The Generation Game: Pontiac Firebird & Pontiac Trans Am

[Liquid]

The Generation Game: Pontiac Firebird & Pontiac Trans Am

For convenience, this includes the Pontiac Trans Am, which might be seen as a distinct model but was a specialty package for Firebirds.

1967-1969 Pontiac Firebird

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 2-door convertible
Engines: 3.8 - 6.6L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,560kg / 3,432lbs

---

1970-1981 Pontiac Firebird

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 2-door targa
Engines: 3.8L V6; 4.1L I6; 4.3 - 7.5L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,600kg / 3,520lbs

---

1982-1992 Pontiac Firebird

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 2-door convertible
Engines: 2.5L I4; 2.8L - 3.1L V6; 3.8L turbocharged V6; 5.0 - 5.7L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,450kg / 3,190lbs

---

1993-2002 Pontiac Firebird

Bodystyles: 2-door coupe, 2-door convertible
Engines: 3.4L - 3.6L V6; 5.7L V8
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: ~1,615kg / 3,553lbs

---

The second generation gets two photos because the mid-generation facelift makes the front end look different enough to warrant another one.

Previous Results Thread

 

[daan]

You might just as well have posted Bandit vs KITT.

 

[TheCracker]

 

[05XR8]

 

[ScottPuss20]

Yes, the 2nd gen '77 Firebird is a classic but I'd much rather have the 4th gen WS6. At that point, it had recovered the HP lost during the late 70s and 80s so it actually had some bite to go with it's meow bark. Not the most handsome I know, but in terms of performance and usability, it's the best Firebird Trans Am. If anything the goofy front end makes it more endearing to me.

 

[05XR8]

I'm torn between 1970-1992. I chose Gen2, but from Rockford Files to CHiPs to Knight Rider, those shows carried the Firebird from where Ban1 was left at the cookout.

 

[Tornado]

It's always been amusing just how often Pontiac was willing to step on Chevrolet's toes with this car, almost certainly against GM's wishes. At multiple points throughout the 1970s/1980s you could buy the most powerful, fastest and best handling American car on the market.


Or you could buy a Corvette.

 

[Liquid]

It's quite rare for any car company, let alone an American one, to nail it with every gen. The last one is obviously the weakest one but all four are very appealing, all four are extremely handsome in their own ways and Firebird is a fantastic name for a car.

You might just as well have posted Bandit vs KITT.

However this is what it comes down to. Bo Darville is cooler than Michael Knight, Burt Reynolds is way cooler than David Hasselhoff, but the Bandit vs KITT is really hard to call.

Bandit. But not by much.

 

[Joey D]

The last generation was the car I wanted when I was younger, especially the WS6. A buddy of mine had one back in college and we got up to so many antics in it. Another buddy had an 87 Trans Am that we also got into all kind of mischief with too, so that car holds a fair bit of nostalgia for me as well. The older Trans Ams? They do nothing for me, but I'm of the age where cars really didn't get that interesting until the 1980s.

 

[TheCracker]

Thanks to Bo 'Bandit' Darville and probably equally Matchbox, the '79/'80 Firebird will always be cool to me. Doesn't matter that it was heavy and slow - it just looked cool.

I have a friend who built a Cobra replica in the early '90s. The cheapest V8 he could source was a 185hp 400cu out of a Firebird of that era. With side exit exhausts it certainly sounded the part. Shame that even in a lightweight sports car it didn't go particularly quickly. But that wasn't really the point.