line reports that the BBC called several of the candidates this week and told them they were taking a "celebrity direction".

The development has inevitably led to speculation over who NBC could sign to host the show, and like a racing team looking for a new driver, it all comes down to availability. Jay Leno's contract to host the Tonight Show, it has been pointed out, is set to expire next year, and his credentials as a certified car nut are unimpeachable. Another candidate is Jerry Seinfed, an avid Porsche enthusiast who's got a lot of time on his hands since his sitcom went off the air. Both are huge celebrities and genuine gear-heads with long-standing relationships with NBC. We also hear Scott Speed is available if they're looking for The Stig's American cousin... or a new Captain Slow.

[Source: Inside Line, Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty]

UPDATE: TV Squad has live coverage of the unveiling.

click either image for high-res gallery of the new KITT on Knight Rider

NBC held a press conference today officially announcing the return of Knight Rider to network TV. The new show will debut as a two-hour movie on February 17th with a cast that includes Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison. Also confirmed is the return of David Hasselhoff in the role of an elder Michael Knight. Finally, the character we care about most, KITT, has been officially confirmed as a Ford GT500KR. The voice of KITT will also be none other than Will Arnett, husband of Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler and ex-alum of the TV show Arrested Development.

There will actually be three versions of KITT in the show: a 540-hp standard version of the character named KITT Hero, a super high-speed version that's heavily modified for combat called KITT Attack (click here to view his body changes), and a driverless version called KITT Remote. According to NBC, KITT in the modern era is a supercomputer capable of hacking anything that plugs into a wall, and thanks to progress made in the area of nanotechnology, its body can shift both its shape and color.

Follow the jump for the official press release from NBC, including a brief rundown of the premier's storyline.

[Source: NBC]

The original Knight Rider only lasted four seasons, but after seeing the monumental success of Transformers, executives at NBC think a new KITT would make a big splash on the small screen. Veteran producer/director (and David Hasselhoff sorta-lookalike) Doug Liman, has already been tapped to produce the series, and execs from the Peacock are working with automakers to line up a product-placement deal.

If all goes well, we could see Knight Rider part deux next fall, but at this time there's no director attached (though Liman, who has directed hits like Swingers and The Bourne Identity, is reportedly open to the idea of helming the 2-hour pilot himself). Casting the Michael Knight character will surely generate much interest and speculation, and we're curious to see who Liman ultimately taps for the role. As for the Hoff himself, there's no indication he'll be a part of the series, but we think it wouldn't be the same without him. Wait... it might actually be better. We imagine that with this TV revival moving forward, the rumored big-screen adaptation is dead.

Thanks for the tip, Alex!

[Source: Variety]

Alright, so "Bugatti Veyron" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue for those not automotively inclined, but c'mon... "Beuagatty Vuyrohn?" In addition to being laughably old news, journalist Gina Redmond goes one better by butchering the supercar's model and manufacturer name in the course of her NBC-13 Birmingham broadcast. In the words of tipster Speed42, "...sounds like they're now producing the cars in a small Louisiana town by a bunch of highly-skilled Cajun mechanics." 

We shudder to think what Redmond would've uttered when faced with the likes of a Lamborghini Murcielago.

[Source: WVTM NBC 13 via YouTube]

NBC's Dateline has been looking to compile an episode on anti-Muslim attitudes here in the United States, and to kick things off, the news program decided to take "Muslim-looking men" and a camera crew into the Martinsville NASCAR event. We're not quite sure what the goal of this was, but you'll have to excuse us if we don't believe that they were simply expecting a friendly and accommodating environment. Fortunately for NASCAR, motorsports, and tolerant people everwhere, no incidents were reported.

NASCAR has since fired back at the network, stating that the actions of the Dateline crew were "outrageous" and that the network should be "ashamed." NBC is in the final year of an agreement to air a portion of NASCAR's events, and presumably this incident could be brought up during contract negotiations.

While Dateline has done many fine reports in the past, the program is arguably best known to auto enthusiasts as the organization that used pyrotechnics in 1993 to stage fires in an effort to demonstrate safety problems with side-saddle fuel tanks used on GM full-size trucks.

[Source: The Associated Press via AOL News]