Pontiac

The cinema has made many cars famous – the Ford Mustang, Dodge Charger, Chevrolet Corvette, and even imports like the Toyota Supra have achieved iconic status, due to no small part, to the movies they’ve starred in. Among these is the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and it was “Smokey and the Bandit” that inspired this 1978 Pontiac Trans Am resto-mod, built by “Ryan’s Rod & Kustom”.

The Muscle Car really is the epitome of power and performance, and there’s no better way to prove that than running these highly tuned machines down the quarter-mile. The Wheels YouTube Channel put out a video in which old school muscle cars go head to head against their modern counterparts in a series of drag races.

Restomods are fun and can be called the car’s second innings. While some are resurrecting it in its same avatar, some cars go through a tremendous transformation. This 1956 Pontiac Star Chief belongs to the elite club. Autotopia LA covered this insane restomod by Fusion Motor Company of a ’56 Star Chief that comes with gorgeous looks, a plush interior, and a 900-horsepower engine under the hood. Such builds don’t come cheap and neither is this one. It costs almost a million bucks!

The Pontiac GTO is one of the most underestimated muscle cars to ever roam the surface of the planet. Designed as sportier version of Pontiac’s Tempest aimed at younger buyers, the GTO debuted in 1964 with a 6.4-liter V-8. The GTO, however, never quite made it sales-wise, despite Pontiac’s attempts to spice up the recipe with the Judge trim.

The Pontiac Firebird is one of the unsung heroes among American sports cars. In fact, Motorweek said in a review from 1998 that the Trans Am was the synonym of “Corvette performance for a minivan price.” The reason for that? For 1998, Pontiac fitted its sports car with a 305-horsepower LS1 engine.

When it comes to pony cars from the muscle car era, no vehicle from GM is more iconic than the Chevrolet Camaro. Introduced in 1966 as a rival for the popular Ford Mustang, the Camaro was joined in 1967 by the Firebird, Pontiac’s take on GM’s pony. Even though it had a solid following, it wasn’t as popular as the Camaro.

But that changed in 1977 when a Trans Am version of the Firebird was featured in the "Smokey and the Bandit" film. Sales nearly doubled and surpassed 100,000 units a year in 1979, enabling the Firebird to outsell the Camaro for the very first time. Although it wasn’t as powerful as its predecessor from the 1960s, the late 1970s Trans Am is a pretty cool car. Cool enough to make a stop by Jay Leno’s garage.

Our hopes of one day seeing a new Pontiac Fiero aren’t all that good, but don’t tell that to the man behind the @wb.artist20 account on Instagram. The account is full of automotive renderings, specifically modern interpretations of classic vehicles that are no longer around. There’s a lot of impressive work in that account, but one, in particular, caught our eye — and made us long for the Fiero’s return.

The second-generation Pontiac Firebird was built from 1970 until 1981, and the cars produced in the first couple of years are by far the most popular. That’s because they’re from the golden muscle car era and fitted with the high power engines that went extinct when the oil crisis hit in 1973. However, the Firebird enjoyed new popularity toward the end of the 1970s thanks to a Trans Am model being used in the Smokey and the Bandit movie. If you’re looking for something unique from the era, here’s a nice restomod version of a 1974 Firebird.

It was ugly. It was hated upon for its looks but at the same time people appreciated its practicality and in a different market context, the Pontiac Aztek could have been GM’s Cybertruck back in the day.

No, we’re not here to write the Aztek’s obituary but to bring to your attention a particular couple of renders that might make the SUV’s haters reconsider their position.

Launched on the big screen in 1977, Smokey and the Bandit revolves around two bootleggers as they attempt to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta. The film was a sleeper hit, and following a poor initial performance, it went on to gross $126.7 million in North America, versus a budget of only $4.3 million. It was the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 after Star Wars. On top of Burt Reynold’s top-notch acting, Smokey and the Bandit is also famous for the Pontiac Trans Am that the actor drove throughout the film. Here’s everything you should know about one of the most iconic movie cars ever.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread around the world, automakers are shutting down car production and preparing for the oncoming recession. Governments are working on bills to help them but there are fears that some companies will go out of business. Mainly because it has happened before. The car industry was affected by several recessions over the last 100 years and each of them left a mark by sending important automakers into bankruptcy. Here’s a list of legendary companies that we lost.

With the prices of cars increasing, a $20,000 used sports car has become harder to obtain these days. Not too long ago, you could afford a decent runner for $20,000 and still have enough change to buy a few cosmetic kits. But that’s no longer the case today, or at least, not for the most part. Look hard enough, though, and you can still score some good deals on used sports cars for $20,000 or less. These cars aren’t world-beaters by any stretch of the imagination, but they should still have enough juice to get the adrenaline flowing. They’re out there in the world. All you need to do is look for them.

There are a lot of benefits in buying a pre-owned car. Instead of being stuck on a particular segment due to budget constraints, you can actually choose a car from the higher tiers when you look at the used market. You don’t have to worry about the depreciation hit in the car as well. And, when it comes to fast, cool cars, you don’t have to wait for the run-in period to complete and you can redline it from day one. In fact, if you spend some time researching, you can find some real treasures as well. To help you out, we’ve listed ten of the fastest cars that you can get for less than $15,000.

The Pontiac GTO was the brainchild of John DeLorean - yup, that DeLorean, Bill Collins, and Russ Gee. Its name was inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO, which on the Ferrari, meant Gran Turismo Omologato (homologated grand tourer, meaning it could be raced in the GT class). The Pontiac GTO didn’t have the same status, but you might remember how a heavily modded GTO with enough firepower to wipe out a small state made an appearance in xXx, as Xander Cage’s (Vin Diesel) weapon of choice.

The same car was given the honor of being in the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, where it was brought by Thom Sherwood, a living GTO encyclopaedia and owner of two GTOs used in 2002’s xXx movie. Stick around for the juiciest details you’ll ever get about the so-called Flame Car.

The Pontiac GTO is widely regarded as one of the first muscle cars but, by 1970, even one of the stalwarts of the segment wasn’t able to sell as it once did. Still, The GTO of 1970 remains a cornerstone example of muscle cars at their absolute peak.

The Pontiac GTO was born as a sportier version of the Tempest, aimed at a younger clientele. The car debuted in 1964 and by-passed in the process GM’s policy that was limiting A-body intermediate models to a maximum engine capacity of 5.4-liters. As such, the original Tempest GTO came with the 6.4-liter V-8 that was also used by the larger Bonneville and Catalina models.

By 1970, the GTO had lost most of its chromed trim, instead sporting an Endura polyurethane nose and aggressively flared fenders. Of the 40,149, GTOs built in 1970, only 3,797 were ordered with the Judge trim level that had been introduced the year before. Sales kept plummeting from then on thanks to ever-increasing insurance costs, stringent pollution-related rules, and regulations and a general shift in the market’s interest from performance cars to economy cars just as the oil crisis hit.

Keep reading to learn more about the 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge

Car customization can make your dreams come true - even if that dream is turning your mid-80’s domestic into a Porsche supercar. Case in point is this, uh, unique Pontiac Fiero, which someone transformed into a hilarious parrot of the Porsche Carrera GT.

The best part is that it’s listed on Ebay UK, so if you really want it, and have an extra $16,881 to spare, it could be yours. Don’t worry, we won’t judge you.

The last three cars belonging to the late Burt Reynolds were auctioned off by Barrett-Jackson in Las Vegas in late September, raising $330,000 for the Burt Reynolds Institute in the process. Of the three cars, two were 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams, while the other was a 1987 Chevrolet R30 pickup truck. All three vehicles belonged to Reynolds’ car collection, and all of them were personally autographed by the recently deceased Hollywood legend.

Many of us have fallen in love with cars through movies. For me, it was Steve McQueen’s Ford Mustang from "Bullitt," but the movie industry made several vehicles famous. The 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is one of them, and even though it comes from a difficult era for muscle cars, its presence in Burt Reynolds’ "Smokey and the Bandit" helped it become a legend. If you love this car, now’s your chance to buy it!

You gotta love Snoop Dogg. Not only has he been a driving force in rap music for the past quarter century, but he’s also a simply ludicrously chill dude – that much is evident from the following throwback video. Plucked off YouTube, it’s a short clip from a Larry King episode that aired back in 2010, wherein the TV and radio host gets to hang with Snoop and climb behind the wheel of his custom 1967 Pontiac Parisienne. As you might imagine, hilarity promptly ensues.

The lowrider in question is utterly pristine, draped in Lakers yellow inside and out, sparkling with chrome detailing and looking like a dream from gin and juice. On the hood is an homage to Snoop’s favorite NBA team, while hydraulics put it to the pavement. Although the clip is just a minute and a half long, it’s packed to the brim with entertainment, including King’s attempts to understand dipping and coming to grips with Snoop hitting the switch. Then there’s Snoop’s GPS navigation voiceover, which is something I know you’ll all want after watching this clip.

The auto industry can be a ruthless business. A handful of automakers have witnessed this first-hand and, far too often, the consequences have been devastating. In the best of cases, a company can weather the storm of mediocrity until it finds its footing again, whether through its own perseverance or simply getting a lifeline in the form of another automaker. Volvo knows this more than anyone now that it’s thriving under Geely ownership after years of uncertainty. That said, not everybody is as lucky as Volvo. Countless automakers have bitten the dust over the years for one reason or another, be it because of managerial ineptitude or simply not being able to keep up with its rivals.

This list is an ode to those companies. It’s made up of automakers whose returns to the industry we pine for to this day. It’s not a guarantee that we’re going to get our wish and see these brands get resurrected, but we can still dream. Either way, there’s nothing to lose as far as wishing upon a star is concerned, right?

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Monterey Car Week is very nearly upon us, and with it comes copious opportunities to reminisce about the old days. Events like the Monterey Motorsports Reunion and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance are the perfect gathering places for classic and antique automobiles, recreating the glory and beauty of the car world past for the car world now. Memories are in abundance this time of year, which got me thinking about my own automotive roots.

Although I’ve always had a fondness for cars, one of my favorite four-wheeled memories was when my father brought home a pristine 1967 Pontiac GTO. Finished in a perfect shade of Champagne paint on a black interior, it was like a vision of old school cool, a slab of RWD muscle just begging for a heavy right foot. I remember hearing it fire up for the first time, the lumpy idle of a big American V-8, the sound of fury emanating from the high-flow exhaust. I remember going for a ride in it, the smell of raw gasoline mixed with the upholstery, torque on demand from the long skinny pedal. Everywhere we went in that thing, people would look and stare. Complete strangers would approach us at gas stations to compliment the car. It was like we were celebrities.

Eventually, the GTO was sold, replaced by something more economical and sensible, and my own taste in cars expanded to the import scene, but my father’s ’67 Goat left a mark that’ll never fade.

So then – what’s your favorite automotive memory?

If you’re a fan of basketball, music, or even enjoy keeping up with various celebrities, then you probably know that Snoop Dogg and Kobe Bryant are friends. With Kobe finally retiring, it was only suitable that his closest friends give him a retirement gift, right? With a friend like Snoop, one might expect Kobe to receive a big bag of the Snoops finest green as a “welcome to retirement package,” but Snoop went even bigger than that.

Instead of passing off a pound or two of that sticky icky on his newly retired friend, Snoop went all out and gifted the recent retiree his classic 1967 Pontiac Parisienne. For those of you who don’t know about the car, Snoop has owned the car – assuming it’s the same one we’ve seen in the past – since 2005 when it was signed by Shaq at a

sponsored car show called “Rollin’ 24 deep.” The car has a wild and loud yellow finish with a Purple top to go with a set of beautiful wheels and an awesome mural that depicts Snoop as part of the Lakers team. On top of that, the car has a legitimate hydraulics system, so you can probably expect to see Kobe bending some corners on three wheels in the near future.

What more is there to say? That’s one hell of a retirement gift, and it looks like Kobe thinks so too based on his facial expression when Snoop handed over the keys.