It was love at first sight.
Everyone loves an underdog, especially if the said underdog is rocking a V8 under the hood, a flamin' bird on top, and features in one of the best car movies of all time. We're obviously talking about the Pontiac Trans Am. introduced on February 23, 1967, the Firebird range of cars shared a platform with the better known Chevrolet Camaro and was first released with a weedy 3.8-liter six-cylinder engine in base trim and a number of V8 options. Finally in 1969, Pontiac decided to give it some horns when it released the high-performance Trans Am that soon became an American legend after featuring in the now cult classic film Smokey and The Bandit. To dig a little deeper into what makes these cars so great, another American Icon, Jay Leno, takes one for a spin.