[Levi550]

Originally Posted by camaro5

Not gonna happen...

I had a '78 T/A, cameo white WS6 option, with no bird on the hood. Great looking, good handling car, but at 235 hp, it was a bit of a dog in stock configuration.

[guapo]

Originally Posted by DP1993

ITs by Trans am Depot, they actually have the rights from SCCA to use the Trans am Name just like GM did.



This Firehawk edition is pretty sick.

I would drive that. One because it looks killer and two it not something you would see everyday.

[DSX_Camaro]

Pretty sure Trans-Am was a racing series... You know, since the original Z/28 was a 302 that raced in the Trans-Am and was designed solely for use in the Trans-Am...

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by Outlander

Oldsmobile sales soared in the 1970s and 1980s (for an all-time high of 1,066,122 in 1985) based on popular designs, positive reviews from critics and the perceived quality and reliability of the Rocket V8 engine, with the Cutlass series becoming North America's top selling car by 1976. By this time, Olds had displaced Pontiac and Plymouth as the #3 best selling brand in the U.S. behind Chevrolet and Ford. In the early 1980s, model-year production topped one million units on several occasions, something only Chevrolet and Ford had achieved. The soaring popularity of Oldsmobile vehicles resulted in a major issue in 1977, as demand exceeded production capacity for the Oldsmobile V8, and as a result Oldsmobile quietly began equipping some full size Delta 88 models and the very popular Cutlass/Cutlass Supreme with the Chevrolet 350 engine instead (each division of GM produced its own 350 V8 engine). Many customers were loyal Oldsmobile buyers who specifically wanted the Rocket V8, and did not discover that their vehicle had the Chevrolet engine until they performed maintenance and discovered that purchased parts did not fit. This led to a class-action lawsuit which became a public relations nightmare for GM. Following this debacle, disclaimers stating that "Oldsmobiles are equipped with engines produced by various GM divisions" were tacked onto advertisements and sales literature; all other GM divisions followed suit. In addition, GM quickly stopped associating engines with particular divisions, and to this day all GM engines are produced by "GM Powertrain" (GMPT) and are called GM "Corporate" engines instead of GM "Division" engines.

Actually the sharing of Chevy 350 engines started in 1973. My brother bought a 73 Olds Omega, it had a Chevy 350 in it. How do I know? Because on his first oil change he bought a filter for a 350 Oldsmobile. It promptly dumped every bit of oil out on the driveway when he started it up. Found out it had a different gasket location than the Chevy 350. He compared the filter numbers printed on the sides of the filters and the one that he had taken off was a Chevy part number. Replaced it with a oil filter for a Chevy and all was well.

[TxBandit911]

Originally Posted by JoansDriver

I'd be happy to see Pontiac return as a performance division within GM. Have a very limited line up with the Grand Am, the GTO and Firebird. Otherwise, it's fair to say the Pontiac Div is probably better off where it is.

And anyone who believes Pontiac was "upscale" from Chevrolet is falling for a smoke and mirrors show.

Here's how I see things, since I've owned several T/As and a few Camaros....

I owned a 1994 Z28, when it was new. It was nice, but the interior of the Trans-Am of the same year was quite a bit better. I purchased the Z because the T/A was just out of my price range. If I had it to do over again, I would have picked up a Formula M6 for the same money. Side by side, my Z28 (top of the line Camaro) was about as fancy on the inside as a Formula (base model firebird with the LT1 engine). The problem I had with the Camaro from those years was there was no mid level model, you had v6 and Z28. 3rd gens could be had with the base model and v8, but it was the tbi 5.0 dog. Even then, the Pontiac fbody had the formula, base model firebird available with the biggest engine in production.

Now, lets look at some other fun stuff. New tech usually arrived on the trans am before it trickled to the Camaro. The 1970 redesign introduced the three piece rear spoiler, Pontiac engineers designed it specifically for racing. They liked the design enough to refuse to let the Camaro have the design, until a year later (1971) under the stipulation that the two corner pieces had to be different from the Pontiac design. This is why the 1970 Camaro has a one piece small spoiler on the back. The 3rd gen GTA had steering wheel mounted radio controls, I know this because I owned a '89 GTA, I could be wrong, but I don't think they showed up on the Camaro till around '97. I also owned a '80 TA Turbo, it had factory 4 wheel disk brakes, not sure when Chevy started offering it, but 1980 was pretty early for anything to have it not to mention a factory turbo (I know not a fantastic engine but it was new tech for the fbody). Ive always seen the Camaro as being plain, basic car with a performance drivetrain and the TA having more of a complete package of styling and interior design and function. When I owned my '00 WS6, my roommate hade a '99 SS Camaro, his car was really nice, but mine received more comments on looks and interior comfort than his ever did, from the comfort of the seats to the dash layout. Remember, the Camaro did a interior redesign in '97 after the backlash of hate for the goofy dash of the '93-'96 Camaro. The TA carried the same dash from '93-'02, and all my car friends, even Camaro owners still liked my set up. Over all, I just think the TA had more work put into form, function, and the overall exterior/interior design then the Chevy.