Beginning in the 1970s, the United States saw a dramatic rise in the popularity of trucker culture. Many television shows and movies highlighted the adventures of life on the open road, and more than a few drivers on the road today credit their original interest in trucking to these Hollywood offerings. Several popular TV shows and movies from the 1970s and ‘80s included what quickly became iconic Kenworth trucks.
Released in 1977, the movie Smokey and the Bandit centers on the antics of two rogue truck drivers trying to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Georgia in a mere 28 hours.
Burt Reynolds stars as “the Bandit,” who runs interference from the police for the truck driven by Cledus “Snowman” Snow (played by Jerry Reed). While the Bandit draws the attention of the law by speeding in his Pontiac Trans Am, Snowman can quickly move his illegal load without any notice from the police.
The film featured three Kenworth W900A trucks—two 1974 models and one 1973 model.
Although the locations of the original trucks are not currently known, many fans have replicated the iconic look of the movie’s Kenworth 1974 W900A over the years.
