Phenomenal looks, plenty of horsepower and neck-snapping torque. Beautiful exhaust note from WS6 high-flow exhaust. The most entertaining car I've ever driven or rode in.

Can be somewhat unreliable. Back seat is tiny, but that would only bother someone with a 5-person family who bought this as a daily driver -- which, in itself, is a huge mistake.

I'll admit, the Trans Am is not for everyone. But I find it to be the perfect car for me -- I am 6'2" and the car seems to be proportioned exactly right, inside and out. There's plenty of room to hold grocery bags in the back, provided you get plastic. ;)

Now, on to this car's strengths. They are innumerable! By far, this is the most exhilarating, out-of-the-box power you can buy for this kind of money. It looks aggressive and mean, especially with the WS6 package's huge (and functional) Ram Air hood scoops. The Ram Air on the Trans Am is much more efficient than the Ram Air system on the Camaro SS; the Pontiac system places the scoops at the nose of the car, right ahead of the airbox. The Camaro, on the other hand, must route the incoming air from the center of the hood and down two narrow "pipes" to the airbox at the front -- reducing airflow by the time it gets to the engine. An inefficient design. The 6-speed manual transmission shifts beautifully, and the engine gives all the power you want when requested. The sound and acceleration under WOT is exhilirating. It sticks to the pavement like glue, and flies into curves like it was on rails. This is simply the most fun you can have on the way to work for under $35K.

The only problems I have had with this car are various reliability issues...I drove it from Detroit to Orlando, FL when the car was merely 2 months old, and by the time I got to Florida there was a loose bearing in the rear end that needed replacement. I've had one of the gears on a headlamp door break on me already, and a malfunction with the engine coolant level sensor. Minor issues, however. And when you buy a car like this just to enjoy the ride and all the fun it provides, as I did, then you'll be able to shrug aside small problems like this. I love this car; there is nothing it could do to me that would make me want to get rid of it. For any other muscle car fans out there who want a modern-day trip down Woodward Avenue, you can't go wrong with the Trans Am or the high powered WS6 Ram Air.

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'97 Trans Am WS6, 1979 Trans Am T/A 6.6
'97 T/A WS6, '79 Trans Am T/A 6.6

Awsome power and handling! Makes me glad I didn't get a rice burner for economy. The hell with economy your paying for the thrill of the power every time you leave a light or mash through the gears on the highway! Chicks love it and guys do too for you boys on the other side.

The worst car I have ever driven in the snow. The skip shift is very annoying, and the traction control is useless unless your going around a corner too fast in the rain and the back end slips out on ya. GAAASSSSS!

Awesome car! I went to the track and ran a 13.9 ... and the funny part is that I missed 3rd gear! I only got 1 run cause it was so crowded, but I run consistent 13.5's and 13.6's on my G-tech. And yes the G-tech works. I ran the same time at the trck with the G-tech on. The only mods I have are a Borla exhaust and K&N air filter!

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I owned a 1989 mustang GT with lots of mods and money put into it and still couldn't hang with the new LS1's. Car handles about the same but the power of the LS1 is unbelievable, and it's so smooth you don't notice how fast it is until you make it to the track or race someone else.

strong engine, nice stereo, nice t-tops, nice wheels. fun to drive, gets lots of compliments. 350 cid, 305 h/p engine.

where do i start? disc breaks squeek, rough transmission shift (auto - that was a mistake to buy), engine is currently in the shop to be balanced. this means they had to remove it and send it out to be balanced. this time the car has been in the shop a total of 13 days straight. speaker out on stereo. gas hog. t-tops rattle in cold weather.
a/c is marginal in summer. should make that stronger, especially since it has the t-tops, the summer heat can be brutal in NM.

I'll never buy another Pontiac as long as I live. I've had 3, and all 3 have been absolute crap. a 1980 grand prix, a 1994 Bonneville SE, and now this. gee, how many times does it take to learn a lesson. Hell, i'm running out of cars to buy to be satisfied, except for Infiniti (read my review on that. now that's the way a car should be built.). If i can ever retrieve my car from the dealer, that's it. i'm done with american built sports cars. as they say, "The bitterness of low quality lingers on far longer than the sweetness of low prices." man, that is the truth.

i will say one thing though, the dealership and GM has paid for everything (of course it only has 9,000 miles on it), and have been great to work with. I would like another car, but you know how these guys are. they'll keep fixing it until the customer gets disgusted and gets rid of it, no matter what the cost to the manufacturer.

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1989 Mustang 5.0. another piece of crap. which is why i tried the firebird this time. clutch went out, heater core busted, lights out, cruise went out, and tires would last maybe 20,000 at best.

Great built engine and trans. Very fast. Great fit and finish. Very fast. Decent sound system--I am in the process of upgrading it though. Very fast. Looks are awesome. Oh and did I mention, its very fast.

Useless in the winter. Its been sitting in my garage for 3 months. Tires wear out fast, expect to replace them every 20 thousand miles or so. For a car with 320 HP the exhaust is very quiet--I am going to replace that too. Also, when driving at about 120 the t-tops whistle like crazy. :-)

For a summer car or for those who don't have to worry about ice and snow, I would highly recommend this car. I bought it just about a year ago and have been very happy so far. This car is beautiful, has a strong and well built engine, and has performance that is amazing. I am in the process of a few upgrades to the car, but otherwise it is perfect.

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None

Drives Great,very fast and lots of Power it has A 350 with a Ram Air Hood
that i took of a 70 firebird(all Fiberglass)no catalic converters all pipe Baby,and it still has the original muffler that sounds great and sense i live in California i don't have to smog this baby neither

No AC yet it's intacked but need some one to fix it for me,when i do that this car will have No Weakness

This Car Is a great cruiser,and racer it was the first time i drove a firebird and i loved it,not so many people own an old firebird like mine, that's why when you see it your head will turn,it's not over produced like the camero and mustang,this car is great for everybody,so Remember don't crush them Restore it.

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Camero,Mustang,and all Rice Burners can't compare to a real muscle Car like Firebird or even Pontiac for that Matter

It Looks awesome! It's FAST!! And it's a CONVERTIBLE!!! (and it beats the crap out of mustangs!) :)

Where to start..? The cars are made VERY cheaply and have all sorts of "little" problems. The damn engine light likes to go on all the time and their is always a "little" problem just waiting to happen.

Jeez... where do I begin! I have had 2 of these cars (brand new) and I have had all kinds of little problems with them. Both cars had lists of over 20 things wrong with them when I returned to the dealer for my first servicing so I know it wasn't just a lemon. I take care of my cars but drive them like they were meant to be driven :) I have had to bring both of them in MANY times for servicing for various problems that should not have been. The cars are put together with spit and glue but sell because they look VERY cool and are VERY fun to drive. My car is a 1997 RAM/AIR Convertable (favorite year) and I can't wait to upgrade it to a Corvette.

Not only is the Corvette faster and better looking, but it is actually a "class up" from the TransAm/Z28/3000GT/Mustang lines. You have to drive one to know what I am talking about. You wont have the same problems and it will retain more of it's value.

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1995 Firebird (200 HP) - Same damn problems!!!!

Gotta love a manual shift, especially with the extra (6th) gear! Will get /relatively/ decent gas milage when I changed the rear end gears. Looks great (minus the hood). Not the fastest car on the market, but there is something about eating cars that cost twice as much. ;) Minor problems compared to a 93 Z28 I owned in the past.

Not as fast as a 93 Z28 I owned a few years back. =/
Low Coolant Sensor keeps going, has been replaced 3 times in the last 6 months (gotta love extended warranties).
HORRIBLE gas milage, even for a 350.

Looking above, it may seem I feel negative towards this car. That is far from the truth. Lets do a quick comparison:

94 Firebird Formula:

Bad - Slowest of the last 3 cars I've owned, and worst gas milage of the three.

Good - Barely slower then the Cobra, fairly noticably slower then the Z28 (which I believe was modified before I bought it)... yet for the /slight/ performance difference, payments are almost $100 less per month then the Z28, and almost HALF of the Cobra payments, woohoo! Car looks fantastic, it is Jade Green (which I planned to repaint when I first bought it), but after fitting it with a Bra and Black-Outs for the tail lights, and going with a /slightly/ illegal tint, I've decided not to repaint. :)
Also, after throwing the stock hood out to the curb and replacing it with a Ram-Air style hood, I will be perfectly happy (well, will need to add Chrome Rims ;) )


Z28 Good - Fastest of the three.

Z28 Bad - Cost my Warranty company $14,000 in the two years I owned it, not sure if the previous owner beat it, but this car was a total piece of sh*t. I've heard similar horror stories.

96 Cobra Good - Best gas milage, 2nd fastest (barely), never had to bring to the shop (only owned for 9 months though).

96 Cobra Bad - Worst looking of the 3. Highest payments of the 3. Highest prices for upgrades of the 3.


Overall, I'd have to say it is the best value of the 3 cars I've owned. After changing the gears in the rear-end, I'll probably be saying "Without a doubt, the best value"... but then again, I'll be b*tching even more about gas milage. ;)

1.60 per Gallon?!?!?! %%#@$% @%@@ @$!!##
pretty soon my gas payments will be worse then my car payments! heh

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93 Z28
96 Cobra

nice horsepower and torque, especially for a v-6. highly upgradable.
looks fabulous, with a few aftermarket addons handles beautifully.

no stock supercharger option, poor rear seats, poor cargo capacity (who gets one of these for cargo room?)

This is a beautiful car. I bought mine in june of 1997. I ordered a white 1997 firebird (wanted a formula bad but didnt quite have enough).
The original asking price was 23500, after some haggling I managed to get them down to 21500, almost down to invoice! It has all the options except a V-8 and fog lights.

Recently I've been adding aftermarket pieces, a B&B performance exhaust, an SLP Cold Air Induction system, and a twin turbo is possily next. Already I have improved the stock 200 hp 205 torque to 235 hp 250 lb/ft. It is a VERY noticeable difference, the push back into your seat of wide open throttle gains about 50% and the sound of the exhaust system make it sound even better.

I spent only 700$ on the exhaust and CAI, and it has the feel of a V-8 without the insurance and vehicle costs.

If you go for the v-8 you will be blown away, they are underrated by GM to make the corvette look better, but in actuality, the difference between a base corvette and a ws-6 ram air trans am is only a little car weight. They both push the same 345 hp, and adding on my 700 mods will likely push that numbe rover 370 hp, cutting a 0-60 time from 5.2 stock to possibly 4.9

For those of you not buying it for the performance.. why? go for a little front wheel drive, leave the nice cars like this to people who love them.

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compared to a 1997 ford mustang, this car blows it out of the water. This car can hang with a 97 mustang GT (V8) as well..

The car is very pleasing to the eye, especially with the top down. Mine is: Black Paint, Black top, Black/Grey Interior and stock black powder coated mags. Handels great with good rubber, recovers well if over driven. Massive braking power if you can afford to keep the pads new. Lots of driver leg room and comfortable seating up front. V-6 has good MPG and power.

Small back seat and trunk (folding rear seat helps). Driver window motor replaced twice. Spark plug wires faulty but factory replaced them(no cost). Igniters replaced 1x (no cost). Tires way expensive (Mich's @ 150.00 ea.) Factory up front brakes @ 150.00 (strongly recomended).

I really enjoy driving the car, expecially in Suthern Cal summer months. I looked long and hard for this car, wouldn't trade it for a new one at all since they are still using the same interior guts.

I currently have 62,000K on it and the warrenty ends at 98,000K. All in all, a good clean fun car to drive. If you are looking for a fun cost worthy car, Pontiacs firbird line is well worth your time.

If your not willing to spend time with the factory recomended maintanance schedule, your asking for trouble. The car is all electronic and requires attention. GM's parts don't last as long as they state, but the factory does stand behind their program. Well worth the fun of driving it.

I imagine I'll baby the care into my retirement, probably replace the engine once. The body style just does'nt age. I'm a happy Firebird owner.

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First car in 15 years. Can't compare it to a motercycle now can I. I did drive my girl friends Tiempo once, claerly blows her car away.

Power...speed...looks...handling...power...speed...looks...handling...are you noticing a pattern here?

small back seats (who cares?), T-tops leak a bit sometimes. Also, this car eats my z-rated tires like you wouldn't believe. I've got about 17K miles on it and I am about to replace the set.

I absolutely LOVE this car. It gets looks from people EVERYWHERE that I go. It amazes me every time I push down on the gas pedal. It should almost be illegal to own one of the Ram Airs until you are about 30 years old! It's really a shame that Pontiac is going to stop production on this true muscle car. Don't buy this car if you're looking for a comfortable, roomy family truckster. This car is built for one purpose only: to be driven...and driven hard.

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'98 TA. Love this one, too.