It is known for its signature horn, its police chases, stunts—especially its long jumps—and for having its doors welded shut, leaving the Dukes to climb in and out through the windows.

The car's name is a reference to Robert E. Lee, general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

When filming a jump, anywhere from 500 to 1,000 pounds (230 to 450 kg) of sand bags or concrete ballast was placed in the trunk to prevent the car from nosing over.

Later in the series the mechanics would raise the front end of the car to keep it from scraping against the ramp causing it to lose speed, thereby providing a cushion for the driver upon landing.

Chargers from model years 1968 and 1969 (no 1970 was used until the 2005 film) were sourced and converted to General Lee specifications (taillights, grills, etc.).

Later in the show's run, when it got too hard and/or expensive to continue procuring more Chargers, the producers started using more "jump footage" from previous episodes.

After the now-famous jump over Rosco P. Coltrane's police cruiser by stuntman Craig Baxley, it was stripped of its front seats and 1969-specific grill and taillight panel.

It was originally an F5 Medium Green Metallic R/T SE (Special Edition) model with a tan vinyl top.

This car had a tan leather interior and a removable roll bar that allowed installation of a camera for in-car shots.

LEE 1 was sold to professional golfer Bubba Watson at the 2012 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction for US$110,000 (US$121,000 after buyer premium).

LEE 3 and a specially caged car never appearing (but built) in Georgia were used heavily in early California episodes.

The paint was any color orange they had on hand at the time, but there does appear to be some variance here: interiors were mostly dyed brown and occasionally SEM Saddle Tan.

The money generated by building General Lees financed the Veluzat family project of restoring Gene Autry's Melody Ranch; it had burned in the 1960s.

Fritz didn't have the job long before he too was fired and at this point Warner Brothers moved full production in-house.

The General Lee was now the highlight of the series, and WB received enormous amounts of Lee-specific fan mail that nit-picked the inconsistencies of the cars.

Because of the fame of General Lee, WB had their staff mechanics build the cars to a specific appearance, even underneath.

As the WB era rolled on, finding the cars became difficult: Piper Cubs were hired to perform aerial searches for 1968 and 1969 Chargers amongst the populace; the jumped cars were now no longer scrapped after one jump if deemed salvageable, and were repaired and used until they could no longer function; and, as last resort, miniature radio-controlled models were also brought in toward the end of the series to replace most of the big jump stunts, thereby saving more cars—something that proved unpopular with many episode directors (including Tom Wopat) who felt that the models did not look realistic.

Taking full control also saved some money, as now WB had the ability to buy cars, recondition them, and use them without paying daily rental fees.

He repaints it a bright Hemi orange and adds the well-known trademarks (American Racing "Vector" 10-spoke "turbine" wheels, octagonal "01", black grille guard, Confederate flag on the roof, "Dixie" horn, and "General Lee" above the door window openings).

The movie General not only flies and makes controlled landings, but also drifts with the aid of professional drifter Tanner Foust.

Otherwise, except for the white letters on the Goodrich "Radial T/A" tires, the exterior of the movie's "close-up" General Lees varied little from the television show cars.

The paint was "Big Bad Orange" (an American Motors Corporation color) rather than Corvette "Flame Red"; the interior headliner was black instead of tan, an actual roll cage was used; a three-spoke Grant wood-trimmed steering wheel replaced the standard wheel, an AM/FM stereo radio with Compact Disc player was installed in the dashboard; and the interiors were a custom color vinyl fabric made to look like the dye/paint used in the later eras of the TV show.

Though it did sustain some damage during filming, it is fully road worthy and is privately owned by Troy Martinson in Minnesota.

[8] The commercial featured the General Lee with Dukes of Hazzard stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat.

[11] Ben Jones criticized the move, stating, "I think all of Hazzard Nation understands that the Confederate battle flag is the symbol that represents the indomitable spirit of independence which keeps us 'makin' our way the only way we know how.

'"[12] John Schneider responded by stating, "I take exception to those who say that the flag on the General Lee should always be considered a symbol of racism.

"[13] In 2001, the hip-hop group Juggaknots's album Clear Blue Skies[14] included the song "Generally" about the imagery of the car.

[16] After Bubba Watson, owner of LEE 1, won the 2012 Masters tournament, there were complaints about his using the General in his Twitter header image.

In the TV series, it is explained that racing cars have their doors welded shut, so the driver and passenger must slide in the window (as in NASCAR).

In one episode, Sheriff Rosco hires a bounty hunter (Jason Steele in the show) to create a fake General Lee and trick the Dukes into driving it, at which point he promptly orders their arrest for auto theft.