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1970 Firebird Trans-Am with front-mid-engine to be immortalized as a Hot Wheels car

Each year, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour scours the country to find the coolest real-life cars and chooses one to be made into a $1 diecast toy. Earlier this month, the search came to an end when Riley Stair's heavily modified 1970 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am won the honors. In a normal year, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour would visit multiple cities, holding a car show where judges would select one winner for that stop. At SEMA, each city's winner would then compete for the top spot. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year the contest was held virtually and globally. And since SEMA was canceled too, the finale was held on the "Jay Leno's Garage" YouTube channel with Leno, Snoop Dogg, Gabriel Iglesias, and Hot Wheels designers as judges. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. What set the Firebird apart was, for starters, its front-mid-engine layout. Its LSX V8 was pushed so far back into the firewall that one bank of exhaust headers had to flow forward before curving around the front of the engine to a side-dump. Of course, all of this was custom fabricated, like the roll cage and front tube frame, with professional-grade welds. The body was also heavily modified, flared and channeled to give it a mean stance. But it's the custom Ohlins suspension with independent rear that give it its track-ready look. Perhaps most impressively, this car, which could go toe-to-toe against (and frankly exceed many) six-figure pro builds at SEMA, was built in the side yard of Stair's parents' house. Aside from body and paint, this was a shadetree job. Stair says it took a couple of years, devoting nearly every night and weekend to transforming a rusty and dented Firebird into his dream machine. Other finalists included a Street Freak-style 1969 Corvette from Florida, cartoony 1959 Chevy Ute nicknamed the "Hulk-amino", Rocket Bunny-style Cayman, 1,000-horsepower Chevy Apache, V8-powered Mini Cooper, stanced Fiat 126 from Germany, chopped VW Brasilia from Mexico, and a race-ready 1976 Hillman Imp from the U.K. Cars were judged on creativity, authenticity, and built-not-bought spirit. Look for the Trans-Am to appear in the 2021 Hot Wheels lineup. Related Video:   Featured Gallery Hot Wheels Legends Tour 2020 View 16 Photos Toys/Games Pontiac Coupe Performance Classics

GM recalling over 40,000 Chevy, Pontiac and Saturn models over fuel pump woes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall for a number of General Motors cars and crossovers bought or currently registered in the hot-climate states of Arkansas, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas. As many as 40,859 units consisting of the 2007 Chevrolet Equinox, Pontiac Torrent and Saturn Ion and the 2007-2009 Chevrolet Cobalt (shown) and its Pontiac G5 twin are being recalled for potential fuel leaks.
This recall is being issued due to potentially faulty fuel pump components that can crack and cause gasoline to leak from the return or supply ports and possibly cause a fire. NHTSA has not indicated how many fuel leaks or vehicle fires have been reported. As a fix, GM will replace the fuel pump modules on all affected vehicles free of charge. Since Pontiac and Saturn have been shuttered, owners will be able to go to another GM-brand dealership to have their vehicles repaired.
While the list of affected cars and crossovers varies by state and model year, if you own any of these models and live in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Oklahoma or Texas, be sure to check the official notice below for more details.

Junkyard Gem: 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP

For General Motors, the W platform just kept giving and giving and giving for decade after decade, serving as the basis of Buick Regals, Oldsmobile Intrigues, Chevrolet Monte Carlos, and many, many more models. The final and most powerful Pontiac W-Body, the sixth-generation Grand Prix GTP, rolled off assembly lines for the 1997 through 2003 model years. Here's one in a Northern California self-service wrecking yard. GM bolted the supercharged 3800 V6 into vast numbers of cars during this era, providing a deep reservoir of cheap blowers for unwise high-boost projects. 240 front-tire-charring horses, complete with a Roots-type blower scream from the Eaton supercharger under the hood. I see plenty of blown 3800s during my junkyard travels, from the Bonneville SSEi to the Oldsmobile LSS. Depressingly, GM stopped putting manual transmissions in the Grand Prix during the 1993 model year, so '01 GTP owners had to take the four-speed slushbox. This one came close to the magic 200,000-mile mark, but fell 25,000 short. The interior took a beating during its life, ending its time on the road with shredded upholstery and dirty panels. Seven-band graphic equalizers were all the rage during the 1980s, but GM kept the tradition alive into our current century. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Grips the pavement like ... a shopping cart on wet linoleum? Featured Gallery Junked 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP View 21 Photos Auto News Pontiac Automotive History