The reason the car was carried over into the 19 seasons was simple: Garner disliked the new front end treatment introduced on the Firebird in 1979. To match the earlier Esprit models, the car’s scooped hood was replaced with a standard unit and the three-piece rear spoiler was removed and the holes filled. Garner claimed in a Season One DVD interview that he always performed the stunt himself, no surprise given his proven skill behind the wheel, which he first publicly demonstrated in the classic racing film “Grand Prix.” The Rockford Firebird was updated a number of times throughout the show’s run from 1974 to 1980, but not after 1978, when this Firebird Formula was repainted from its original Glacier Blue to match the Copper Mist used in previous seasons. Car chases were a recurring event in the show, and were usually highlighted by the famous Rockford Turn or J-Turn, in which he would make an escape when cornered by his antagonist by accelerating backwards and cranking the wheels to reverse direction, enabling his escape. The most enduring symbol of the show, however, was Jim Rockford’s Pontiac Firebird Esprit. The show had a wide variety of characters ranging from Jim’s father Rocky to his pals police captain Dennis Becker and local hustler “Angel” Martin.

One of the most likeable characters on television in the ‘70s was James Garner’s portrayal of private detective Jim Rockford, whose adventures were chronicled weekly in the highly popular hit The Rockford Files.

1978 firebird