Smokey and the Bandit episodes of the series. Needham saw an advertisement for the soon-to-be-released 1977 Pontiac Trans Am and knew right away that would be the Bandit's car, or, as Needham referred to it, a character in the movie. He contacted Pontiac and an agreement was made that four 1977 Trans Ams and two Pontiac LeMans 4-door sedans would be provided for the movie. The Trans Ams were actually 1976-model cars with 1977 front ends. (From 1970 to 1976, both the Firebird/Trans Am and Chevrolet Camaro had two round headlights, and in 1977, the Firebird/Trans Am was changed to four rectangular headlights, while
Trucking industry in popular culture (United States) novelty song about a convoy of truck drivers evading speed traps and toll booths across America. The song inspired the 1978 action film "Convoy", featuring a shirtless and defiant Kris Kristofferson screaming "Piss on your law!" After the film's release, thousands of independent truck drivers went on strike and participated in violent protests during the 1979 energy crisis (although similar strikes had occurred during the 1973 energy crisis). The year 1977 saw the release of "Smokey and the Bandit", the third-highest-grossing film of that year, beaten only by "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Protagonist Burt Reynolds