The Firebird went out of production (along with the Camaro) in 2002, and General Motors discontinued the Pontiac brand in 2009 in the wake of the national recession.

Well, they technically weren't lying. They said "for years" to come. They didn't say "forever".

@Geminisixtyfour - GM discontinued the Pontiac brand in 2009 because they were ordered to by Obama as a requisite to get a bailout loan. It wasn't GMs idea. It was a government mandate.

@@Loulovesspeed Same people that all relationship worse after that.

@ae747sp - Want to try again, your statement makes no sense to me.

Agreed as Pontiac at the time of its dismissal Pontiac had some of the more interesting cars in the GM line up: Solstice GXP targa, G8 GXp, G6 hardtop convertible.

@@peatyxxjxxx1494 With Pontiac it was death by a 1000 cuts from GM. Pontiac wanted to have equal or better performance cars than Chevrolet. And they were capable of doing it and they kept trying, but GM wouldn't let them out shine the Corvette or Camaro. They always wanted a 2 seat performance car. They slipped Fiero in as a commuter then when they finally started to get the good stuff for it in 88 it died. In 81 they basically turned the Firebird into a Pontiac Camaro. Pontiac was offered the Buick turbo 6 back in 82 but opted for the Chevrolet 305. In hindsight that was a mistake. Imagine all the TAs from 82-92 having 3.8 Turbos :) or at least the option for it.

This was all about the "business", not choosing favorites. The lowest profit turners were out the door. Simple as that.

Buicks sell like hotcakes in China, so that's why they were kept around

Noughties Pontiac was infinitely more interesting in terms of looks and performance, but Buick was the 'original' General Motors marque from a century prior to the 2008 fustercluck and also had better international sales, so sadly from an economic and ideological perspective the government bailouts offered GM rather little choice.

I'm a Mustang guy. But if I had room for an F-body I'd have an 88 or so GTA with the 350. They're probably the best looking GM car of the 80s. Though I would figure out how to put a 5 or 6 speed manual in it.

@Christian Barrett I used to street race back in the late 90s early 2000s with a guy who had an 89 TTA. Have video tape of a few of his races. I was running a modified 86 SVO Mustang. Another friend was running an 87 GN. he still has the GN

@@331Grabber you can use the ZF 6 Speed from 89-92 Corvettes, it bolts up (since it's the same engine)

@@331Grabber I think it's easier to install another engine in a 5 speed car than a 5 speed in an automatic car. I have 305 with 5 speed and I have new 350 crate engine for her. Can't wait to try that! 😁

@@V8AmericanMuscleCar I need to dig up that old street race video tape of mine from the late 90s. You'd probably love all the cars on it. 87 Buick GN 87 Buick T-Type 89 TTA 87 IROC 68 Camaro 70 442 Oldsmobile 69 Charger 440 68 California Special Mustang Like 20 5.0 Mustang Fox bodies Another bunch of F bodies My 86 SVO Hell that's just a few of them. I miss those days :)

Terroriser Spot man I had a couple similar to this and it still gets me pumped.

I just pretended with my 3 speed Grand Prix.

One man can make a difference.........

Hey I do it with a autotragic Montana mommyvan. Gotta' dream ya know.

KITT was the shit. I hated the 2009 remake. A trash Mustang.

Ya they're RARE 91-92 only !! They go for $400-500 on ebay !!

Chicagoguy84 YES!!!! I have a 1988 GTA! I’ve always liked these and they are super rare!

0l

I love Pontiac Trans AM GTA. beautifull and pretty car

No it doesn’t

@@ronaldarchibald2506 The one in the video is green.

I love the 91-92 GTAs.. I've owned 20 or so 68-95 T/A's and GTO's and any and all Pontiacs look good in green! But ur right this year bird looks the best in green.

Only like 1500 gtas were built in 91. Thats why you never see them.

There were 2,035 GTAs built in 1991.... of which 1,321 were built with the 5.7 and a total of 508 were the Green Metallic color. The 92s are way lower from what i've read there were only 144 GTA's with the 5.7 I almost bought a Jamaican Yellow 92 like 20 years ago 1 of 14!

Check out my Trans Am on my channel.

Pontiac would have been better off being sold in 2008 instead of gutted. It would have been interesting to see them create the Corvette killer they'd always wanted to build.

They didn't even mention it

@@elonmust7470 it was at the beginning. 6.3 seconds to 60. Watch it again

Yeah they aren't so fast today but so what. 340 lb-ft of low end torque is still respectable and the fun factor of these cars are astronomincally high in addition to the class factor. They are timeless in design.

@@digitalmagicAR That's the thing, the torque at low revs. These engines were heavily restricted, so the maximum power output wasn't too high, but on the other had most of the maximum power output on all revs, that's why the car was fast even though the maximum figures weren't high.

@@SparrowNoblePoland True they were good for low and mid range

I was thinking about the same thing

Check out mine.

I had a 86,its really comfortable to drive,i reccomend getting one and do research on it as well so you what to expect from repairs.

Sounds like a cool car. My 91 GTA came with gray cloth and it was pretty common as leather seats were the upgrade option. The fixed antenna is interesting.

EDWIN QUIOTO I agree 😁

I think Pontiac made a mistake bailing on the Catalina after 1981, could you guys have imagined a 94-96 Catalina similar to the 94-96 Impala SS?!? 😁

Yeah who wants a Buick

@tommy d u b b s - Who wants a Buick? A hell of a lot more buyers than Pontiac ever had - especially in China. Buick makes profit! Pontiac erodes profit! No brainer, Bro.

Bring Pontiac back, make it a performance brand. TransAm, GTO, and Soltace. And make it real performance not rebadged product.

Rise from the dead.

rfdsdf1 breakaway Pontiac

rfdsdf1 pontiwack

GM loves killing things once they become good. G8, Solstice, GTO! I'd happily trade Buick for Pontiac...

He jinxed it saying it would be here for years to come, more like 10 years.

Nowadays they are in Sweden and Finland.

Why don't you just buy mine? It's a 1990 with 9076 miles. L98, WS6 Bright Red auto trans

Original miles? If so, that's sweet.

how much?, i once had a 1990 GTA ws6 but in the ruby red/gold wheels, 1990 was a rare year only a few thousand made, and most didn't have disc brakes on the rear because of a shortage they were called ws7 i believe.

Restoring one right now actually.

Well the ws6 versions rides stiff as fuk like bust your teeth out if you hit a pebble, good tires will make or break the ride it seriously felt like a different car after i put some (good at the time) goodyears on it. We also put new tie rods/ ball joints, bushing, and some good shocks on it and it was tight and nimble, zero body roll it was like a giant go kart but the back end is light combined with being that stiff it will break lose real easy. They don't have a rack and pinon steering, so the steering gets slapped out when they're old so people think they are just that way normally but if you put a fresh steering box in its not bad at all, so just know if you drive one and its all sloppy thats not right it shouldn't be like that. Oh and if it has a dish fin/wing on the back just expect to replace it because they rot/get soggy no big deal just something to look out for. If you drive a formula firebird they don't have anything close to the same suspension, its really soft and spongy compared to the ws6.

They had some reasonably small cameras back then. Not sure if they had their own tape machine or if they used some sort of radio transmission to a near by tape recorder unit.

Trance88 depended on the model of camera some were able to record remotely (that's how scenes where cars were driven by radio control were filmed) and others recorded locally through videotape

jerry calvert a portable camera that can be attached to helmets and other surfaces

Women...

Yeah and when 6.3 sec zero to sixty times were considered fast, when today there are many mid sized crossovers that are sub 6 sec zero to sixty. I drove a mid 70s Camaro Berlinetta - a beautiful car.

I'm with you man. I was driving a 1994 25th Anniversary Trans-Am in 1996 and a 2002 Firehawk Trans-Am from 2002-2006. I still have both cars and while they were stupidly fast back then...they don't come close to what we have today. My yellow and black 2017 Dodge Challenger RT+P is pushing 440hp@425 ft. lb. of torque. It is incredibly fast for a daily driver and best of all gets fantastic gas mileage. I'm hitting 27-28 mpg without trying.

@@oslinthompson8182 That is a beautiful car. I take it you sold her at some point. I came close to selling my first two 1994 25th Anniversary Trans-Am and 02 Firehawk Trans-Am but my father was the voice of reason. Both times he talked me out of it and now both cars are worth quite a bit. I drive a 2017 Dodge Challenger RT+P now that's getting 440hp@425 ft. lb. of torque and as I said to the last guy it gets gas mileage like you wouldn't believe. She sips fuel when I ride her like a normal car.

@@oslinthompson8182W is notorious for the slowest performance numbers. Observe the off the line smoke show, losing valuable time. With a competent driver, they were easily sub 6 sec 0-60 and low to mid 14 sec ET’s.

Replaced the front end yet?

your 88 looked way better....

mark allen nice. Pontiacs were the best. They drove and handle much better then their bow tie counterparts. Besides the 400-455 being possibly the most underrated V8s of the time.

thumbs down for this liar

Gilberto Solorio So why is he a liar?? I hate it when people make negative comments with NO explanation.

Lol @ Nodick Soulja.

More the 330 lb-ft...

the torque is insane tho

Have you driven one? They can bite you in a hurry. Nobody now knows how to handle a big rear driver with a 3 or 4 speed auto

Same Horsepower And Engine As 1985 1986 1987 Corvette!

You have no idea how fast this car is.

I have a v6 right now it my dd

I don't always drive my third gen but when I do people always stare and some honk and wave.. 89 Formula 350 black with t tops and cold ac. I keep her maintained,clean and waxed . She may be a little high maintenance and a bit of a money pit at times but I'll love her forever.

THA FIREBIRD definitely. I had a 85 vette with borals and hollowed cats it was loud and fast.

Magnum force Mopar i had a 89 FIREBIRD formula! 350ci, i had super 10 flowmaster installed, 1 cat back! man that thing sounded like a Nascar almost! GOD I MISS THAT CAR!!

THA FIREBIRD nice. I love that car. Hearing a kids at the tech school I went to in the mid 90s made me have to get some flowmasters myself as I had dyno max at the time on my 71 Ventura. Pontiac was the best.

Magnum force Mopar Wow!! thats great!!

Yup I had a 85" iron-z 5.0 with flow masters man even with the 5.0 it was badass to hear. Not to high not to low just perfect and my dad had a 87 gta just stock it sounded badass

86 and up (or maybe 85) 2.8s were better than the earlier 2.8. Bottom end was stronger iirc. My 89 v6 did just fine in Germany for 2 years. Stop and go traffic, hills, and regular cruising 110-130mph.

I had a 82 with 2.8, It could chirp the tire grabbing second. I thought I was bad ass. Oh the teenage mind

Go Mango 392 yeah the base Firebirds had pretty narrow gears on the rear end. Made the acceleration feel better.

At least it wasn't an Iron Duke

84 was still 2bbl carb, 85-89 was the HO with port fuel injection, made about 35 more hp. I owned an 88 with the 2.8 HO, and it wasn't bad (though obviously not a V8)

Francisco Vasquez most of the Firebirds had the corvette engines as far as I know

Mario Iacolucci the last ones did in 89 they had a buick and before idk

340 lb feet of torque is still nothing to complain about by today's standards... The 6.2l in the new Camaro SS puts out 455. And for a weird twist the new Camaro is also available with a turbocharged 2.0 liter four-banger so yikes...

@@jimgarrity2414 Yikes is right, what's the point in squeezing into a Camaro with poor outward vision to listen to a whistling 4 banger..

@@jamesmartin1387 I thought that I could barely see out of a Camaro due to my vertically challenged 5'6" frame. It was a bit sketchy with such poor visibility and surprisingly strong engine. (SS). Felt a lot more comfortable in a Challenger.

Until then check out C5's on the Autobaun, people know how to drive there.. Wide Open!

Torque doesn't throw you back, horsepower does. Horsepower is a unit of work. Torque is simply a force. Horsepower is what moves the car. What you're talking about is a small, peaky torque curve that results in more low-end power. That's why the car is so slow. Because for all the torque it can muster, it cannot maintain it as the revs increase. A broader power band would make the car faster.

@@rars0n Adam I am sorry but you're reply does not hold up. no engine makes enough horsepower at low rpms for example a standing start to throw you back in your seat. think of horsepower as a human sprinter with lungs. Horsepower is how well you can perform at maximum speed. your cars engine needs to be moving at higher rpms to even produce horsepower.If you look at any Dyno results you will see that at lower revs there's not much horsepower at all. How is that supposed to throw you back in your seat?in acceleration runs horsepower only helps when you're in the power band even then when the horsepower and torque curves meet then horsepower starts taking over. there is a reason why these V8 cars with high torque,low horsepower figures still perform at the track.TORQUE gets you moving from not moving at all

@@danielwatne5535 What are you smoking? I don't start my car at 0 RPMs, when I launch my car I do it at 7500 RPM with full boost and the car goes sideways as all 4 wheels spin. Obviously you've never been to the track in a powerful car. Horsepower is a function of torque and RPM. Torque is a FORCE. It does not move the car. POWER is what moves the car. You're also completely ignoring gearing, which is what determines how much power is applied at the wheels. Why do you think Formula 1 engines that rev to 19k and make zero torque are so fast? Because of gearing, not torque. Nothing you said makes any sense. You seem to think that because big V8s are fast in low-RPMs it must be because they make a lot of low-end torque. YES, that's exactly correct! Because low-end torque equals low-end horsepower and less of a need to rev the engine up to launch the car! That's exactly my point! Power is what is moving the car, not torque!

@@rars0n Uhm, no sir, that what throws you back is torque and you need horsepowers to maintain it over time.

@@manoman0 I'm not going to explain it again. Torque is an angular force, it doesn't move the car.

It's a good one!!!

I had it, but now the dream is over. Kill me!

scott9050 I agree three months ago got a 86 Trans Am WS6 red silver trim. Bad tpi motor but the car's in great shape inside and out a lot of options. The WS6 was kind of iroc level of performance for the T/A. Will restore the car in the near future to factory stock. No pimp outed, cheezy aluminun wheels or cheapo steering wheel for this ride.

That's about how much a new Camaro SS would cost haha

Derick Smith GTA Trans Am in IROC Z the hottest American sports cars I've ever seen

Derick Smith the 80's Mustang you can completely keep totally ugly

I found one for $3000 used with only minor wear and tear.

Well, there's actually 1000's of people who would disagree with you--I think people tend to either hate Fox body Mustangs (like you) or love them...it's a matter of personal preference.

frank leary they got 14.9 spinning tires on purpose. These cars were sick never got the credit because muscle cars were cheap in the 90s and I had 10s Nova 12s Ventura I built for 5k including buying the cars. Great times and your ride sounds sweet.

Some of that is true. No abs till 1993 in camaro's and firebirds. No way 375hp could be achieved unless its mini rammed, supercharged or turbo. Tpi's were torque motors

L98 heads were good for 200cfm same as the old fuelie heads and both are good for about 375hp on a 350ci/5.7L with a healthy roller cam, the tuned port intake was cfm limited so proper cam choice was important, or you could do what everybody else did and rip all that complication off and add a duel plane 4 barrel intake and Qjet carb and a cheap roller cam plus some headers=375hp. if you can't get 375hp out of a chevy 350 you might be a ford person smh, the L98 had high enough compression and "ok" head flow but the stock cam was weak something like 193 duration and .470lift if you bump it up to 218 D and .510 lift +some 1.6 roller rockers and free the exhaust up with long tube headers/no cats and go true duel all the way back. SLP made a 350hp version that ran 13.2sec so i'm not without proof here.

Oh i'm from FL we have No laws hear emission or otherwise, we run open headers on mini vans. 375hp out a L98 might not happen with CA type laws

I was going to say something about their quarter mile. 14.9 seemed slow for 94 MPH.

Richard M gee ya think?

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo FANCEH

Its so fauncy, it shifts gears for me. Manual was SOOOOOO 1970s

It's so fanceh it has "low profile" 15 inch wheels

My 89 firebird daily driver has power locks AND power windoooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwssssssssssssseeeewwwwwww fahnseeh.

BAPPADAAADAADAA IVE GOT A VTEC

The Car Crazy Guy You are whats wrong with America. #1 the 700r is what this car has and it is the base for all gm over drives in cars and is what 90% of ls came with called 4L60e #2 With some new heads a cam headers injectors and a stand alone fuel module this 350 will destroy any ls turd.

Magnum force Mopar I’m what’s wrong with America??? Have you lost your mind?

A friend of mine just picked up one just like this he's doin an LS swap to lol. It's gonna be a sweet ride when he gets done with it

Magnum force Mopar The problem is cubic inch for cubic inch the traditional 350 tpi heads can't flow nearly as well as LS heads this is why LS engines usually dyno 20+% more hours HP/TQ to the wheels. 350 Cid traditional gen one style 350's rarely breaks 400whp (N/A) while the 346 Cid gen 3 LS1 style engine can make 500whp on natural aspiration. Let's not get started on boost performance because the LS is about 10X better than any gen 1 for that.

Not to mention the LS brought us the T56 a completely new 6 speed manual better than the T5 from third gens by miles. Yes the 700r4 and the 4L60 are similar but the 4L60e is quite a bit different with computer control, not to mention the creation of better transmissions (4L80e and 6L80e)

Also 1988 Pontiac Sunbird Turbo 2.0 Convertible!

Finally someone brought this up.

Blair Brown the 02 trans am is pretty bad ass too

Blair Brown The 4th Gen is the pinnacle of the F-Body.

redslate32 1990 GTA Trans Am smoking hot

Looks like a Fiero in the front. 241 horsepower. That ain't great fanboi

I had a 2000 with t-tops, and a 87 with a lt1 87 looked better but 2000 ,Not a ws6, still went 185 mph with a chip funnest dam cars I ever drove and these gtaz, always looked better than the 93-2002 ones but dam those last ones would fly man gona gona have to find me another one soon

They got a 6.3 0-60 and 14.9@94mph. It's a few minutes into the video.

Did you watch the review you idiot?

My Aunt had a stock '72 Firebird with hubcaps and a 350 V8 automatic, a boring car at the time but I wish it was still here now.

z yes I am