Knight Rider Guide to KITT's Evolution: The Lower Console (Ep. 1) Do Any Originals Still Exist?

We are starting a new series on the channel! "A Guide to KITT's Evolution" will showcase the changes made to KITT over the course of the show's 4 years. Up first - the lower console! Discover exclusive Knight Rider content at / knightriderhistorians or click ❤️‍ Thanks under the vid to keep this channel in full pursuit mode 💥
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[@PetesGuide]

This will console all of our console anxiety.

[@nicoleannkyle]

😂

[@matthewhegarty729]

🤦‍♂️

[@PetesGuide]

@@matthewhegarty729 But somebody had to say it! And when I saw I was early enough to be the first comment, I just had to shift my keyboard into overdrive.

[@PetesGuide]

First comment! And maybe the worst.

[@rubenmejia4881]

Kitt lives in my head rent-free! 😅

[@illusionistdg]

Joe! Yes, please more of this type of video. For people making replicas having all of this info in one place is invaluable!

[@Lutonian79992]

This is so cool the best channel on KZbin, love the knight rider historians !!!!

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@Lutonian79992]

​@@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial I've watched your videos on building the fanhome KITT model and I wanted to ask if you could choose an extension option would it be to have parts to either have the model as KITT or KARR or super pursuit KITT ??

[@judgedrekk2981]

I like the season 2 version for the computer keypad aspect and the season 3/4 version for the alpine stereo part lol this should be a fun series!

[@JamesBond-yw3dj]

Great series, I am building a pilot/ 1st season replica currently. I did own an exterior only replica around 13 years ago and sold it. I regret it, so now I am building a complete replica slowly. With your info I can perfect every piece for my Kitt. 👍

[@MLM2255]

Thanks Joe. The evolution of kitt is a great idea.

[@TheShornak]

One thing I noticed about Knight Rider is the lack of quality control they had. I was 21 in 84 when this show came out and watched this on a 21" color CRT TV as most of us did back then. Even on that little TV I noticed how bad the nose fit on the car and now scratched up the dash would be if viewed from the passenger side facing the driver. I know back then the mentality was "Oh no one will see that on a TV" but it did show up. But anyway, this was real interest seeing the differences of the lower console. I wonder it they changed it because it would break or buttons would be missing by the end of the season. So while they were repairing it maybe decided to remodel slightly. Who Knows.

[@Roughrider77]

Great video Joe. Really loved it. Love from U.K. ❤️

[@Zaju]

I still remember watching the pilot and thinking "Why Devon has to push all those random buttons to activate the anti-collision whatever?"😅

[@wurlyone4685]

I think this is a great idea for a series, really interesting for the uber geeks among us!

[@davudandrews2665]

Cool looking forward to seeing the next video on the upper console Joe 😊

[@vijayantgovender2045]

Thank you very excited and educational watching from South Africa

[@jacobpedersen5410]

Brilliant video, Joe. I can’t wait for next ones🏆👍🏻👍🏻

[@crushingvanessa3277]

This will help a lot, thank your friend for the idea. The videos of the cars before are great but if you were looking for specific details, you would have to note which video it was on or go through them again. I plan on making a 1/25 model of the 73 Ford truck with the Revell car hauler trailer and want to load it with various KITTS and one show car for the FLAG semi.

[@mustang61777]

Cool series Joe. Keep bringing more of these

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

Thanks! Will do!

[@dhanushkaariyasinghe597]

Thanks for all

[@richie7782]

Can’t wait till you get to Kitts nose episode that should be interesting especially the very first nose!

[@MrReese]

Really great stuff, the changes between the seasons have always been really interesting for me. Personally I like the S3 and S4 interior the most as it looks a lot more sophisticated and higher quality. The floppy disk and radio deck also make a lot more practical sense as those are things one might actually use quite frequently in a high-tech crime fighting car like KITT :).

[@pcguy13x]

I like the series. Lolling forward to the rest.

[@gem.dionisio]

Nice video Joe. I can see the difference of the lower consoles throughout the season. Im gonna use this as refrence for my 1/24 model kit... or kits... im building all 4 seasons + SPM, a pilot car, convertible and HTDD version.

[@BrianKitching-wv5nh]

Love the idea of a series.Thankyou for posting this Joe.

[@marioayala2318]

Cool series, will be interesting the different KITT voice box between the pilot, early season 1, mid season 1 and 2, season 3 and 4.

[@stolmich]

The radio unit was an ALPINE 7155, a great deck.

[@Cowley46]

Love it and look forward to the next one.👍

[@RobertM125]

It's so cool to see all these little details of what you would only see on TV for a couple of seconds (with no way to freeze frame back then). I'm very much looking forward to this series. Great work as always!

[@chosenman08]

Now this is great! Who has ever bothered to show every possible detail to eager viewers? I look forward to the nexr episode! Thank you, Joe! We will know Kitt inside out!

[@FastInTheCorners]

Did anyone ever notice that Scheffe actually designed a full QWERTY keyboard for KITTs S3/4 lower consol, in place of where universal fitted the static LEDs. Could've been cool. You can see it in the high quality print included in the Turbine Blueray set.

[@landrysworkshop]

This is a good idea, I’m building a 3/4 KITT and not too sure about the lower console arrangement. I do know that I want the LED array in it, but the rest is up in the air. I’m looking forward to seeing more videos like this. Thank you.

[@Slidinsidewayz2009]

I sure hope you do a video of the scanner driver circuit like you offered. We've been waiting for years!!

[@entronics]

This is a great idea for a video series!

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

I think so too!

[@davudandrews2665]

This is too cool Joe. Thanks for sharing and showing this .😊

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

Thanks for watching!

[@davudandrews2665]

@@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial no problem Joe

[@ClarkeMarek]

Oh gads. When cars had ashtrays. I had two Capris(79 and 82) with smaller ones. No wonder chain smokers loved the Camaro/Firebird.

[@ScottBaker_]

This is a great start to the new series. I'm looking forward to future episodes.

[@esan9683]

Nice Joe… well done!!!

[@sleepingwarrior4618]

Would you consider doing a video on the actual engine/performance of the car? Was the stock engine changed in any way? Was there any performance gains? Is your own screen used car able to do burnouts like they showed in the series? How fast was the actual car? 0-60 times? Compared to modern cars? It always seems so quiet and composed that it appears very slow?

[@davidsewell3745]

This is awesome joe, love the idea of a series of these, i didn't realise the lower consoles were different until watching this!

[@richardr7947]

season 3-4 dash is my favorite but the season 1 center console is my favorite.

[@DavidHallam-m3j]

Would you be able to do a video series on the ratings for Knight Rider? Starting with the pilot and season premieres, then the seasons overall and how they was performing?

[@JJSoCrazy]

Season 1 for the win! I’m using that for my replica

[@briank.8925]

There was a scene...probably the opening scenes where Michael & KITT are crusing along talking to each other and Michael says ok gonna listen to music now and he pushes a cassette in, and a song starts.

[@Xplasma1]

As a kid, I would have told you that I hated Knight Rider. Yet I kept watching it. Why would I do that if I hated the show? I did have a major problem with the show, but when I was a kid, I didn't know how to properly articulate what my feelings were. The truth is that I was *frustrated* with Knight Rider! The concept of Knight Rider is very cool. A vigilante crimefighter and his partner, a super advanced, and sentient talking car. However, the execution was downright awful at times, and with 40 years of hindsight, that's one source of my frustration with the show. In Knight Rider's universe, and the universes of other TV shows at the time, I could almost always predict the endings. Hero gets into a dangerous situation. Hero may get hurt. *Hero almost always recovers by the end of the show, and is back to normal by the next episode*. This alone was frustrating enough, and dampened my enjoyment of the show, because I didn't even need to watch the last 5 minutes unless it was a two parter. You yourself commented on this in Junkyard Dog, how they went back to playing it safe. But there were other sources of frustration. Even as a kid, I knew KITT was a car dressed up to look futuristic, and driven by an actor. I knew it was all pretend, but a lot of the goofs that you have pointed out, I saw them too. CRT televisions weren't *that* low resolution, and there were some glaring mistakes, like *very obvious reuse of stock footage!* I mean, come on! I know they're lying to me, but they're not even doing a good job of that! I may be a kid, but I'm not stupid! I can see the problems, even if I don't know how to articulate that! And, with 40 years of hindsight, FLAG is actually very selfish, and rather incompetent. You have this sentient miracle car. It's perfect in almost every way. The A.I's bugs have been worked out, and it's been proven in battle. WHY would you not make it publicly available?! Afraid of trade secrets getting out? Garthe already got his hands on them. You could have thousands of KITT's or KITT variants out there, who could be heroic by simply being there, recording any crimes, and reporting them to the police. And if the answer is that KITT is a one of a kind prototype, then why not show KITT's failings more often? Have him glitch. Have him freeze. Show on camera the dashboard being replaced, and show the glitches being ironed out in later seasons. Do a better job of *showing KITT evolving!* But no, it was the 80's and of course KITT had to be this perfect car, driven by a human with minimal if any flaws, which of course makes you think of your own flaws while watching the show. The show is telling you "This guy is *so much better than you*!" And to add further insult, you can tell the real life car has flaws, and they're trying to hide those flaws from you. I may not have consciously spotted things like the chipped paint, or the overspray, or the orange peel from multiple paint jobs, but I knew something was just wrong! Seeing you point out the mistakes, and the damage that the real cars went through has been a breath of fresh air. It's like YES! if only they had worked in some of this reality into the show! (Like maybe KITT's first Turbo Boost ending in popped tires and they spend an episode designing better tires.)

[@armandodimarzio1136]

Joe is recreating the magic

[@Rawsolo]

Fantastic idea for a series! This is really helpful. I’m building a season 3-4 Kitt!

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

Wonderful!

[@mrjsv4935]

Very interesting video series, fantastic stuff 🙂👍

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@kevinwright7931]

In the pilot episode "Buddy" press a few buttons, one sprays out oil, another one does a smoke screen.

[@BrianKitching-wv5nh]

Looking forward to the new series,I love anything to do with KITT. How is the semi going?

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

Hoping to have more updates for you guys soon!

[@simonlewis5511]

Properly fascinating. Id never really thought about the lower console- known in the UK as the Centre Console, before. Nor that the bit you see is just an add on to the original one. One of the big things with the 1 tv dash, was they lost the "lower lights", that use to be Auto, Normall etc... so you had less of that wrap around of buttons... But here's a question related to all that. the height of that wrapped around part: was it the same on the single TV dash as on the dual original dash?? Was the mold dimensions of ALL dashes... identical?

[@Teshyone]

I loved this. I can't wait to see more of this kinda stuff. Thank You so much for sharing it!

[@akira808state4]

So cool!!! Nice to know how the lower console evolved over the 4 years the series was on the air.

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@skidsandmudflaptwins]

I love this new series you're making! It's perfect for those who are making replicas! Someday i plan on making a K.I.T.T. replica and a K.A.R.R. replica and i want to make them both 100% accurate to the screen used cars! I sure hope that any original season 1 lower consoles or even molds of them still exist.

[@FishDS9]

Enjoyed this video! Looking forward to more in the series!

[@Whitleythe13th]

very much appreciated sir

[@alex_the_stampede]

I really like this new series!!!

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

Thank you!

[@intersepter100]

Yes, liked very much thankyou

[@ClarkeMarek]

Oh, DTMF tones. Phreak the planet.

[@BrianKitching-wv5nh]

Never knew the season 1 lower console was made from a calculator,very fascinating information.

[@Samuel-gc6js]

I'm sure you've done a video on all the season changes in one long video

[@joshualee1367]

Hey Joe great video. It’s interesting to hear all the little details that you don’t really learn about through the show. Speaking of details not explained in the show. I have a question about season 4s Knight Of The Juggernaut. In Goliath it’s explained that Kitts Shell formula is broken into 3 parts known by three different persons. But no one person knows all 3 elements and if memory serves correctly 2 of the 3 men are killed by Elizabeth Knight. In the episode Knight of the Juggernaut Bonnie says the super pursuit mode is to help to compensate for the loss of said shell. How does Kitt get the shell back in further episodes of season 4?

[@sfritts]

I built a season 1 replica out of an 83. I am running a season 4 nose however. Everything is Rob Louisell fiberglass with Brenon and Jupiter electronics. My scanner is from Knight Scanners in Florida. Recently converted from Carb to Fuel injection and currently dressing up the engine to look more like a "turbine" to match the sound. Voice attack is used for Kitts voice responses on a windows 10 based pc. 4 camera system keeps surveillance in check.

[@polbecca]

It's surprising how similar the aesthetic is with the chest panel on Darth Vader's suit and the Death Star superlaser control console.

[@radwolf76]

Well, when Michael first saw the interior, his comment was that it "looks like Darth Vader's bathroom".

[@polbecca]

@@radwolf76 I'd forgotten that!

[@jetknight7562]

That hurts to know that they cut a perfectly working Alpine 7154 😢

[@donaldwiller9238]

Great information 👍. Calculator is so funny I had one like that. had to be in the 70s

[@patientmental875]

I see the Ouch gum up on the shelf

[@ianvallender7892]

With the pilot of Knight rider you forgot the Destruction Derby Scene where a rather naughty child presses a couple of buttons on the lower console and causes a fair bit of mayhem an oil slick and a smoke screen!

[@markthintie5132]

I am still not happy that KITT`s Voicebox is Above the steering wheel :(. I have always remembered it just above the Gear shift.

[@SquireJazz]

Great video Joe. I just saw a car at a car show yesterday with this console. How can I send a picture?

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

[e-mail], thanks!

[@SquireJazz]

@@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficialsent

[@gaz66chris]

all i know is that this series is good....

[@amy-joe5772]

I wanted a car like that but the selfish producers had a copyright on it

[@renereissig-hochweller3228]

Quick question: what about the force3 series that you mentioned 3 weeks ago when do we get details? I can’t wait to see it

[@chrislongbeard]

I don't remember if you ever reviewed any of the remade replica parts available. Maybe help someone who wants the closest to real thing

[@ScotlandSoldier]

For some reason I always thought the SPM and EBS buttons were on the lower console. Was their compartment actually on the dash?

[@PhoneSpecificationsUSA]

How does the KITTS's printer clear the arm of the lower console? Does the bottom of the printer supposed to sit on top of the arm?

[@davidgonzales390]

Hi Joe I have an I have an 1982 Pontiac Firebird trans Am that I'm converting into a KITT Replica I'll be going with the season 2 console

[@KnightRiderHistoriansOfficial]

Good luck!

[@JayH237]

Does the stock heater controls and radios still exist in the lower consoles hidden or were they removed?

[@douglasbrandt4068]

Maybe I'm the oddball, but i still prefer S1 KITT the most. I appreciated the practicality of the effects and tech and buttons. The gels and LEDs of S3/4, meh. Getting to fancy. Kinda like the original Airwolf vs that crappy S4 nonsense.

[@lucaslopez9569]

how about the SPM and EBS buttons???

[@AndrasMihalyi]

as far as I know, they were never built into any actual car...

[@davidjames1389]

I guess that explains why the S3-4 console was so much taller and beefier, since it had to fit those real devices inside.

[@KennyBacchus-yg3uv]

Knight rider guide to Kitts evolution the Lower console E

[@JohnOToole-x5s]

hello it's John here from England my friend I just love Knight rider . kitt is my favourite car I have him on my phone when I want to talk to him. I know David hasslehoff will Daniels he e mailed me to day I just want to say I love always wanted to have kitt for real please could you build me one my mum died last year and I promised I will get kitt for her sake