I became aware of this development while working at the Arse Freeze-A-Palooza 24 Hours Of LeMons 2009; two teams were sporting the Chickens Of Screamage on their cars' hoods (a Mercedes-Benz W201 and a '73 Ford Capri), and they claimed to have purchased them dirt cheap. My former employer has excellent-quality reproductions available, but they're not exactly what you'd call cheap, and who needs excellent quality when you're just going to slap the thing on the Bondo'd-out hood of some low-budget hoopty? Here comes eBay to the rescue! Yes, for $44.00 shipped, you can have a two-tone Screaming Chicken decal, in a bewildering variety of not-found-on-real-Trans-Ams colors. Damn near 16 square feet of awesomeness– I may have to get one for every car in the MM Motor Pool!
[eBay]

In other words, I'm not making any promises that this Firebird left the factory as one of the 3,196 Trans Ams built for the 1970 model year, given the widespread availability of aftermarket reproduction Trans Am body parts and decals. We might not even be looking at a '70 model here. But, really, who cares? It's a solid-looking 39-year-old Pontiac that still parks and drives on the street, and that's what we love about the Island That Rust Forgot.

The '70 Trans Am came with a 335-horse Pontiac V8, which gave the 3,550-pound car pretty impressive acceleration. Compare that to the 3,106-pound, 348-horsepower '64 GTO, however, and you can see how the inexorable process of Model Bloat requires ever-larger doses of horsepower just to tread water.

Look, the DOTS '66 Mustang lives on the same block, and the DOTS '65 GMC pickup lives nearby as well.

So what do you get for $80 to $85K? Well, for starters you get a supercharger atop the big LS engine under a newly-crafted hood, a shaker scoop atop that and a killer graphic package. You'll also get a 1"-4" lowering kit with sway bar and some Pirelli Pzero's with Gold or Silver machined face snowflake wheels — complete with Phoenix T/A logo. Skraw!

Other exterior embellishments include the fender extractors, an exhaust conversion with splitter tips, a rear fascia clip with tail lamp lenses and bulbs and oh, yes, the sweet rear spoiler.

On the inside, an embroidered head rest and console lid, turned aluminum door panels and inserts along with a matching instrument cluster trim. Combine that with a hurst shifter and a real Pontiac steering wheel and you've got yourself one screamin' Trans Am. Want one? Head over to the folks at TransAmDepot.

CarandDriver has the full scoop and a whole messload of photos above and beyond these couple live shots here. We'll get a more detailed look ourselves when we head to SEMA tomorrow.:

Given the company's penchant for pumping up horsepower, of course Lingenfelter would rework the engine, too. Under the striped hood-there's no huge screaming chicken as of now-sits an aluminum 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V-8 block with a lofty 11.5:1 compression ratio, ported-and-polished Lingenfelter heads from the Corvette Z06's LS7, a forged crankshaft, and high-flow intake. The custom stainless-steel exhaust comes courtesy of Corsa. Power output is quoted at 655 hp and 610 lb-ft of torque, up significantly from the 426 hp of a stock manual Camaro SS. Also present are a new twin-disc clutch and flywheel assembly and tougher rear half-shafts to withstand the extra grunt. Handling alterations are limited to the addition of Nitto tires.

[CarandDriver]

A little later, he adds his impression on first seeing Newman's name painted on the name of his race car in 1967: "Why would Cool Hand Luke want his name on what was probably the worst Can Am car ever designed?" That pretty much sums it up; Paul Newman came to racing somewhat late in life, but he was a racer. We get the entire story of Paul Newman's racing career, from the first time he took his Porsche-engined '53 Beetle out onto the Willow Springs racetrack, through catching the racing bug for real while filming "Winning," and on through his evolution from weekend Datsun 510 racer into Trans Am winner and team owner. Motor Trend executive editor Matt Stone and co-authors Preston Lerner and Mario Andretti interviewed a broad swath of Newman's instructors, competitors, and team members, and the reader comes away with a good sense of the kind of racer he was. According to Bob Sharp:

His first year was a struggle. He wasn't naturally fast. But he had a sensitive touch and was very easy on equipment. Even in the beginning, when he wasn't the fastest guy out there, he was always clean and disciplined. Never was he off the track. He improved very logically, systematically, and as he got more and more races under his belt, he got better and better and better. It was unbelievable. He became a very, very good professional driver.

Newman moved up to faster and faster cars, racing a Porsche 935 in the 1979 24 Hours Of Le Mans and winning his first Trans Am race in 1982. After that, he moved into CART team ownership and yet more racing. Though his acting gig occasionally got in the way of his real profession and his philanthropic ventures grew in importance, he more or less lived racing until his death at the age of 83 in 2008. Reading this book, you'll get all the twists and turns of this story, and Stone's hagiographic tone may be forgiven when referring a man who, by all accounts, really was the all-around good guy he appeared to be.

As a nice bonus at the end, we get a chapter devoted to Newman's street cars over the years. Not only was there the Porsche Super 90-powered '53 Beetle in the early days; Newman decided that wasn't enough, so in 1969 he commissioned a Ford 351-powered Beetle. In the 1980s and 1990s, Newman drove some hot engine-swapped Volvo wagons. How about an '88 740GLE with a 400-horse turbo Buick V6? Or a supercharged Ford small-block in a '96 Volvo 960 wagon?

This one gets a four-rod rating. Murilee says check it out!

[Motorbooks]

Click "Next" to take a trip down Mustang Memory Lane and make sure to drop your favorite racing Mustang in the comments.

Car: 1965 Ford Mustang A/FX
Racing Series: NHRA A/Experimental, Factory Stock
Years:1965 - 1966
Cool Stuff: Commissioned by Ford and built with express intent of drag racing. 11 were built, half with 427 cammers, and sold to drag racers for a princely sum of $1.
Drivers: Dick Brannan, Bill Lawton, Les Ritchey, Clester Andrews, Al Joniec, Paul Norris, Len Richter, Phil Bonner, Gas Ronda
Major Wins: Numerous local track wins.

Car: 1965 Ford Mustang GT350R
Racing Series: SCCA
Years:1965-1967
Drivers: Jerry Titus, Bob Johnson, Mark Donohue
Major Wins: SCCA B-class production in 1965, '66, and '67, manufacturers championship

Car: 1970 Mustang Boss 302
Racing Series: Trans Am
Years: 1970-1973
Drivers: Parnelli Jones, George Follmer
Major Wins: Manufacturers' championship

Car: 1984 Mustang GTO
Racing Series: IMSA GTO
Years: 1984-1986
Drivers: Wally Dallenbach Jr., John Jones, Scott Pruett, Lynn St. James, Doc Bundy
Major Wins: 1985 GTO Drivers' championship, Daytona 24 Hours, Manufacturers' championships in 1985 and '86

Photo credit: Mark Windecker

Car: Trans Am Mustang
Racing Series: Trans Am
Years: 1999
Drivers: Paul Gentilozzi
Major Wins: Trans Am Championship

Car: John Force Mustang
Racing Series: NHRA Top Fuel
Years: 2000-
Drivers: John Force, Ashley Force
Major Wins: Pretty much everything in NHRA

Car: Mustang drift racer
Racing Series: Formula Drift
Years: 2005-
Drivers: Vaugh Gittin Jr.
Major Wins: Manufacturer's title in 2005 & 2008

Car: NASCAR Ford Mustang Car of Tomorrow
Racing Series: NASCAR Nationwide
Years: 2009 -
Drivers: Colin Braun
Major Wins: none yet

Yesterday we dragged Johnny Cash through the bondo-crusted mud and came away with 79% of you wanting to give that crazy cavalier a life sentence. Today, we're going to look at something with a bird on its hood.

Nineteen seventy seven was a grand year to be alive- Jimmy Carter made passivity hip, CHiPs lit up TV screens from coast to coast, and a little film called Smokey and the Bandit made movie-going fun again. While Burt Reynolds method-acted his way through this high-octane comedy, his Pontiac-powered costar stole the limelight. The black and gold Firebird Trans Am evaded a regional stereotype-playing Jackie Gleason, and fulfilled the testosterone-fueled fantasies of many an American male that year, with its daring deeds of constable consternation.

What we have here is a '77 Trans Am, however not in the black and gold of the film car. No, this one is blue and gold, and also lacks the desirable T-tops, denying your lady friends the opportunity to air out their chesticles in homage to Sally Field's bug-catching stunt work.

The seller, who is asking a bandit-like $12,000 for the screaming chicken-emblazoned coupe, claims that the rebuilt motor is rocking 400bhp. That is more than likely a typo- as the the T/A 400 cid engine was rated was at a more modest 200 bhp, but that didn't stop Burt from jumping his over that moleberry bridge! Yee-haw!

With 68,745 built in '77, the Trans Am isn't a rare Pontiac, but that just means parts availability should be pretty painless, and you'll never be wanting for friends at the Pontiac car shows. And you'll want to drive this bird to those shows because Pontiac's advertising of the time claimed it had precise, sports car handling and outstanding road performance. Here, see for yourself:

So, it's not going to fully fulfill your Burt Reynolds fetish, but it will keep that Pontiac flame alive, at least in your garage. And for only $12,000. What do you think, is it worth that to keep smokey at bay? Or is Buford T. Justice doling out the Crack Pipe along with the speeding tickets?

You decide!

Orlando Craigslist or go here if the ad jumps a creek. Hat tip to engineerd!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip.

10) 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT

A Pontiac which never got much love till the end of its life was the Fiero. Burdened by the sluggish 2.5-liter "Iron Duke" four-cylinder and suspension bits from the lowly Citation, the Fiero started off with lead weights around its neck. By 1988 though, GM had seen the light and given it a proper suspension, eye-catching styling and improvements to both the four-cylinder and V6. It also gave the car the axe once it reached desirability. Seems there are parallels between the Fiero and the Pontiac brand.

9) 1956 Pontiac Star Chief

Pontiacs of old could be reliably counted on as the stylish, more sporting brother to their more staid Chevrolet counterparts. The '56 Pontiac Star Chief lineup can be considered the pinnacle of the Chieftain line, with a selection of sedans, convertibles and wagons all bringing the heat with beautiful body work and powerful V8 engines.

8) 2002 Pontiac Trans Am WS6

The 2002 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 was the final F-Body muscle car to come out of Pontiac, with a 325 HP LS1 V8, six speed manual and the last iteration of that famous "Ram Air" hood, it was a performance bargain at $28,000. The final year got the special yellow and black livery and if you've got one, it just went up in value.

7) 1978 Pontiac Trans Am

If you were a boy growing up in the 70s or early 80s, the '78 Pontiac Trans Am in the black and gold "Bandit" livery, complete with the flaming chicken vinyl on the hood, sat right next to the Lamborghini Countach in your fantasy garage. For '78, the compression was bumped in the top-line V8 and this end-of-malaise era automobile made a stout (for the time) 220 HP. Burt Reynolds, along with that repressed little redneck inside all of us, will miss the '78 Trans Am.

6) 1969 Pontiac GTO "Judge"

The second generation GTO picked up right were the first generation left off, adopting a more modern fastback styling language and hugely powerful 400 cubic inch V8's rated all the way up to 370 HP. The Judge package was kinda hokey but also pretty cool, with wild color options, matching decals, spoilers, a Ram Air hood and a T-handle Hurst shifter. Bring on the Judge.

5) Pontiac Bonneville

The Bonneville was Pontiac's longest surviving nameplate, running from 1957 to 2005 when it mercifully got the axe. As lackadaisical as the car had been for the last 20 or so years, there were some gems throughout its history. The 1999 SSEi had woeful build quality, but when it held together the FWD 240 HP supercharged V6 was a hoot (as was battling torque steer). The monstrous '71 Bonnie wore a 455 cubic inch V8 and four barrel carb good for 325 HP and the '59 model wore outrageous quadruple fins.

4) 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe

The 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe solves the main problems we have with the Solstice/Saturn Sky twins with actual cargo space and no more pain-in-the-butt convertible top to operate, while keeping the 260 HP Ecotec inline-four and a six speed manual driving the rear wheels. It's a targa-topped Miata competitor and faithfully re-interprets the awkward little British coupes we love and loathe. Buy one now as the take rate is so slow you could park it in the garage and sell it for a profit.

3) 2010 Pontiac G8 ST

They say to have loved and lost is better than to have never loved at all. We call baloney on whoever says that. GM tantalized us with the 2010 Pontiac G8 ST ahead of the 2008 New York Auto Show and our dreams of a modern, tire-smoking, truck-car, mullet-machine were so close to reality. A year later GM squashed the G8 ST under the force of the Carpocalypse, and now Pontiac follows it to the grave.

2) 1964 Pontiac GTO

The 1964 Pontiac GTO was little more than a hot-rodded LeMans, but the 325 HP, 389 cubic inch V8 with a Carter four-barrel carb, dual exhaust and a three-speed Hurst manual transmission ignited the original muscle car wars. It lit a fire in Pontiac showrooms, selling three times the projected annual sales and it will always have a special place in every car guy's heart.

1) 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP

Finally America had gotten it right — by importing a car from Australia. The 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP had everything — raucous styling, a 415 HP 6.3-liter V8, six speed transmission and rear wheel drive. Our own Wes Siler posited GM should be saved for no other reason than to put the G8 GXP on the road. If you've managed to get your hot little hands on one, hold onto it, like an artists painting, it'll be worth much more once Pontiac is dead.

HONORABLE MENTION: Pontiac Aztek

We will miss the Aztek for two main reasons: First it was a breath of fresh air in a then-burgeoning SUV market, with incredible functionality and great features, the Aztek pointed out how underfeatured many of the more expensive entries were. Of course, that breath of fresh air was tainted by its fart of styling. Not since the Edsel was a vehicle so universally panned for the stylistic abomination it was. So the second reason we'll miss it is because it was so easy to make fun of. In many ways, that's what the Pontiac brand's been all about. We'll miss it.

UPDATE: NPR Questions Jalopnik 's Inclusion Of Pontiac Fiero In Top Ten List

Image Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The balloon/car is the work of installation artist Guy Overfelt and it will be displayed at the Emeryville, California art exhibition starting this Friday, March 6th. What won't be displayed are all the hikinks we can dream up for this beast. Fist and foremost, fill it with hydrogen, tether it alongside a highway bridge and stage a right and proper Smokey and the Bandit freeze frame. Then when enough onlookers stop to look, trigger the ignition and blow the whole thing to bits in a glorious mushroom cloud of flaming-chicken awesomeness. Of course, this scenario has it's drawbacks, namely the one time use, but we're more than open to suggesstions. [BoingBoing]

Photo credit Guy_Overfelt

With the look of a car that spent a few years behind a double-wide outside Lodi, where it served as a convenient target for Schlitz-enhanced marksmen and bumper-jack-wielding yahoos, this Firebird seems strangely tranquil in an East Bay wrecking yard. I counted at least 100 bullet holes and at least that many empty beer cans in the old Pontiac, but all that lead and aluminum will soon be melted down with the steel.

First we have this '83 Lancia 037 rally, priced at 450 grand. It's got a 280-horse blown 2.0-liter engine, weighs just over a ton, and was built for one purpose only: to get a World Rally Championship trophy to display in Lancia HQ. It worked, too, with the '83 WRC Constructor's title going to the Lancia.


Does 0-60 in 2.1 seconds sound good to you? For a bargain $350,000, this genuine Ford RS200 Evolution, featuring "600+" horsepower, could belong to you! After the horrific RS200 crash at the Rally of Portugal, the FIA axed Group B, removing the reason for the RS200's existence but allowing this example to stay in like-new condition.


But wait! How about a car that utterly dominated its class in the Trans Am series, with wins in 8 out of 13 races? You could own that very car... provided you've got $450,000, that is. There must be some way to make this thing street-legal, right?

OK, which one will it be? You tell us!

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AMC Concord AMX
Powered by an optional 5.0-liter V8, the '78 AMX was based on the otherwise boring new-for-'78 AMC Concord. You could get the 4.2-liter straight-six with a 4-speed manual, but if you wanted the macho V8, you were stuck with a 3-speed slushbox. For those wanting to rebel against the empire of Detroit's big three, while still buying American, this was the way to go. Besides, who else was gonna offer you authentic Levi's denim seats?
[source]

Ford Mustang King Cobra
With the new fox-body Mustangs right around the corner, the '78 King Cobra was a last hurrah for the old Mustang II. The Cobra-adorned hood featured a new reverse hood scoop, and tucked underneath was a 5.0-liter V8. That mill wheezed out about 140 HP, and was connected to a 4-speed manual or an optional automatic. Really, not much was mechanically different from the previous Cobra II, but if you wanted a bitchin' snake on your hood, this was the car for you.
[source]

Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am
Starring in the previous year's film Smokey And The Bandit, the T/A went mostly unchanged for '78. However, GM did make changes where it counted, as 1978 actually saw an increase in the 6.6-liter V8's compression ratio — to 8.1:1. Of course, output was still only 188 HP, but that was still more than you got in a base '78 Corvette. Plus, if you were a real bandit, you could order a special high-altitude model that used an Oldsmobile 403 CI V8 rather than the Pontiac 400 CI lump...and somehow lose 8 HP in the process. Either way, you were lucky sure to outrun any smokey.
[image source]

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This R/C car features the famoous KITT strobing lights and is capable of going forward, backward—and using its turbo boost! It makes whooshing sounds and yes, it will even talk to you. No word on whether archived Hasselhoff chest hair is also included. The original Knight Rider KITT remote-control car is available for a relatively modest outlay of $50. [Firebox via Gearlog]

..."because of new legislation requiring vehicles to reach a fleet average of 35 mpg by 2020, Pontiac might not end up as GM's performance division." So wait — if Pontiac's not going to be GM's performance division, then what purpose does it serve? We mean, GM needs a brand providing cheap-ass cars with no go and no show like it needs a hole in the head. But hey, dealers in the Buick-Pontiac-GMC sales channels should look on the bright side — they'll be getting six new or special-edition vehicles this year. That's right — like the special-edition GMC Sierra pickup called "Pro Grade." Oh yay. [via Automotive News]