Museum Refuses To Remove Famous 1969 Dodge Charger

Jul. 11, 2020 4:25 PM ET by Jay Traugott Movies & TV / 126 Comments

The General Lee from "The Dukes of Hazzard" now calls Illinois home.

While flags, statues, and other memorial symbols of the Confederacy are currently being removed across America, there is one very specific vehicle that's staying put in an Illinois automotive museum. According to the Northwest Herald, the last surviving 1969 Dodge Charger used during the first season of the iconic TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard" will remain on display at the Volo Auto Museum in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

"We feel the car is part of history, and people love it," said museum director Brian Grams. "We've got people of all races and nationalities that remember the TV show and aren't offended by it whatsoever. It's a piece of history and it's in a museum."

The museum began displaying this particular General Lee in 2005.

Barrett-Jackson

Prior to that, it had replicas on hand. Despite the growing national trend of Confederacy symbol removal, the museum has not received any complaints, at least so far.

"Several people have reached out with positive comments about us leaving it on display," Grams said, "complimenting us for leaving it there and not having a knee-jerk reaction to remove it like a lot of places are."

One of those places is NASCAR, which has millions of extremely loyal fans, many of whom have a great fondness for the Charger General Lee. But still, culture is changing faster than ever these days and people who previously remained silent on the matter could still decide to speak up.

Barrett-Jackson

Then again, the TV show was nothing but innocent fun.

"It was a very popular TV show, and the show wasn't racist by any means," Grams added. "It was a wholesome, family show, so to speak." For now, the museum remains closed because of the coronavirus pandemic and a new reopening date has not been scheduled.

Aside from the General Lee, the museum is also home to other famous TV and movie cars, such as the Family Truckster from "National Lampoon's Vacation" and even a 1966 Ford GT40 featured in last year's "Ford v Ferrari."