The Most Authentic and Historic General Lee in Existence Up Close at Volo Museum!

This next movie cars dropping jaws and breaking laws when you hear this sound: It’s The Dukes of Hazzard ‘69 Dodge Charger known as the “General Lee.” During the show, the car would get three times more fan letters than all of the main actors combined! Over 40 years later it still has a massive fan base. The show went through over 300 Dodge Chargers in only 147 episodes. Only 19 show-used cars still exist and Volo Museum proudly owns the “Holy Grail” of all of them. The first five episodes were filmed in Georgia and only six high quality, hand-painted, General Lee’s were built. 5 of those 6 were abused or destroyed in filming. Warner Brothers moved the show to California, for cheaper production, car parts and even decals for decorations. The studio didn’t want to pay to ship The 6th car to California, so they sold it. Volo Museum now owns Lee #6, fully unrestored with only 1,800 miles on it, hand-painted art, higher quality parts, and the roll bar from the very first one built! It’s also the only one with the Dixie horn installed. Once in California, they just over-dubbed the sound in post-editing. We also found out none of the doors were actually ever welded shut. The General Lee revolutionized car stunts and breathtaking jumps, with its highest peak being 16ft high and a distance of 82ft! Many of the jump scenes would be impossible because the engine weighs more than the trunk, so it would nose dive. So they filled the trunks with concrete bags to distribute the weight, but once it landed the concrete would completely smash the car. A forklift would pick it up and put another General Lee in its place. Due to the number of Chargers bought and destroyed by the show, the General Lee inadvertently caused a huge Dodge Charger shortage. The car was the star of the show, so desperate crewmembers went as far as aerial searches to find as many as they could, leaving flyers on Chargers' windshields, asking if “Dukes” could buy their car. As the shortage worsened and funds drying up, a desperate Warner Bros. decided to use miniature cars for final one and a half seasons. These remote-controlled cars were used for the bigger jump scenes, so any their remaining General Lees weren’t destroyed, which got a major backlash from fans, critics, cast and crew. In 2005 a feature film was released. Instead of over 300 cars, the movie only used 26 chargers because many of the shots were used with a new technology called a go mobile. Remote drivers would sit in front, or on top, of the car and be able to shoot high-speed scenes up to 90 mph with the real actors and not have to use stunt doubles. Some of these scenes are pretty amazing. A hillbilly is sitting at the bar. A woman approaches him and says “You know, generally I don't go for guys like you, but I wanted to come over and say hello.” and the hillbilly replied “Yee haw! You had me at General Lee!”

Volo Museum is a World Famous, family-owned, all-day tourist destination in Volo, IL. We are know across the world for our all-indoor showroom rotating hundreds of classic and modern collector cars. Experience over 45 exhibits and over 10,000 mechanical marvels! Our attractions include over 50 iconic TV and Movie cars, a 15k sq ft Jurassic Gardens dinosaur park. Hollywood Train Tours & Museum, a mini golf course, one of the largest Antique Malls in the country and more! Our exhibits include a Coney Island Carousel Room, Early-Century Music Hall, Duesenberg Exhibit, 3 Batmobiles, A Military Museum, The Titanic Exhibit, Fast and Furious Collection, Ford vs. Ferrari Exhibit, Cars of the Hollywood Stars, 50’s Finned Fiberglass Boats, Evolution of the Motorcycle, Disney Gallery & Parade Cars, Retro Animatronic Entertainment, Gangster Crime & Medieval Punishment Museum, tractors, and Novelty/Special Interest Custom Cars. We also have large collections of Vintage and Very Rare Bicycles, Scooters, Coin-Operated Kiddie Rides, Children’s Pedal Cars, Snowmobiles, Jukeboxes, Arcades, Novelty Coin-Operated Games, Tractors, Aviation, Campers & Travel Lodging, Showtime Pizzeria, gift shops and ice cream parlor & more! Also book your next party, event or gathering for up to 100 people and our brand new Party Barn! Email [email protected] for more info.

www.volofun.com
www.facebook.com/volomuseum
www.instagram.com/volomuseum
www.twitter.com/volomuseum
Tik Tok @volomuseum
Snapchat @volomuseum