The Pontiac Trans AM has been a staple of cool for over 50 years. Its one of the most iconic muscle cars and is a prime example of America’s need for muscle and might. Were going to take a look at a few times the Firebird became a pop-culture icon.
Dazed and Confused: Pontiac Trans AM “The Judge”
The first time I had ever seen a Pontiac Trans AM was when I watched the movie “Dazed and Confused”. The intro of a bright orange muscle machine slowly pulling into a high school parking lot with Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” blaring in the background was awesome. It was a definitive moment for me. Being 13-14 at the time, I had also had my first taste at the Fast and the Furious movies. Cars started to become a hobby of mine. Three GTO’s were used for the film. They were dressed up to look like the 366 horsepower “Hero Car” while the other two were used for background and stunt shots.
Smokey and the Bandit
Burt Reynolds drives a rare 1977 Y82 Special Edition Trans Am with T-tops, 200-hp W72 engine, and automatic transmission. The year 1977 saw only approximately 3000 of these built, but man you can hear the sound of the engine before the car shos up on screen. Once I heard that I was hooked. Again, I was fresh off of seeing Dazed and Confused and putting the two cars together felt like harmony.
K.I.T.T – Knight Rider
At the time of my upbringing, I was told that nothing really cool ever came out of 80’s, but the ones who told me that were wrong. “Have they ever listened to the 80’s?” I would ask. To which they replied a pretty solid “no”. Jokes on them, though. The 80’s were the coolest decade. Obviously they never watched Knight Rider…or Miami Vice for that matter. I digress. K.I.T.T (which stood for “Knight Industries 2000”) was a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am fully “kitted” out with a super-future sounding microchip and it was driven by none other than David Hasselhoff. The car talked and was voiced by “Boy Meets worlds” Mr. Feeny. This car was smart. It had rocket boosters, super future technology from the ’80s and could do pretty much anything and had the sickest armor of all… plot armor.
