The world was a much different place back in 1982. Video gaming was just in its infancy, “Knight Rider” made its television debut, and “Tron” was screening in theaters all over America. America had fallen out of love with Burt Reynolds and right into the arms of David Hasselhoff. To us gearheads though, 1982 marked the beginning of the third generation Camaro and Firebird. Cue the synthesizers and strobe lights!

This 1982 Pontiac Firebird commercial, which aired before the feature  film “Superman: The Movie” aired on television for the first time, helped usher in a new age of F-body muscle cars. It is so unbelievably 80’s that we just had to share it with you.

The video gets started with some pre-historic computer animation (which we must admit, has withstood the test of time rather well, ha ha). A disembodied voice bids the scientist on screen to “Build a car to conquer the wind,” whatever that means. “Build a car that lets you slip off the commonplace, and experience driving excitement as never before.” Now he is talking our language.

The Trans Am was still very much a car in the public eye. Burt Reynolds had used it a few years earlier in “Smokey and the Bandit,” and when the new generation came out, it featured prominently in Hasselhoff’s “Knight Rider”. So is it any coincidence that this commercial bears a striking resemblance to the opening sequence of Knight Rider? We think not. Still, we’ve included the show’s intro below to let you make up your mind for yourselves. We think the similarities are uncanny.