Field of Schemes

Green Dodge Charger

There’s not a Dukes fan on the planet who hasn’t dreamed of owning a General Lee. Anyone shopping for a General Lee replica in the past few years has undoubtedly felt some sticker shock as ’69 Dodge Charger prices jumped into the stratosphere.

Years of successful DukesFest events, numerous car shows, and syndicated airing of The Dukes of Hazzard on CMT gave the General Lee plenty of spotlight. The 2005 big-screen Dukes of Hazzard movie further fueled collector interest in General Lee replicas, and prices reacted accordingly. It wasn’t unheard of to see GL replicas going for $50,000 and up. As prices went north, many of us longtime fans figured we could never afford this ultimate rebel dream machine.

We’re not even counting the price hysteria surrounding the “real” General Lees, as the finer points of snobbery regarding pedigree are lost on those of us who just want to rip around town and hit the Dixie horn.

But times have changed. The Dukes of Hazzard is no longer on the air, and doesn’t seem likely to return in the near future. Warner Bros, having squeezed the teat of the cash cow repeatedly on Dukes of Hazzard DVD sales, the 2005 movie, and the later made-for-TV “Dukes of Hazzard – Beginnings” movie, is giving the Dukes a rest. The toys have been marketed, the posters sold. The recent golden era for all things Duke has started to look like a sunset.

The economy itself has changed, too. Sputtering house prices have effectively dried up home equity loans. The job market is dicey in many areas of the country. Add high gasoline prices to the mix, and you have a recipe for a cooling collector car market. General Lee replicas, popular as they are, have not been immune from this trend. A recent bargain hunt online found a show-condition GL replica selling for $25,000 flat.

It seems like a great time to buy that General Lee dream car, while prices are somewhat calm. We thought so too, and so our search took us to online postings around the country. One seller in Illinois had several classic Charges for sale, but further research showed them to have a bad reputation. They allegedly pump out General Lee clones as fast as they can find rust buckets and spray paint them orange. We’re not claiming to be the Better Business Bureau, and in fairness we don’t have the company’s side of the story. Here’s who they are: http://www.hlpag.com

And here’s where we saw negative feedback, regarding an ebay purchase from these sellers: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,3692.0.html

While there’s a few bargains out there, this is all a long-winded way of saying that no matter the market, no matter how bad you want something…always do the homework.

Wish us luck as we continue our quest for a General Lee we can afford. Yeeehaaa!

Candid Cooter

Ben Jones new book (released June 3rd) talks candidly about his trials and tribulations with alcohol and how just a year before the Dukes, he had hit rock bottom. CNN recently had an article about it. As Ben says about his life story it’s not a story “about falling down. It’s a story about getting up.” That’s something that all of us can relate to and hopefully take some inspiration from. You gotta keep on keepin’ on!

New Forum Features

Folks, we’ve just upgraded the forums. The new upgrade includes features like buddy lists and social groups. Social groups allow you to socialize with folks of similar interests. We’ve already created Fan Fic Writers and Dukes of Hazzard Trivia Lovers social groups. Feel free to check them out and maybe create your own groups!

June 2008 – Upcoming Dukes news and events!

June is shaping up to be a humdinger of a month for Dukes related events and product releases. Since we here at HNet have been slacking since April, it’s time for Boss to collectively kick us all in the posterior, threaten to take away our patrol cars and give us trikes (which may not be a bad idea. Khee!) if we don’t start meeting our quota. So here we go!

Coming up first on June 3rd, Ben Jones’s book, “Redneck Boy in the Promised Land: The Confessions of ‘Crazy Cooter'” will be released. Check out Cooter’s site for more information and links to order the book.

Then on June 10th, we have the DVD release of the two reunion movies. Remember y’all, the rumor is that if the reunion movies sell well, WB will give serious consideration to releasing “Enos” and the Dukes Cartoon Series on DVD too!

And we close out the month of June with a bash at the Atlanta Motor Speeday with DukesFest! Thirty years have passed since the Dukes first decended on the state of Georgia and the General Lee first jumped over Rosco’s patrol car. Ain’t nothin’ been the same since. Khee!

All we need now is for a cable channel to pick up the series again.

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