Blog

Auto Hazzard: Jalen Rose Customized An Original General Lee—It Hits the Auction Block May 24th, 2011

Jalen Rose's General Lee

Jalen Rose’s General Lee

What in the wide world of sports Jalen Rose was thinking when he desecrated an American muscle car classic, I do not know.  I can only communicate that the outcome makes Mopar and Dukes of Hazzard fans around the world cringe, a bizarre exotic car tale indeed.

 

Jalen Rose's General Lee Original

The agony…

The former member of the University of Michigan’s “Fab Five” is an avid car collector, and I can certainly understand the desire to own an original 1969 Dodge Charger “General Lee” from the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ series, but to customize a classic?  Going too far man.  The Charger is just one of the last four used on the set, and Bo Duke signed the underside of the trunk lid.  The destroyed original hits the luxury car auction block on May 24th, 2011.

General Lee Original

Indeed…those are zip ties holding engine components in place…zero points for proper muscle car maintenance.

So what did Rose decide to do with his new toy?  He must have a fairly sizable ego, because he opted to remove the “General Lee” name above the side windows and replace it with “Longboy” (a childhood nickname), replaced the famous ‘01’ on the doors with 05 (his jersey number from U of M) and also removed the rebel flags.  Hey man, you could have purchased a General Lee replica and transformed it into your personal shrine, leaving the original untouched!  This is a crime against motoring history.

Signature under hood of original General Lee

Bo Duke signature

Jalen Rose autographs General Lee

Of course, Jalen decided to also autograph the famous General Lee

The bidding for Rose’s General Lee will begin at just $40,000, and the proceeds will go to a charitable organization founded in, you guessed it, Jalen Rose’s name.   It is called the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, a prep school for  grades 9-12 in Detroit.  Is Rose a Hazzard to collectible and historical autos?  Comment below!

 

 

 

 

Post by Imagine Lifestyles Luxury Rentals