Detroit grounds 'Smokey and the Bandit' Autorama jump stunt
February 22, 2019
The Detroit City Council will not allow a Smokey and the Bandit replica Pontiac Firebird Trans Am to jump outside of the upcoming Autorama car show because the car likely bears a Confederate flag on its license plate.
Organizers for the March 1-3 event intended the jump as a tribute to the film’s star, Burt Reynolds, who died in September. However, council members said the Georgia license plate seen in the film — which bears the Confederate battle flag — is a non-starter.
Councilman Scott Benson said the car “still proudly flies a Confederate flag, which is a symbol of oppression, slavery, as well as home-bred American terrorism. So this body said we are not going to support that type of symbolism nor the audacity to support that type of activity in the city of Detroit,” reported the Detroit News ...
https://journal.classiccars.com/2019/02/22/detroit-grounds-smokey-and-the-bandit-autorama-jump-stunt-over-confederate-flag/