It's a very sad day. No, nothing to do with Swine Flu or Obama rocketing us toward socialism at breakneck speed or the fact I'm out of a job in 4 days. That stuff is important yes but pales next to this....and it's the death of Pontiac brand.
End a of era is so overused but for this it's true as can be. For the making the Firebird/Trans Am alone Pontiac should be saved and yes I have my own selfish reasons. Don't most? Least I'm honest about it. Anyway....
Just mentioning Trans Am to me instantly transports me back to the summer of 1977. Being 9 years old at the time I went with my best friend Charlie & his sisters to the local twin cinema's to see this new flick called Smokey and the Bandit. Truthfully I didn't have any idea what it was about but as we were walking in I noticed a poster up in front of the theatre:
At the time CB's were all the rage and I knew some basic terms like Smokey referred to a cop, 99% of the time a state trooper.
Was like, ok. Yeah, that looks cool. We went in got popcorn, some candy (think Ju-Ju B's and m&m’s) and sat down in the darkened theatre. About 90 minutes later I stumbled out into the sunlight trying to make my brain digest what I had just seen. At that moment I knew that nothing else on Earth mattered but this: I wanted to be Burt Reynolds & I HAD to have a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am with the Georgia License plate on the front. The one with the confederate flag.
32 years have elapsed since that day and now. My thinking and life has a changed a lot. I no longer want to be Burt but still think he's a cool dude and good actor. The closest I ever came to owning 1977 Trans Am is a couple hot-wheels cars & a Revel model I put together(long since destroyed) You never know but perhaps someday I’ll be able to afford a blacker than night 1977 Trans-Am replete with the screaming chicken on the hood.
Ran across the below photo of Burt, Sally & the Trans Am on a random website. Looking at it takes me back to much simpler, sane time…the summer of ‘77 when it was still cool to smoke, still cool to drive a beast of a car with a Confederate flag on the front and not care a whit about political correctness. Amazing what a simple photo can do, isn’t it?
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