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GM doing fine at retaining Pontiac owners

This isn't the first time we've reported positive news about General Motors retaining former Pontiac owners. Get a few more stories like this latest report from Edmund's Auto Observer, and it will mark an ongoing positive trend for GM. Edmunds.com crunched the numbers to see how well the General is hanging on to customers after shutting out the lights at Pontiac, and it found that nearly 40 percent of Pontiac owners stayed with a vehicle from a General Motors brand.
The numbers are a little lower than an earlier R.L. Polk & Company study, but Edmunds says General Motors is keeping more former Pontiac buyers than it has since 2007. Most are turning to vehicles from Chevrolet, especially during January and February of 2011, when GM incentivized Pontiac owners to stay under the umbrella. Those moves seem to have worked, and 28.1 percent of Pontiac owners trading up made the jump into a Bowtie.
Buyers that have gone elsewhere have largely stayed loyal to Domestic automakers, with Ford picking up the most conquests from Pontiac, with 9.4 percent switching. Toyota and Honda picked up 7.4 percent of the pool of former Pontiac drivers. The numbers are defying any predictions that Pontiac buyers would completely exit the General Motors fold, and have climbed up closer to parity with the retention figures of other GM brands from a 2009 low of only 16 percent retention.

This KITT replica sold at auction for $32,500

UPDATE: This 1987 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am KITT replica officially sold for $32,500. Here's hoping the new owner has a blast throwin' it into Pursuit Mode. Let's get one thing straight right off the bat: This isn't a perfect KITT replica. The original KITT used in the Knight Rider TV series was based on a 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. The one you see above, which is currently for sale at auction site Bring A Trailer, is a 1987 model, and since it's a GTA edition, it has some extra body cladding that the smooth-sided television car lacked. That aside, most casual observers would probably never notice the difference, and even those who did (like us) are still likely to be impressed by the car's transformation. This KITT replica is powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. It ought to be fairly quick, though quite a bit shy of the fictional car's very fictional 300-mph top speed. We're not exactly Knight Rider experts, but some quick Google sleuthing suggests that the Knight Industries Two Thousand supposedly cost more than $11,000,000 to build in Hollywoodland. This one will surely command a significantly lower sum — as of this writing, it's been bid up to $18,000 with four days remaining on the auction. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. For those truly fanatical about accuracy, here's a video of one of the originals visiting Jay Leno's Garage for reference. There are several videos of the car that detail its modifications inside and out, but suffice it to say it seems to be a well-sorted replica. Here's hoping its new owner keeps it well clear of other KARRs. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Tony Stewart to star in Smoke Is The Bandit web series

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart is making good use of his nickname Smoke in new videos inspired by the 1970s classic Smokey and the Bandit. The original is one of the quintessential automotive movies of its era with a fantastic combination of slapstick comedy and great car stunts in a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. If you've never seen it, check it out immediately.
In the new six-part Smoke IS the Bandit web series, Stewart takes on the role of Burt Reynolds' famous character complete with huge mustache. But instead of trying to smuggle cases of Coors beer it's Mobil 1 oil. The series promises to recreate many of the famous scenes from the movie and includes cameos from other NASCAR drivers.
To complete the look, future videos just need a quality replacement for a young Sally Field to ride shotgun. It would also be really cool if Reynolds could make a brief appearance at some point. Scroll down to check out the trailer and the first episode in the series.