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Detroit City Council vetoes Autorama stunt, objects to Confederate flag

Detroit's Autorama hot rod show will stage its 67th annual event next month, and wants to kick off with Burt Reynolds tribute. The plan is to re-create the Mulberry Bridge jump from " Smokey and the Bandit" using a movie-correct 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. But the Detroit City Council voted 7-1 to prohibit the jump. Why? Because the Trans Am's front license plate holder displays the former Georgia state flag, a portion of which is the Confederate national flag, and the city council doesn't like that. In the movie, Bo "Bandit" Darville was a Georgia driving legend, and the flag on the car was Georgia's flag at the time. Councilman Scott Benson laid out the council's position when he said that the car "still proudly flies a Confederate flag, which is a symbol of oppression, slavery, as well as home-bred American terrorism. So this body said we are not going to support that type of symbolism nor the audacity to support that type of activity in the city of Detroit." It seems part of the council's ire comes from the same event two years ago. A stunt group called the Northeast Ohio Dukes re-created a "Dukes of Hazzard" jump in 2017 using a series-correct 1969 Dodge Charger, complete with a Confederate flag on the roof. Benson said the stunt group "expressly said they would not display that [Confederate flag] symbol during the jump." Not only was it displayed, but when driver Raymond Kohn gave interviews after the jump, his driving suit featured the Stainless Banner on the collar. Seems the council has been grinding its axe in silence for two years. Now Benson accuses Autorama of "a history of supporting images and symbols of racism, oppression, and white supremacy." Autorama is certain to take place March 1-3 at Cobo Center. This year's show will have around 800 cars on display, along with a special exhibit of 17 low riders and a Batmobile built by Flint native Carl Casper. Even if the Bandit car doesn't make the jump, the Trans Am and other memorabilia from the film will be there. A spokeswoman for Autorama said, "We are continuing to work to try to resolve this with the city." Related Video: News Source: Detroit News Auto News Government/Legal TV/Movies Pontiac Convertible Classics Detroit pontiac trans am smokey and the bandit

Check out the official 2013 Trans Am Hurst Edition commercial

The Poncho is dead. Long live the Poncho. Like certain other reoccurring personal maladies, the aftermarket community simply can't let the Trans Am go without another flare up. The guys at Trans Am Depot have worked up a quick commercial for their newest creation: The 2013 Trans Am Hurst Edition, and it watches pretty much like you'd expect it to. The footage is comprised of just about every TA male fantasy you can conceive of, from Daisy Dukes and white tank tops to tramp stamps, bikinis and ice cream cones. There simply aren't words for what you'll see below.
Of course, we like our T-Tops as much as the next guy. If you like what you see in the videos, you can pick up your very own TA by heading over to the Trans Am Depot site. The guys even have Chevrolet Camaro-based versions of the Pontiac GTO if the '77 TA treatment is too much for your tastes. Enjoy, but don't say we didn't warn you.

Pontiac Aztek rises from the ashes of infamy in Firebird Trans Am guise

What if the Pontiac Aztek, one of the most widely ridiculed vehicles ever built, was reimagined with a little flair from one of the former brand’s more legendary cars? Well, it turns out that someone not only came up with that idea, but followed up on it. And so, we present to you the Pontiac Aztek Firebird Trans Am, uh, trim package? ItÂ’s not real, of course, but it comes from Abimelec Arellano, an Hermosillo, Mexico-based car designer with too much time on his hands who goes by the name Abimelec Design. Arellano redesigned the midsize SUVÂ’s wimpy front fascia to surprising success by simply adding widened fender flares and perhaps modernizing the headlights. He also went all-in embracing the AztekÂ’s abrupt, flattened rear end by removing the rear bumper lip, adding a slightly more aggressive rear spoiler to boot. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Elsewhere, the dominating and cheap-looking gray plastic under-cladding is gone in favor of body-color panels. Arellano also added some probably larger Pontiac Snowflake wheels with gold accents that really make them pop and play well against the signature Firebird decal dominating the hood. Commenters generally fall into one of two buckets. As one put it, “I never thought the Aztek could look this good.” Others implored Arellano to do a version with a T-top. Or as one Autoblog editor put it, “So it turns out the reason the Aztek was a laughingstock failure is that it didnÂ’t come in a Smokey and the Bandit Edition. Somewhere, a dude who got shouted down in a product-planning meeting years ago is vindicated.” Sold between 2001 and 2005, the Aztek arguably reached the pinnacle of its notoriety as the metaphor for the drab, underachieving life of Walter White in AMCÂ’s meth drama, “Breaking Bad.” It came equipped with a 3.4-liter V6 that made 185 horsepower and sent it through a four-speed automatic to the front wheels, with an all-wheel drive version also available. The Aztek may have the last laugh, especially if it gets a screaming chicken. “The fact it was a controversial design and didnÂ’t sell well will make it an object of curiosity from a historical standpoint many years from now,” McKeel Hagerty, president and CEO of classic-car insurer Hagerty Insurance, told Autoblog back in 2016.