“Eastbound and down; loaded up and truckin’.” Those are the first words of the song Jerry Reed wrote for the movie, Smokey and the Bandit, a 1977 classic that most people could never get sick of watching.
This week’s theme is about the hot rod cars that changed or influenced us. Today’s car is the only GM car in the group. It is also the only factory car that was readily available. All the other cars we’ll feature this week were “made up”; they had huge modifications.
According to the websites, the Firebird from the movie was also changed a little bit. They used the 1976 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am during filming, but because the movie came out in 1977, they changed the car to look like a ’77 model. This movie is credited with the huge sales of the Trans Am in the late 1970s, as documented in Hot Rod magazine as well as the reference pages about the movie.
The car influenced the sales of a production car, a concept that is used in the sport of NASCAR to this day. NASCAR still uses a manufactured body to help with the sales of the current year’s cars.
I can personally name a few people who owned the late 1970s Firebird, and this movie did have an influence on why they owned it. One of my wife’s high school classmates got a 1978 Trans Am when he was 15 and still had it in mint condition for their 30th reunion last summer. For the movie, Pontiac donated the cars, as well as the police cars that were used – a promotion that overwhelmingly helped them sell cars.
When I started this idea of Rock ‘n’ Roll success, I did it with the idea that things that are popular can change your life or business. I wanted to use the example of things that changed the world for the better as a form of inspiration and motivation to build a world of successful entrepreneurs.
What can you use in the world today to make your business grow? What is something that gives you joy? I started from day one using my motorcycle and my love for rock music as an important piece of my business. It’s about finding what you love. And who knows? You could change the outcome of a generation.
This is only day two of Hot Rods of Influence. What other cars could be in this group? Come back to find out, then change your life with a story.
I’m Tim Gillette, creator of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Keys to Business Success. It’s time to unlock your dream and make some changes to love your life again. Are you ready for Rock ‘n’ Roll success in your world in 2013?
