Smokey and the Bandit Part 3: When the Wheels Came Off

In 1977, Smokey and the Bandit lit up Southern highways and movie screens like a lit Marlboro at a truck stop. It was fast, funny, full of grit and charm, and unapologetically Southern. By 1980, Smokey and the Bandit II was trying its best to keep the CB radio crackling. But by 1983—well, the engine…