When I was a kid, growing up in Michigan, it was a real treat to get Coor's beer. Younger people snicker when I say that now, but it was near impossible to get Coor's east of the Mississippi River. If you don't believe me - just watch Smokey and the Bandit.
May 19, 1977 - Smokey and the Bandit opened in theaters across the country. Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, and a brand new black and gold 1977 Pontiac Trans Am starred. The movie is funny.
Basically the plot goes like this: Bo Darville, aka Bandit (Reynolds) and Cledus (Reed) are two truck-driving southerners who accept a dare from big-shots Big and Little Enos to pick up a truckload of Coor's beer from Texas and return it to them in Georgia within a specified amount of time. They get the beer and they're on their way. But as they are leaving Texas, Bandit unwittingly picks up Carrie (Field), a hitchhiking bride-to-be who just left her groom, Junior, at the altar. Junior, however, is the son of Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Gleason). And when Buford and Junior discover what has happened, they go on a "high-speed pursuit" across the Southeast to catch the bandit.
The Real "Star" of the Show
After Smokey and the Bandit came out, black Trans Am's were simply known as the "Smokey and the Bandit" car. People who just had a regular Pontiac Firebird would order the Trans Am decals for their car, just to be cooler. In the movie, three modified 1977 Pontiac Trans Ams were built to handle all the heavy stuntwork. They were all damaged performing the stunts. The actual car used to jump over the bridge towards the middle of the movie was reportedly totaled doing the stunt. (The bridge itself, though no longer used for traffic, was still intact prior to filming. The middle section was demolished by the film-makers for the stunt.) There is at least one movie Trans Am (autographed by Burt Reynolds) still in existence.
When CB Radios Were Cool...
No one seems to point out the fact that the movie's title is comprised of CB radio terms. "The Bandit" and "Snowman" were Burt and Jerry's character's "handle" on the CB radio in the movie. And in case you don't remember the 70's - police were referred to as "Smokies" which explains the title Smokey and the Bandit.
Instead of showing lots of pictures of the human cast of the movie - let's take a look at what's available for the four-wheeled star of the film:
 Pontiac : Trans Am 1977 PONTIAC TRANS-AM SPECIAL EDITION SMOKEY & BANDIT CLONE V-8 400ci AUTOMATIC $10,800.00 (25 Bids) Time Remaining: 4d 20h 23m Add to watch list |
 Pontiac : Trans Am Gold Edition This Bandit Trans Am is a fully documented numbers matching car $42,900.00 Time Remaining: 8d 12h 20m Buy It Now for only: $42,900.00 Add to watch list |
 Pontiac : Trans Am 455 Supercha 1977 TRANS AM 455 SUPERCHARGED 800hp SHOW CAR $10,000.00 (6 Bids) Time Remaining: 5d 10h 25m Buy It Now for only: $34,977.00 Add to watch list |
 Pontiac : Trans Am 1977 TRANS AM, 4 SPD. 53,000 ORG. MILES. EXCELLENT COND. SENIOR OWNED, $18,995.00 Time Remaining: 16d 12h 5m Buy It Now for only: $18,995.00 Add to watch list |
 Pontiac : Trans Am 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Hardtop, Black/Black $9,000.00 Time Remaining: 6d 21h 21m Add to watch list |
 Pontiac : Trans Am Trans Am 1977 Pontiac Trans Am 4 speed SE / Y-82 / #s matching $35,500.00 Time Remaining: 6d 16h 10m Buy It Now for only: $35,500.00 Add to watch list |
 Pontiac : Trans Am 1977 TRANS AM CALIFORNIA CAR $10,000.00 Time Remaining: 3d 13h 21m Add to watch list |
 Pontiac : Trans Am Firebird 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am RED with T-Tops $29,888.00 Time Remaining: 16d 19h 41m Buy It Now for only: $29,888.00 Add to watch list |
 Pontiac : Trans Am SE 1977 TRANS AM SE - Hurst Tops - PHS Documented $2,995.00 Time Remaining: 4d 1h 5m Add to watch list |
