Quote:
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.
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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.