Press Release
Friday September 4, 2009


80s SUPERCAR TAKES POLL POSITION

Knight Rider’s KITT unveiled as Britain’s favourite iconic car of all time according to MSN Cars


As the government announces another hike on petrol prices it seems nothing can dampen our love affair with the great motorcar.

Iconic cars that have captured the nation’s hearts have today been revealed with 24% of Brits voting 80s TV icon KITT their favourite car of all time. In the poll by the award-winning motoring website MSN Cars (cars.uk.msn.com), Only Fools and Horses fans secured second place for the memorable Reliant Robin with 20% of the vote.

The 1982 black Pontiac Firebird Trans AM, was the ultimate supercar of cult 1980s TV series Knight Rider. Pimped out with variable attack modes and able to negotiate tough terrain on both land and water, KITT was instrumental in Michael Knight’s quest for good over evil.

KITT beat off stiff competition from Del Boy’s loveable yet unreliable battered three-wheeler, Starsky and Hutch’s Ford Torino (taking 14% of the vote), the time travelling DeLorean (16%), the Bat Mobile (14%), Herbie (8%) and the all-flying, all-swimming Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (4%). 

Tom Evans from MSN Cars commented; “KITT enables you to play the hero - with his loyal personality and often sensible advice, he’s above and beyond just a cool car, he’s a modern man’s best friend”.

 

Britain’s  favourite iconic cars of all time include:

1

KITT Car (Knight Rider)

24%

2

Del Boy’s Reliant Robin

20%

3

DeLorean (Back to the Future)

16%

4

Starsky and Hutch’s Ford Torino

14%

5

Bat Mobile

14%

6

Herbie

8%

7

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

4%

7039 people surveyed

 

The findings were from MSN Cars, the website that enables users to conduct searches on expert car reviews and road tests, motoring news and comment, and new and used car guides.

If you’re looking to buy a second hand car and just don’t know where to start why not try the new MSN Cars search tool on Cars.uk.msn.com     All you’ll need to enter is your budget to get searching through thousands of cars. 

Five things you might not know about KITT:

·         KITT stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand

·         KITT is an artificial intelligence electronic computer installed in a highly advanced robot in the form of a car

·         In Knight Rider, KITT could reach speeds of up to 300mph and soar 50 feet in the air

·         KITT’s main attributes include Turbo Boost – ideal for jumping over obstacles; Auto Cruise – allowing KITT to drive himself using an advanced Auto Collision Avoidance system; and a front-mounted scan bar (Anamorphic Equalizer) allowing KITT to ‘see’ in all visual wavelengths, including X-Ray and infra-red

·         KITT’s primary spoken language is English, although by accessing the language module, he can speak fluently in Spanish and French

-ENDS-

 

For further info please contact
Andrea San Pedro / Katie Blanch @ 3 Monkeys Communications
andrea@3monkeys.co.uk / katie.blanch@3-monkeys.co.uk

               
Tel (020) 7009 3150 / (020) 7009 3145

 

Notes to Editors:

About the Research
(7039) people were surveyed in an online poll at MSN Cars - http://www.msn.co.uk/cars

Please ensure you attribute all results and findings of this survey to MSN Cars when used.

About MSN Cars

MSN Cars is one of the most popular motoring websites in the UK.  In July 2009, it received 841,000 unique users according to independent data from comScore.  In July 2009 MSN Cars was voted by motor industry professionals the ‘best automotive website’ in the annual Headline Auto awards.

 

About MSN and Windows Live
MSN attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide per month. With localised versions available globally in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. Windows Live, a new set of personal Internet services and software, is designed to bring together in one place all the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with enhanced safety and security features across their PC, devices and the Web. MSN and Windows Live are being offered alongside each other as complementary services. Windows Live Messenger is available at http://get.live.com/messenger/overview.

MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com 

MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Microsoft, Windows Live and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.