Pontiac’s design chief John Schinella provided detailed drawings of the modification as per Larson's specifications, which were then carried out by John Ward’s shop within six weeks. Larson was also the brains behind Knight Rider so this was a win-win. KITT’s front design with that red cycling light came from the Cylon Warrior from Glen Larson’s show, Battlestar Galactica. He then enlisted the help of Pontiac’s GM, Bill Hoglund, who decided to go ahead if Dahlquist could bring around Graham. Despite Graham’s resistance, Dahlquist pressed ahead, looping in design chief John Schinella and LA Zone Manager John Kitzmiller. At the time, Trans Am sales were down and the all-new 1982 Firebird Trans Am was expected to make magic. Later Graham also made the deal to place the car in Smokey and the Bandit II as well as Hooper and took the Trans Am's image to new heights.īut Graham could not be convinced to let Knight Rider use a Trans Am and Dahlquist had to find ways to go around him. Graham himself had let the movie Smokey and the Bandit use a Trans Am and it was considered to be a master automotive product placement. He was Pontiac’s West Coast public relations manager, Eric Dahlquist.Īt the time, Pontiac’s Sales Promotion Manager Jim Graham found the show’s idea to be corny and decided that it went against the kind of image Pontiac wanted for its Firebird Trans Ams, shocking Dahlquist. One man at Pontiac knew and saw the potential when the company was first approached by NBC for a Trans Ams to be modified into the immortal KITT.
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