Review: Jeff Dunham’s The Cars That Drove Us “The Trans-Am/Corvette”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The Trans-Am

The Pontiac Trans Am isn’t just part of the muscle car movement, it is a statement and a complete package on the track or the streets; a star of film, Smokey and the Bandit, and television, Knight Rider, the Trans Am pushes muscle cars to the limit.

Corvette

Before becoming America’s Sports Car, the Chevrolet Corvette was the bane of General Motors’ existence.  When the automaker attempted to discontinue the line in 1983, a small team of self-funded true believers went rogue, sparking a civil war within GM.

Our Take:

One thing I appreciate about The Cars That Drove Us is how these vehicles became onscreen stars alongside celebrities.  The DeLorean episode from last week highlighted how this “futuristic” car went from a laughingstock to an iconic time-traveling motor vehicle in the “Back to the Future” trilogy.  As a film lover, experiencing how the DeLorean came to be before its big break in Hollywood helped me tolerate the miniseries’s usual documentary structure.  I should know, because I’m very hit-and-miss with documentaries unless their topics are movie-related.  At least the animated segments and the intros also helped keep my attention.

One of the next two episodes for this week continues this cinematic trend by focusing on the origins of another vehicular star made for the big and small screen.  The one I’m referring to is the Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am, the car that became the Bandit’s prime vehicle in “Smokey and the Bandit”.  Before its shining moment onscreen, the car, created by General Motors in the 1960s, underwent some changes, though not without issues with branding.  Speaking as someone who’s only seen “Smokey and the Bandit” once, I can’t help but be somewhat interested in another piece of vehicular history that eventually became a piece of cinematic history.

But it turns out the Firebird Trans-Am isn’t the only car General Motors invented, as the company was also involved in creating the Chevrolet Corvette.  Unfortunately, this creation sparked much more drama than the Trans-Am’s process, courtesy of a team of believers.  Through Dunham’s narration and the show’s well-paced editing, these two episodes showcased General Motors as the company that created vehicles that shaped American traditions and drove automobile innovation, despite setbacks and concerns.  More importantly, these cars, especially the Trans-Am, are the reasons behind some of the nostalgic films and television shows we grew up watching.  I would also say that the episodes showed a minor improvement in my enjoyment of the show once I understood its structure.