History Main / AutomobileOpening

* ''Franchise/LupinIII'' The introduction of the Lupin the III openings start off with Lupin driving in his yellow Fiat 500, the location varies on the iteration, he's driving alone or with his gang through a city, Tokyo,Paris, New York,Italy and London,In the opening for Part 1, he starts off by crashing his car through a window, driving it along France and then chasing it off a cliff, In the first opening for Part II, he chases Zenigata through a desert in his fiat 500.

* ''Franchise/LupinIII'' The introduction of the Lupin the III openings start off with Lupin driving in his yellow Fiat 500, the location varies on the iteration, he's driving alone or with his gang through a city, Tokyo,Paris, New York,Italy or London,In the opening for Part 1, he starts off by crashing his car through a window, driving it along France and then chasing it off a cliff, In the first opening for Part II, he chases Zenigata through a desert in his fiat 500.

* ''WesternAnimation/FiremanSam'' The 1987 intro features Sam driving Jupiter around Pontypandy, greeting the villagers before getting to work, in series 5, a clip show is shown while he's driving, and the later series incorperates elements of both, including the updated vehicles

[[folder: Anime and Manga]

* Another PoliceProcedural, this one by Jack Webb, was ''Series/AdamTwelve'', which opened with a dispatcher calling the unit to investigate an armed mob, and showing it rolling off, lights and siren full blast.

* The opening of ''Series/MoonlightMask's'', the very first {{tokusatsu}} television show, mostly sees the eponymous hero riding on his bike much like a proto-''Series/KamenRider''.

* ''Series/PoliceSquad'''s title sequence began with a shot of the flashing light on a police cruiser. In TheMovie, ''Film/TheNakedGun'', this was expanded to show the police cruiser driving around downtown UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, driving off the roads, driving through buildings, [[RuleOfFunny driving into jungles, driving down waterslides]], driving down the [[Film/ANewHope Death Star trench]]...
* For its first 13 years, the opening title sequence of ''Series/TheBill'' featured the area car (updated to a new one every few years or so) driving down a busy street in London.
* ''Series/TheSopranos'' features Tony driving from New York to his home in New Jersey. His route is deliberately inefficient to provide more interesting visuals: it runs through Newark and Kearney to get to Tony's house in North Caldwell, but any reasonable driver going from New York to North Caldwell would never get as far as Newark on the Turnpike but rather get off the Turnpike onto NJ Route 3 at Secaucus and get home from there. One supposes that perhaps Tony intends to visit Satriale's (fictively in Newark, with the actual building being in Kearney), but we don't see that in the intro.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' had the ship travelling through different astronomical settings, making it fit this trope.
* ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' had, of course, a taxi driving around New York and over the Queensboro Bridge.
* ''Series/{{Newhart}}'''s Automobile Opening was [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer locally infamous in Vermont]] for 1) showing the car cruising otherwise-empty backroads ''at the height of leaf-peeper season'', and 2) featuring a 1972 Oldsmobile long after everything that age on the state's heavily-salted roads in RealLife had rusted to oblivion (unless the car belongs to an out of state vacationer looking for an inn).
* ''Series/{{Maude}}''
* ''Series/{{One Day at a Time|1975}}'' opens with a sweep over rush hour in downtown UsefulNotes/{{Indianapolis}}.

* The opening of ''Series/MoonlightMask's'', the very first {{tokusatsu}} television show, mostly sees the eponymous hero riding on his bike much like a proto-''Series/KamenRider''.

* Another Creator/StevenBochco series, ''Series/HillStreetBlues'' had an opening montage showing police cars rolling out of the station-house.
* Another PoliceProcedural, this one by Jack Webb, was ''Series/AdamTwelve'', which opened with a dispatcher calling the unit to investigate an armed mob, and showing it rolling off, lights and siren full blast.
* ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'', although that's pretty much obvious for a show which focuses mainly on motoring dangers.
* ''Series/That70sShow'' features various cast members rotating into the car singing along with Cheap Trick's In the Street.
* A big chunk of ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' [[ExpositoryThemeTune expository opening sequence]] has Patrick [=McGoohan=] driving around in [[CoolCar the actor's own Lotus 7]].

* ''Series/TheJeffersons'' has George and Louise in a cab following the moving truck.
* The first season opening credits of ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' showed Mary driving herself into Minneapolis.
* ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'' has a driver tuning in to different radio stations while cruising by Cincinnati locations.

* ''Series/HawaiiFiveO'''s rapid montage ends with a shot onboard a Honolulu Police Department motorcycle, racing through the streets with its light flashing. [[Series/HawaiiFive0 The new series']] opening is a remake of the original.
* ''Series/BurkesLaw'' started with Henry driving Capt. Burke from his mansion (or wherever he was at the start of the show) to the scene of that episode's murder.
* One of the ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' title cards is a rear shot from the ''Series/BreakingBad'' episode "Full Measures" of Saul Goodman's 1999 Cadillac Sedan de Ville driving down an Albuquerque street, focusing in on his [[VanityLicensePlate LWYRUP]] license plate.
* ''{{Series/Emergency}}'' had its regular opening showing squad 51 speeding to a call with lights and sirens - before cutting to the opening credits. The syndication opening takes it up a few notches, by having both squad and engine 51 rolling out of the station to the tune of the station ringdown - but again, sort of averts it by having an epilepsy light show of rotolights with the title superimposed.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' cuts between the family members as they simultaneously drive, bike, or skateboard home.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' showcases the Planet Express Ship as it flies through New New York and finally crashes into a large screen. There are even occasional in-show references to the crash actually happening every week (due to the pilot being a cyclops with a dangerous lack of depth perception).
* ''WesternAnimation/PostmanPat'' features Pat driving around Greendale, picking up the mail from the post office and delivering it, while all the villagers wave as he goes past.
* A large part of the opening of ''MakeWayForNoddy'' features Noddy traveling through [=ToyTown=] in his car, making deliveries.

* ''WesternAnimation/BobbysWorld'' follows Bobby around the house on his tricycle (with detours through his imagination, where it becomes a spaceship and a submarine).

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'''s "PTV" combined the above sequences from ''Film/TheNakedGun'', ''WesternAnimation/BobbysWorld'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' into a single opening. We follow the top of Stewie's head as he rides his tricycle through ''still further'' pop culture references, including ''Franchise/StarWars'' footage, which culminate in him crashing into [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer]] in the garage.
--> '''Peter''': Hey Stewie! ...who the hell is that?

* Another airborne variant: ''WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'' opens with the titular villains and their crew in flight.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFunkyPhantom'' opening title has Skip, Augie, April and Elmo in their car, the Looney Duney, in a thunderstorm.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'':
** "A Hard Day's Knight" begins with the Flynn-Fletcher Family arriving in London via taxi cab.
** "The Lake Nose Monster" opens with the family car arriving in Lake Nose.
** "Vanessassary Roughness" starts with Doof and Vanessa on a motorcycle.
** ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieCandaceAgainstTheUniverse'' opens with Candace riding her bike.
* ''WesternAnimation/TopCat'' is seen in the opening of his show presumably being driven in a limousine. When the limousine turns around, we see T.C. [[RealVehicleReveal riding on its rear fender]].

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'', full stop. A checkered flag opening gives way to a stylized race car heading straight at the camera befrore the racers are introduced.

* ''WesternAnimation/TopCat'' is seen in the opening of his show presumably being driven in a limousine. When the limousine turns around, we see T.C. riding on its rear fender.

* Showa era ''Franchise/KamenRider'' series, with the exception of ''Series/KamenRiderAmazon'', do this with a motorcycle rather than a car. ''Series/KamenRiderV3'' does it with a motorcycle and a BBCQuarry [[MadeOfExplodium that explodes randomly and pointlessly]].

** Both openings of ''Series/KamenRiderAgito'', especially the second one, were around 80% motorcycle riding and 20% everything else.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Series/BurkesLaw https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/burkes_law.jpg]]]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Several LateToTheTragedy PC adventure games open with a driving scene of your character's journey to the game's location, often using RealLife highway footage rather than CGI. Examples include ''Barrow Hill'', ''Rhiannon'', ''Dire Grove'', and ''Baron Wittard''.

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* Another airborne variant: ''DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'' opens with the titular villains and their crew in flight.

* ''Series/{{Newhart}}'''s Automobile Opening was [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer locally infamous in Vermont]] for 1) showing the car cruising otherwise-empty backroads ''at the height of leaf-peeper season'', and 2) featuring a 1972 Oldsmobile long after everything that age on the state's heavily-salted roads in RealLife had rusted to oblivion.
** As to that second point, I always thought that was supposed to be an out of state vacationer looking for an inn.

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

[[AC: VideoGames]]

* A big chunk of ''Series/ThePrisoner'''s [[ExpositoryThemeTune expository opening sequence]] has Patrick [=McGoohan=] driving around in [[CoolCar the actor's own Lotus 7]].

* ''Series/{{One Day at a Time|1974}}'' opens with a sweep over rush hour in downtown UsefulNotes/{{Indianapolis}}.

* ''Series/OneDayAtATime'' opens with a sweep over rush hour in downtown UsefulNotes/{{Indianapolis}}.

* ''TheFunkyPhantom'' opening title has Skip, Augie, April and Elmo in their car, the Looney Duney, in a thunderstorm.

* ''WackyRaces'', full stop. A checkered flag opening gives way to a stylized race car heading straight at the camera befrore the racers are introduced.

* ''TopCat'' is seen in the opening of his show presumably being driven in a limousine. When the limousine turns around, we see T.C. riding on its rear fender.