About Transformation in the new episode

[knightriderfan80]

I have a question regarding the Transformation.

Why does KITT transform into a pickup truck? Is it a FORD required thing for advertisement? Reason I ask is because KITT I thought was supposed to be the most sophisticated advanced car ever and if KITT needs to ride railroad tracks or go over rough terrain etc, he should have the capabilities well within his scope to do so without having to transform into a truck. I really like the episode but that really bothered me. It takes away from seeing KITT himself overcoming obstacles and looks like FORD screaming advertisement.

When the truck came to a dead stop from the speeds it was going at, then Michael jumps out, that just didnt look right. And when Sarah and Michael jumped into the truck and transformed back to the Mustang and they are instantly back in the drivers seat and passenger seat. That just didnt look right either. I don't mean to complain but I have to say something because I really think we could do with out the Mustang to "whatever vehicle" with KITTs capabilities.

In the original series, KITT had spikes installed in his tires to go up steep inclines to CHASE a pickup lol. I use this as an example because I just think it takes away from the new KITT's capabilities and actually makes him look like he has a weak spot compared to old KITT. I dunno guys tell me what you think of that...

[FuzzieDice]

The first time he transformed into a truck was so Mike and Sarah could jump in the back deck easier to make the getaway. The second time I guess was for off road I dunno but when the stopped at the station, Mike was in the deck so he could easily jump out and pursue the bad guys.

[BlueChaos]

The one thing I'm curious about is this: does KITT have to go to the Attack Mode first before he can transform to the Truck? Because on that last transformation, Michael switched KITT to the Attack Mode, then ONLY A FEW SECONDS AFTER, he switched KITT again to Truck Mode. Why did that? Why couldn't he switch directly from KITT Hero Mode to Truck Mode? This one thing keeps bugging me...

Seems like the transformation is following this pattern:
KITT Hero >> Attack KITT >> KITT Truck >> KITT Hero

You can't go KITT Hero >> KITT Truck, or KITT Truck >> Attack KITT, it seems?

[bige12]

Probally the truck is part of the ATTACK KITT function since I watched KITT was in ATTACK Mode then Sara told KITT to use the new program and then he turned into the truck. We might find out later in the series if kitt can transform for the KITT Hero Car to another. Do not forget GST mention that each episode KITT will have a different feature added to the car.

[seeker78]

I was talking about this to my dad...I mentioned that, nanotechnology can manipulate atoms but it doesn't seem plausible to be able to take atoms from the air, a gas which is much less dense than metal, and convert them to metal to make a truck. It would involve not only the position of the atoms, but the atoms themselves, that is, what element they are; you would have to convert nitrogen to carbon. Usually, doing that requires a particle accelerator (add protons etc), although I suppose it could be done with nanomachines. But nanomachines are usually manipulating the atoms, like moving them around, or maybe adding charge, certainly not converting them to another element.

He agreed but pointed out, it is possible that Truck KITT has the APPEARANCE of a truck, but not the MASS or the CAPABILITY of a truck. In other words truck kitt should not be able to haul things. Which I guess makes sense. But by the same token, kitt should not be able to convert back to car form with people in the bed, unless they climb into the cabin somehow.

I admit that I have heard people talk about using nanotechnology to temporarily transform any object into a superconducting magnet (like for leviation), and that would probably involve changing the element. Seems there are other ways though.

I guess Truck KITT could be used for stealth, but since you have a nanotech skin, why not simply make yourself invisible by matching the appearance of the skin to your surroundings, like in the Bond movie Die Another Day?

Overall the Truck mode as it is now seems to make little logical sense. It could be improved though.

-- the cabin shouldn't change; if it changes into a truck it has to be an "extended cab", still 5 seats.

-- truck should not be able to haul things (that would imply that it has the extra mass etc of a truck and not just the appearance)

-- truck should be as low to the ground as the mustang, with the same wheels as the mustang (again making it look more like it is just a superficial conversion)

--Brian.

[Faithful Car KRO]

The way that i iunderstood the transformations of anything...be it a car or a block of metal... is that it can only trnasform into that is the same mass.

The logical standpoint would thus be, if the car must have the same mass as the truck to transform into it.

And we dont really know if it's a real truck KITT is turning into, or an object that looks like a truck, but has the same mass.

That would be the only physical way I can see it happening...by science that is.

[PHOENIXZERO]

I was thinking the other night that perhaps that thing in the back is a generator for the Nanotech or at least something along those lines that allows increases of mass and size also, how do we know that KITT "himself" doesn't have a higher mass than that of a typical Mustang? Don't forget even in the pilot KITT apparently had such a high mass that when the SUV hit him he barely moved an inch. Of course we know how that stunt and effect were actually done but that's the only explanation there could be either that or an ability to somehow could increase mass.

Have we had any confirmation what that thing in the back when transformed is supposed to be? The only real sticky point to me is how Mike and Sarah got moved to the front seat and apparently though other stuff. But eh, maybe we shouldn't be trying to figure real world science or physics into this...

[goldbug]

And when Sarah and Michael jumped into the truck and transformed back to the Mustang and they are instantly back in the drivers seat and passenger seat.

Actually they didn't "instantly" reappear in the chair. The transformation actually goes on for a couple seconds as the front end formed and then Mike and Sarah "pop up" as if they were slid from the rear bed into the chairs and then slid up. Does it make sense? No, not really, but neither does Warp Drive and yet I enjoy "Star Trek" so...

[BlueChaos]

Heh, one thing I note of the Transformers movie was that there were NEVER any driver inside the cars when they transformed. Wonder where they would end up reappearing if they were inside the car. Remember the Bumblebee coughed up the people inside him before he transformed into the huge robot.

Star Trek was enjoyable because we tend to see Warp Drive and Teleportation as something 'scientifically logical' and 'yep, it might just happen someday in the future', while this KITT transformation seems like 'scientifically illogical' and 'no, it can't happen like that even in the future'. So there's a big big difference between the concepts.

The original KITT was like that: "technology of tomorrow" and "might happen in the future but it happens today". KI3T's HUD was definitely in that category but somehow not the transformations (specifically: the truck one, the Attack KITT transform was somehow more possible).

[goldbug]

Star Trek was enjoyable because we tend to see Warp Drive and Teleportation as something 'scientifically logical' and 'yep, it might just happen someday in the future', while this KITT transformation seems like 'scientifically illogical' and 'no, it can't happen like that even in the future'. So there's a big big difference between the concepts.

I guess I don't agree there. Warp Drive uses the principle of creating a "bubble" that moves you through space against Einstein's physics by utilizing matter with anti-matter bursts controlled by magnetic forces. How does that sound realistic at all? It doesn't in the "real world", but it does in the context of Star Trek it does. In the context of KR, Nanotech is their default tech. The nanotech reshapes molecules and repairs the car, so that explanation can be extended to "there are extra bits of nanotech mass stored in the car to allow it to transform into a truck". So within the context of the show, it works IMO.

[BlueChaos]

I guess I don't agree there. Warp Drive uses the principle of creating a "bubble" that moves you through space against Einstein's physics by utilizing matter with anti-matter bursts controlled by magnetic forces. How does that sound realistic at all? It doesn't in the "real world", but it does in the context of Star Trek it does. In the context of KR, Nanotech is their default tech. The nanotech reshapes molecules and repairs the car, so that explanation can be extended to "there are extra bits of nanotech mass stored in the car to allow it to transform into a truck". So within the context of the show, it works IMO.

Okay, I see the point there and I earnestly agree with you. I don't have any problems with the truck transformation, that by itself is okay by me, the "unrealistic and impossible" thing I was talking about earlier was about the "Sarah and Michael popping from the trunk to the front seats" thing. No matter how I think about it in terms of both transform and nanotechnology, it still feels just... wrong

Care to think about how Michael could suddenly move from the driver's seat to the trunk during the subway station scene? Did Michael stop KITT and went to the back? Was there a crawling space in the backseat for Michael to move into the trunk? Or was it another miraculous nanotech/transform thing?

[goldbug]

Care to think about how Michael could suddenly move from the driver's seat to the trunk during the subway station scene? Did Michael stop KITT and went to the back? Was there a crawling space in the backseat for Michael to move into the trunk? Or was it another miraculous nanotech/transform thing?

Actually I would chalk it up to a combination of nanotech morph and mechanical technology. The way I picture it, the seats inside KITT's cabin area can collapse down. Most seats in cars can go into a reclining position, but his actually go flat. As he transforms, a conveyor belt system pulls the seat out to the back as the car morphs and then the seat collapses into the under side of the pickup truck's flatbed. At least in my head that's how it plays out.

This is, in many ways, akin to the early days of Star Trek. In the original series, technology just "worked" and you took it for granted. It wasn't until years later that Paramount would start releasing "official tech manuals" and the like to explain the technology. So the above is just fan speculation on my part. It's just as valid as someone saying that KITT"s interior turns into a gooey mass of nanos and gently pushes him to the back and then the gooey stuff reforms around him.