General Motors компани алдартай жүжигчинд амьдралынх нь туршид жил бүр шинэ автомашин бэлэглэх гэрээг ямар шалтгаанаар цуцалсан талаар сонирхолтой баримтууд ил болжээ.
1970-аад оны алдарт “Smokey and the Bandit” кинонд жүжигчин Burt Reynolds-ийн унаж байсан 1977 оны Pontiac Trans Am загвар нь киноныхоо хэмжээнд олны танил болж, тус автомашины борлуулалтыг эрс өсгөсөн байна. Киноны энэхүү асар их амжилтын дараа General Motors компанийн тухайн үеийн ерөнхийлөгч жүжигчинтэй холбогдож, үлдсэн амьдралынх нь туршид жил бүр шинэ Pontiac Trans Am загварыг бэлэглэх амлалт өгчээ.
Энэхүү тохиролцооны дагуу жүжигчин эхний таван жилийн хугацаанд жил бүр шинэ автомашин хүлээн авч, ихэнхийг нь гэр бүлийнхээ хүмүүст өгсөн бөгөөд нэгийг нь өөртөө үлдээжээ. Гэвч зурна дахь жил нь шинэ автомашин ирээгүй тул шалтгааныг тодруулахад тус компанид шинэ ерөнхийлөгч томилогдсон байжээ.
Шинэ ерөнхийлөгч нь өмнөх удирдлага шиг тухайн киног үнэлдэггүй байсан тул уг бэлэглэх гэрээг цуцалсан байна. Тухайн үед үүссэн энэ ярианы дэлгэрэнгүй мэдээлэл бүрэн үлдээгүй ч жүжигчин таван жилийн турш үнэ төлбөргүй Pontiac Trans Am загваруудыг хүлээн авсан нь түүхэнд үлджээ.
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The only thing more iconic than the late Burt Reynolds in theSmokey and the Banditfranchise was his Pontiac Trans Am.
The movie was huge, and it made both Reynolds and his1977 Pontiac Trans Amincredibly famous.
The amazing success of the film series led to General Motors gifting the actor a brand-new Trans Am every year for the rest of his life.
But a strange phone call from the then-president of GM put an end to the deal, and Reynolds later opened up about what happened.
How Burt Reynolds and the Pontiac Trans Am became icons thanks to Smokey and the Bandit
Back in the 1970s, Reynolds starred as Bo ‘The Bandit’ Darville in the film series alongside the legendary Jerry Reed, Sally Field, and Jackie Gleason.
Crucially, his bootlegging character was driving a car that became a huge star: thePontiac Trans Am.
Apparently, sales of the vehicle shot up precisely because of the movie’s success.
So GM did something that’s quite normal these days but must’ve felt a little unusual back then.
The then-president of GM picked up the phone, called Reynolds, and offered him some sort of endorsement deal.
But the deal was much better than expected: he told Reynolds he could have a new Trans Am every single year for the rest of his life.
Obviously, GM didn’t have to do it – but it was still nice that they did.
But shortly thereafter, the new head of GM had a change of heart.
Why the new GM president cut the deal short
For the next five years, Reynolds did indeed receive a new Pontiac Trans Am every year.
He gave most of those to his family members, but he did keep one for himself.
Then, in the sixth year, Reynolds didn’t receive a new Trans Am.
So he called GM to find out why, and what followed was a strange conversation.
Reynolds told Car and Driver: “Just to make sure there wasn’t some kind of an accident with shipping or something or maybe it got stolen, I made a call and it turned out Pontiac had a new president.”
Apparently, the GM boss told him his predecessor had loved Reynolds’ films, but he himself was not the biggest fan in the world.
The actor told the publication: “He got on the phone and told me: ‘That was the old president. He liked your movies. I’m the new one. I don’t like your movies’.”
This being over 40 years ago, the record is a bit hazy.
So we don’t know exactly what happened and how.
Still, receiving five free Pontiac Trans Am must’ve been a good deal.
