Daniel LaRusso was introduced to the audience in 1984’s ‘The Karate Kid,’ as a teenager who learns to fight his bullies, especially Johnny Lawrence, after being trained by Mr. Miyagi in karate. More than three decades later, Netflix’s ‘Cobra Kai’ picks up his story, and his life looks very different than when he was a teenager. Through Mr. Miyagi’s teachings and the confidence that learning karate brought him, Daniel turned around his life for the better and ran a car dealership when he met him in the first episode of ‘Cobra Kai.’ It becomes an important location throughout the show, as his relationship with Johnny Lawrence improves when they have to join forces to fight their common enemies.
LaRusso’s Car Dealership is as Fictional as His Character
‘Cobra Kai’ presents a thrilling story of Daniel LaRusso and the people around him, but they are all fictional creations at the end of the day. His car dealership in the show is also made up to serve the purpose of his story. There is a real car dealership named LaRusso in Anderson, Indiana, but it has no relation with the characters and events in ‘Cobra Kai.’
While the story of the Netflix series is primarily set in the San Fernando Valley, with LaRusso’s dealership having several branches all over LA, the filming of the scenes regarding it weren’t even filmed in California. In the first season, the show employed a location in Atlanta to sub for Daniel’s fictional business. All the scenes featuring it were filmed at 6740 Oakley Industrial Boulevard in Union City. With the second season, the location shifted, and the cast and crew took to the Butler Lexus of South Atlanta headquarters at 4025 Jonesboro Road to film the scenes. Several interior scenes featuring the car dealership were filmed on set, particularly for fight scenes.
The car dealership is an important part of Daniel’s backstory and has a deeper connection to his relationship with Mr. Miyagi. For the fans of ‘The Karate Kid’ series, Daniel’s love for cars is not a new thing. In the first film, we see him eyeing a yellow 1947 Ford at Mr. Miyagi’s house. Cars also become an important part of his karate training, as he has to do lots of “wax on, wax off” before he advances further in his lessons, adding to the general life lessons that Mr. Miyagi gives him.
The importance of dealerships is highlighted in the third season of ‘Cobra Kai’ when Daniel is on the brink of losing his business. This is also when he goes back to the moment he got the Ford and was inspired to start his own car dealership. Thus, the place doesn’t just serve as his business but is also an integral part of his life, which connects him with Mr. Miyagi.
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