Buick has the old man market share,and with all the baby boomers around had plenty of customers to keep buying the brand, Pontiac was aimed at the younger male audience but had stiffer competition from Honda. little old men don't buy Civics
The Baby Boomers have contributed a lot more to Mercedes', BMW's, Toyota's, Volvo's and Audi's success than they did to Buick's. Most Boomers in this country don't want to be seen in a Buick, Cadillac, or Lincoln because those are the cars that their parents drove back in the day.
Ashley Jenkins hows the turd gen? Had a 70, many bandits and a ton of 98-02’s. Always wanted a clean third gen though. I like the bandit cars because they were fairly modern compared to a 70 Chevelle or something. Drove and stopped well. I had a 1980 bandit edition with a 400HP Ls swap.
@@MrPland1992 my 77 Bandit had the very last 455 Pontiac big block engine that put out a whopping 195hp what a joke but then again it was a 70s choked out engine, once I had all the emissions crap removed and got her tuned the she was putting more like 400hp, my WS6 Ram Air don't even turn out that much, but I'm getting her tuned as well.
That '99 is still gorgeous! I love the colors and the styling has aged remarkably well! I would still love to own a 1999-2002 ram-air 6-speed Trans Am. I loved these then, and I still love them now!
Pontiac was doing okay just that GM prefer China where Buick very popular. So they kill off Pontiac in US and focus Buick in China. Now look what GM doing, importing China made Buick into US. Topical breeding bastards
+Kyle Wagner lol that insanely slow launch and monster finish! You have to be at sea level and have all everything on your side to run 13s in these but 13.6 is possible in quite ideal conditions.
Blame Government Motors, not the Pontiac engineers... not to mention this obsession with pandering needlessly to the Chinese market. Doubly hurts that Pontiac were planning a return to their RWD roots before the financial shitstorm hit.
No; it was taken from us because GM executives (including Mary Barra) have been the embodiment of every negative caricature you can imagine when it comes to business executives/baby boomers/people who think it's cool to order for 10 other people at a busy fast food drive thru
Great memories, my first intro to muscle cars was a 1972 T/A a (rich) friend owned. After daily driving a 20 year old VW(big 1300cc) then jumping into that T/A felt like a jet being catapulted off a carrier. Thanks!
I love em both, I remember looking at that 99 in the showroom when I was younger and being like WOW! I think it was going somewhere in the 30s. I truly wish Pontiac had not been killed as they were just starting to get their act together with the G8 and we know they woulda brought the trans am back when the Camaro came back! Sigh.
+xsbgtr The word was they wanted to keep Pontiac and get rid of Buick but a last minute decision they kept Buick for the guy's (Babyboomers) who couldn't afford a Cadillac and so they needed to let Pontiac go and keep the Chevy for all performance cars!
I've owned a 67 completely restored Firebird Phoenix dealer special , a 1978 WS6 and a 2000 WS6TransAm, I love the old birds as much as my 20 year old TA...
I just saw this car today. This was an amazing looking pony car. I remembered ring in High School and wanting have one. We’re getting old. Thank you motor week for the retro reviews!!
That's very noble of you guys to sandbag the crap out of the new trans am so it wouldn't embarrass the old trans am at the drags. Everyone knows the new trans am runs well into the 13's.
LOL they said only 320HP those engines made 345-350HP. Rear wheels my old shop had a few bone stock LS1's with over 120,000- 160,000 miles showed 315-335HP a the wheels so 350HP at the crank. Remove emission crap and add better exhaust you get around 350-360HP.
That 30th anniversary Trans Am is just awesome looking. I owned a '97 Camaro convertible and even so I was never a huge fan of that body style, but the Trans Am in that body style just looked awesome - I still love it.
14.6 in the quarter on a hot day, and on those tires is very respectable. To be honest, many cars today don't run that. People tend to have a warped idea these days of what is slow. Even the 2015 Dodge Hellcat was heavily promoted for running the quarter in something like 11 seconds flat, under optimal conditions, on modern drag radials, and on a prepared strip.
@@quentin3330 That's the Trans Am, and they were only available in coupe bodystyle. (Well, there _was_ a convertible '69 Trans Am, but only eight were built and I doubt this dude had one of the eight)
I had a '72 Cutlass that I bought for $200 in 1992, then bought a set of truck tires, used of course, install for just $20. Anywho it's 60-0 was probably more like 300ft.... but that was OK since if you turned left the car would turn off mid-corner.
Love these old motor week videos I watched most of these when they aired damn I miss Pontiac and Oldsmobile the 1970 ram air W30 455 442 was a fun car back in the day
This is the second time I've seen MotorWeek severely underrate the LS1. I own a stock 99" T/A. 6-speed. Clock sits at 49K. I've taken it to the track several times. The only "modification" is a Flow Master. It will run low 13's all day long. 0 to 60 is 5.1 sec. I've spun the tires all the way through 1st gear and still ran under 14. MotorWeek must be sponsered by Ford.
@GroinFaceGroin, yes you are right. Pontiac Div. always seemed to deliver that extra performance edge when compared to its Chevy platform mates. F-Body to F-body and even W-Body to W-body. The Grand Prix GT was better sorted out than the Monte Carlo SS. It was a pity that it never got the potent "sideways LS1" the LS4.
@Pete shea Did Burt Reynolds drive in a camaro as the Bandit? Nope. Did Michael Knight drive in a Camaro? Nope. Did the bully in the It movies drive in a camaro? Nope. Where was the Camaro featured? Oh right those Michael Bay train wreck Transformer movies. Face it, Camaros suck and will never be as awesome as the Firebird. Camaros wish they were half the car the Firebird is
@@GroinFaceGroin you not correct, John Z Delorean wanted a corvette fighter; GM bosses ordered him to take the camaro and make it into a Firebird. Firebird was based of the Camaro. In Trans Am Racing the Z28 won the Championship in 60s plus it won in Drag Racing. Yes the Firebird is more aggressive. But Camaro you had the COPO's the 427s. Yenko ,Nickey, Berger. And Baldwin Motion Phase III camaro ran 11.4 in 60s or your money back
@@gmain1977 So? My argument in my original statement still stands. Nowhere in my original statement did I mention performance. Firebirds look way better and Camaros still exist only because Chevy still exists
Hahaha @ "before aerodynamics was a serious consideration" Mine was a red 2000 Ram Air with a Hurst manual and Monsoon 500 watt ear damaging sound system. Threw on a Flow Master system with 4" dual chrome tips, and a K&N too. Only almost wrecked it once but recovered...thank God no traffic was coming...it was truly a miracle!
Pan tera I agree... the time they posted was off by quite a bit. Various magazines during the period tested the car and posted a 0-60 of around 5 seconds... give or take... they're pretty fast and a blast to drive.
When GM announced they were first killing the Trans-Am after 2002 my heart sank and I became quite depressed. You see, those cars were truly apart of who I was (am). They were the sleek outsiders car, the one no one had as they were hard as Hell to find especially used in the early 1990's. Yes, Camaro's were more popular, made the same power at the wheels but never did they look as mean. When I was a teenager you could find LT1 Camaro's and Formula Firebirds all day long. The minute you asked for that raised spoiler dealers told you to go fish or "What about a Mustang GT?" All my friends were all about the Camaro's, Firebirds, Supra's, 3000GT VR4's, and Eclipse Spider's. The Trans-Am became almost a mythical, untouchable car that you rarely saw driving on the road going to school. I looked for months and months just to find a used Trans-Am of any color or year starting with 1993. Then one mythical September morning in 1996 my father took me to a used dealership about 40 miles from our home to look for F-Body's. At that point I had largely given up and was willing to settle on a Z28 or Firebird Formula. We go into the lot and asked a salesman if they had any used Camaro's or Firebirds for sale and he said "Unfortunately not but would you be interested in an Anniversary Trans-Am?" I had to ask him to repeat himself "A what?!" Five minutes later and I was staring at my 1994 25th Anniversary Trans-Am LT1 w/6-speed and I bought it right then and there. What's funny is I had to drive my father's Z28 convertible home while he drove my Trans-Am because I couldn't drive stick. We actually got speeding tickets on the way home playing around too much on the interstate. I learned how to drive my car that day and you better believe it turned heads at my high school. I wound up getting a 2002 Firehawk Trans-Am in 2002 and man was that LS1 just a beast in 02. Addendum- When Pontiac decided to replace the Trans-Am's with the GTO I was angry but it was even worse when GM killed Pontiac all together. You took a piece of my soul GM and I will never forgive you for that. Buick for Pontiac...what absolute fools. You broke my heart GM, you broke my heart. Now, they have done it again by destroying the Camaro and replacing it with a European design. Thank you Dodge for still standing with the true muscle car fans.
Right of course now Dodge is planning on killing the Hemi V8s after 2023 and Ford is planning on killing the legendary 5.0L Coyote V8 in the Mustang after 2029.
@@CJColvin I don't think it's going to happen...at least not like that. I don't know if you remember but Dodge's original plan was to kill the Hemi in 2022. However, that changed to 2023 and I believe I know why. I think Dodge is trying to hedge their bets. I wouldn't be surprised that they either miraculously have "enough stock" to continue selling the 2022/2023 Challenger/Charger all through 2024...or they extend it another year. The reason for this is twofold. The first is EV cars are not selling well at all. The other reason is deregulation is coming and it's coming fast. Americans by and large are pretty pissed about this self inflicted "gas crisis" and in 2024 a certain group is going to feel the brunt of that anger. When that happens this 3+ dollars to whatever it is everywhere else a gallon will come crashing down. Cheap gas from Venezuela isn't going to save them. Addendum- It will be a cold day in Hell before I trade my American V8's in for any of that fantastic plastic junk EV cars the automakers are trying to force down our throats. I love my Stinger Yellow Challenger and will drive it until the wheels fall off.
Grandfather '69 T/A Proud of his youngest Grandson on display here, the '99 T/A. His Older Brother & the 1st Grandson was the '89 Turbo T/A. Their Father is the '79 Silver 10th Anniv T/A.
The 98-02 WS6 model was my Dream car throughout high school. If they hadn't got so valuable I'd still really want one, but they now sell for just as much used as they did brand new 20 years ago.
Where was everyone when Pontiac was struggling to survive ? Not buying Pontiacs. Pontiac was GM's badge aimed at the youth market, but the youth market was buying BMWs , VW Gtis, and Civics. They wanted nothing to do with American cars. As a practical matter, most GM cars of the era were pretty much the same, mechanically, with a few stylistic tweaks to distinguish one brand from another.
I had a '05 GTO with 400hp, and yeah, it wasn't a real Pontiac, but I was supersized at how well it drove and how well it was built. I replaced it with a fully loaded incredibly beautiful CTS, and they drove nearly identical, just with the GTO having an extra 100hp. But point being the GTO was really well made, held up fantastically to a super well reviewed car, yet no one bought them. The G8 was an even better car, and no one bought that either. The Chevy SS was an even better car, and no one bought that either, except for the difference with the SS was Chevy pricing it way to high. But point being GM did a really poor job marketing these, instead just showing commercial after commercial for trucks and pretending they didn't make cars anymore.
In 78 I had a 69 Bird with a 400 Catalina engine and she was fast as heck. I sold her to my brother to go to college, but boy do I miss that triple green rocket.
Even 0-60 times were off some people got 5.4secs. Must of been a hot day and they didn't use 93+ gas. All LT1/LS1 PCM retards timing when using lower grade gas both my book manuals say's that my 97Z28 an d 99SS.
Damn on another retro video a 85 trans am with 305 Carburetor did the 1/4 in 14.7 with less then 200 hp and in this video with the ls1 99 they got a 14.6. What were they smoking
My personal preference, I dig the 1989 20th Anniversary Pontiac Trans Am. It was an aerodynamic car with the Buick Grand National driveline and it was pretty quick!
Rick James I own a 1996 ws6 Trans Am LT1 it would do 13.5 in the quarter at 106 miles an hour bone stock i believe the track had a lot to do with it given Houston Raceway Park is almost at sea level.
14.6? And... 14.7? Christ. Throw in aftermarket linkage, a blueprint tune, and some modern ZR tires, and that old Trans Am probably does low-13s...just like the 99' SHOULD HAVE turned lol
gm should make the pontiac trans am am an option for the new camaro...where they give it to some aftermarket company like lingenfelter where he would cut the roof for t tops, lower it an inch, put bigger tires and rims on it, a few go fast items and a loud exhaust then all you need is a wail tail and some cheesy stickers and bam, instant trans am
See it's the same as the horsepower... yeah, that's it... just like the old horsepower figures are inflated compared to today, so were times..... but seriously, this show was always a little nostalgic and would talk up specific brands
That '99 is now 20 years old yet styling and performance would pretty well hold it's own even today. GM sloth let that division sink right the hell outta sight...man...whaaaat happened...
And you also have to consider the safety features put into today’s cars. Think about when you could get shoulder belts or airbags as an added option (which was far past the 69’ TA) and take that into account as well
@@99thpeanut59 How is plastic worse than metal? I mean, the materials were far off being better quality: these things rusted faster than you had the time to say your comment. And it got even worse in the eighties. No wonder why all cars from the eighties disappeared from everywhere where there's snow or humidity: they rusted so fast they could be considered biodegradable by modern standards.
I would take both, and a 70 model to boot. I had a 93 TA auto, 98 TA 6-spd., and the wife had a 2000 TA auto. I sold my 98 to my sister (heavily modified) and one day I will get it back!
Pontiac always had the more flamboyant styles over the Chevy. Most of the time I thought a lot of it looked busy on some cars but the WS6 looked plain mean and in your face! Still puts a smile on my face when I see one.
My mind is still stuck in early 2000's dates. I hear John talk about '69 like it was 30 years ago and I'm like "Yeah!". Then I look at the current year and shit, man. '69 was 52 years ago. Wtf.
+supercooled They were very similar, with small engineering differences and noticeable styling differences. In general, though, you're not wrong--same platform, similar suspension setup, virtually the same engine and interior components.
Pontiac used their own engine design until late 70s emissions laws killed them off. After that the Trans Am briefly came with a 403 Oldsmobile engine and then went to using Chevy engines.
For many years GO used a shared frame for cars across it's brands. The Camaro/Firebird shared the same frame from 1967 through 2002. Body panels and various items differ. The further back in time the more differentiation. As Tim Sharpe noted, the engines are the major difference mechanical difference. (But I would argue that going to a single engine design was more a function of consolidating the build process. (early Ford Mustangs and Mercury Cougars - the other pony cars, had a similar same frame approach, but other than panels, they were mechanically the same).
I can't believe Pontiac is gone yet Buick lived on. Scratching head.
Buick is more luxury, Pontiac was just another Chevy
91C4NVA
Buick sells overseas. The Chinese market love Buick.
Buick is the company that formed GM, learn a little history. Sucks Pontiac is gone but it holds nothing over Buick.
Buick has the old man market share,and with all the baby boomers around had plenty of customers to keep buying the brand, Pontiac was aimed at the younger male audience but had stiffer competition from Honda. little old men don't buy Civics
The Baby Boomers have contributed a lot more to Mercedes', BMW's, Toyota's, Volvo's and Audi's success than they did to Buick's. Most Boomers in this country don't want to be seen in a Buick, Cadillac, or Lincoln because those are the cars that their parents drove back in the day.
5:44
"Maybe people had more friends back then"
LOL
and back then Facebook friends doesn't exist ...good ol time .
Everything is becoming more artificial.
And homogenized.
@@PhenomProductions23 agree
The Trans am ended on such a High note!! They still are one of the most aggressive looking cars on the road today!!
Yes they and i have 3 of them a 77 bandit edition a 92 and the very last 2002 ws6 ram air. And love all three of the, and no mu t-tops never leaked.
Ashley Jenkins hows the turd gen? Had a 70, many bandits and a ton of 98-02’s. Always wanted a clean third gen though. I like the bandit cars because they were fairly modern compared to a 70 Chevelle or something. Drove and stopped well. I had a 1980 bandit edition with a 400HP Ls swap.
@@MrPland1992 love them all. Did you mean third generation?
@@MrPland1992 my 77 Bandit had the very last 455 Pontiac big block engine that put out a whopping 195hp what a joke but then again it was a 70s choked out engine, once I had all the emissions crap removed and got her tuned the she was putting more like 400hp, my WS6 Ram Air don't even turn out that much, but I'm getting her tuned as well.
The Ram Air hood on the 98-02 is my favorite. So aggressive looking.
That '99 is still gorgeous! I love the colors and the styling has aged remarkably well! I would still love to own a 1999-2002 ram-air 6-speed Trans Am. I loved these then, and I still love them now!
I just bought a 02 firehawk. Best decision ever.
THE MOTHER OF ALL RETRO REVIEWS!!!!!!
It's a retro review where they compare a retro car to an even more retro car XD
Pontiac needs to be revived.
if they went back to hardcore muscle. which is what they were known for. but they became extremely shit for some reason
+cnc7556 because they were cannibalizing chevrolet's performance division sales.
+Gary James That would be awesome! The Trans Am looked way better then the Camaro.
If revived they need not to make the same mistakes that destroyed the company.
Pontiac was doing okay just that GM prefer China where Buick very popular. So they kill off Pontiac in US and focus Buick in China. Now look what GM doing, importing China made Buick into US. Topical breeding bastards
The slowest LS1 F-body I've ever owned went 13.8, and it was a 2.73 gear auto 99 Z28. Most of mine were 13.5-13.0
My 2.73 geared auto Z28 went 13.56 at 105 mph stock!!
My 91 Z28 runs that stock
A 14.6
@@markruss1288 on bias ply if the 69 was on today's rubber it would perform closer. Also they used the second motor down ram 3 not ram 4
That anniversary model was and still is a beautiful piece!!
The 98-2002 WS6 T/A were 0-60 5.2, 1/4 13.6, & 164Mph Top Speed Bone Stock All Day Long
H Mack @164MPH!?!?!?! WOW!!!
+Kyle Wagner Yes, why? The car has plenty of power. A stock 2003 350Z hit 160mph and that was less powerful..
I thought it said 13.6 @ 164mph, my bad. I know that can top end that fast, I had a '02 Z28.
+Kyle Wagner lol that insanely slow launch and monster finish! You have to be at sea level and have all everything on your side to run 13s in these but 13.6 is possible in quite ideal conditions.
13.6 is easy in non ideal conditions. These cars can run high 12s in ideal conditions.
We gave up this so the Chinese could buy buicks!?
rfdsdf1 sounds about right
Blame Government Motors, not the Pontiac engineers... not to mention this obsession with pandering needlessly to the Chinese market. Doubly hurts that Pontiac were planning a return to their RWD roots before the financial shitstorm hit.
No; it was taken from us because GM executives (including Mary Barra) have been the embodiment of every negative caricature you can imagine when it comes to business executives/baby boomers/people who think it's cool to order for 10 other people at a busy fast food drive thru
rfdsdf1 GM’s contract with Buick was that as long as their doors were open, they would make Buicks. There’s a reason why buick stuck around.
Hell not just the Chinese guys I swear every time I turn my head I see some damn old folgie driving some frickin Buick lacrosse or whatever !!
Great memories, my first intro to muscle cars was a 1972 T/A a (rich) friend owned. After daily driving a 20 year old VW(big 1300cc) then jumping into that T/A felt like a jet being catapulted off a carrier. Thanks!
With a set of drag radials on the '69 Trans Am, I'm sure it would crack into the 13's.
I love em both, I remember looking at that 99 in the showroom when I was younger and being like WOW! I think it was going somewhere in the 30s. I truly wish Pontiac had not been killed as they were just starting to get their act together with the G8 and we know they woulda brought the trans am back when the Camaro came back! Sigh.
Acc0rd79 Wish they had killed Buick, Opel, Vauxhall, Holden, something else, not Pontiac & Hummer
+xsbgtr The word was they wanted to keep Pontiac and get rid of Buick but a last minute decision they kept Buick for the guy's (Babyboomers) who couldn't afford a Cadillac and so they needed to let Pontiac go and keep the Chevy for all performance cars!
+xsbgtr buick could stay
I suppose at the very least you have those license build new Trans am's from Florida
xsbgtr they were actually trying to Sell Opel/vauxhall back then, but the deals kept failing until today, Opel/vauxhall is now going to Peugeot
I've owned a 67 completely restored Firebird Phoenix dealer special , a 1978 WS6 and a 2000 WS6TransAm, I love the old birds as much as my 20 year old TA...
Watching the '69 go through the slalom reminded me of an old Bud Lindemann review.
Yeah no doubt!
Maindrian Pace Accept Buds road test were allot more road test then. Motor week like 180 degree spins pile ons etc.
I just saw this car today. This was an amazing looking pony car. I remembered ring in High School and wanting have one. We’re getting old. Thank you motor week for the retro reviews!!
That's very noble of you guys to sandbag the crap out of the new trans am so it wouldn't embarrass the old trans am at the drags. Everyone knows the new trans am runs well into the 13's.
fastfordman1965 dude probably wasn't able to drive stick well lol
LOL they said only 320HP those engines made 345-350HP. Rear wheels my old shop had a few bone stock LS1's with over 120,000- 160,000 miles showed 315-335HP a the wheels so 350HP at the crank. Remove emission crap and add better exhaust you get around 350-360HP.
@@DimitriosChannel You are correct. 53 different cars on Dyno Jets average 315hp to the wheels. (01-02) The older cars averaged about 7hp less.
@@daviddrown4416 The 2001-2002 has the LS6 intake and heads and no egr. Those were very quick!
Fishermanguy44 a stock 69 Trans am with a 400 ain’t running in the 13’s.
That 30th anniversary Trans Am is just awesome looking. I owned a '97 Camaro convertible and even so I was never a huge fan of that body style, but the Trans Am in that body style just looked awesome - I still love it.
14.6 in the quarter? Must of kept it in 2nd gear lol
More like people over estimate how fast those are because of the gross power rating, shitty brakes, shitty tires, etc.
Yeah, thats low. Too low.
Well they did say it was a hot summer day - that can make a big big difference. But yeah that 0-60 and 1/4 mile seem quite slow.
The MPH was good, though...
14.6 in the quarter on a hot day, and on those tires is very respectable. To be honest, many cars today don't run that. People tend to have a warped idea these days of what is slow. Even the 2015 Dodge Hellcat was heavily promoted for running the quarter in something like 11 seconds flat, under optimal conditions, on modern drag radials, and on a prepared strip.
I had a convertible 69. Took 200 ft or more to stop from 60 with 4 wheel drums, lol. Too bad Pontiac is no longer... twas my favorite GM division
Rec Pro i thought they had front disc brakes and only rear had drum brakes???
@@quentin3330 That's the Trans Am, and they were only available in coupe bodystyle.
(Well, there _was_ a convertible '69 Trans Am, but only eight were built and I doubt this dude had one of the eight)
I had a '72 Cutlass that I bought for $200 in 1992, then bought a set of truck tires, used of course, install for just $20. Anywho it's 60-0 was probably more like 300ft.... but that was OK since if you turned left the car would turn off mid-corner.
@@quentin3330 They did, but probably got swapped on to a 67.
20 years later and that 99-02 Trans Am is still a stunner.
I love how even 30 years later there are still actual pros & cons to both!
Love these old motor week videos I watched most of these when they aired damn I miss Pontiac and Oldsmobile the 1970 ram air W30 455 442 was a fun car back in the day
This is the second time I've seen MotorWeek severely underrate the LS1. I own a stock 99" T/A. 6-speed. Clock sits at 49K. I've taken it to the track several times. The only "modification" is a Flow Master. It will run low 13's all day long. 0 to 60 is 5.1 sec. I've spun the tires all the way through 1st gear and still ran under 14. MotorWeek must be sponsered by Ford.
Who were driving these things? 4th gen F bodies ran in the mid 13's all day.
The Camaro is just an incomplete Firebird. Now that I said it I bet you can't unsee it 😁
@GroinFaceGroin, yes you are right. Pontiac Div. always seemed to deliver that extra performance edge when compared to its Chevy platform mates. F-Body to F-body and even W-Body to W-body. The Grand Prix GT was better sorted out than the Monte Carlo SS. It was a pity that it never got the potent "sideways LS1" the LS4.
@Pete shea Did Burt Reynolds drive in a camaro as the Bandit? Nope. Did Michael Knight drive in a Camaro? Nope. Did the bully in the It movies drive in a camaro? Nope. Where was the Camaro featured? Oh right those Michael Bay train wreck Transformer movies. Face it, Camaros suck and will never be as awesome as the Firebird. Camaros wish they were half the car the Firebird is
@Pete shea I'm old enough to remember them using Firebirds in the old school cannonball run movies. Not Camaros
@@GroinFaceGroin you not correct, John Z Delorean wanted a corvette fighter; GM bosses ordered him to take the camaro and make it into a Firebird. Firebird was based of the Camaro. In Trans Am Racing the Z28 won the Championship in 60s plus it won in Drag Racing. Yes the Firebird is more aggressive.
But Camaro you had the COPO's the 427s. Yenko ,Nickey, Berger. And Baldwin Motion Phase III camaro ran 11.4 in 60s or your money back
@@gmain1977 So? My argument in my original statement still stands. Nowhere in my original statement did I mention performance. Firebirds look way better and Camaros still exist only because Chevy still exists
Still have my 30th today, love it as much as the day I got it!!
Good ol' Trans Am kept going on through time as it can, love this muscle car.😍
💕💕💕
Had three TAs. 1979, 1998 and a 1989. All great V8s! 💕💕💕
Hahaha @ "before aerodynamics was a serious consideration"
Mine was a red 2000 Ram Air with a Hurst manual and Monsoon 500 watt ear damaging sound system. Threw on a Flow Master system with 4" dual chrome tips, and a K&N too.
Only almost wrecked it once but recovered...thank God no traffic was coming...it was truly a miracle!
That WS6 in white with white leather looks just gorgeous !
WTF! 5.8sec 0-60 & 14.6 1/4 ... no way.... my 99 Camaro SS does mid 5sec and mid 13s all stock...
+CamaroWarrior Yeah they could've done quite a bit better than that
+CamaroWarrior Probably a driver with a heavy foot... this car should have been sub 5... 4.9 or 5.1 tops...
+CamaroWarrior could all come down to engine variations or an idiot behind the wheel of the t/a
Pan tera I agree... the time they posted was off by quite a bit. Various magazines during the period tested the car and posted a 0-60 of around 5 seconds... give or take... they're pretty fast and a blast to drive.
jeadelmann90 indeed, don't think for a second i wouldn't jump on the chance to even be in the passenger seat, these birds are the m-f-ing word
anybody else like that intro jam? It's disco like
chicken? Pretty certain it's a Phoenix, hence "Firebird"
TempestZero they're affectionately called "screaming chicken"
@@frankhubbardiv8711 I always heard/went with spittin chicken
I thought it was a Phoenix too.
The chicken thing could just be a nickname
Screaming chicken fam.
1999 looks better than today's cars.
I'm 6 foot 235 and I have to ride in the back of a mid 90s Trans Am some times. As long as you're a little flexible you're fine
When GM announced they were first killing the Trans-Am after 2002 my heart sank and I became quite depressed. You see, those cars were truly apart of who I was (am). They were the sleek outsiders car, the one no one had as they were hard as Hell to find especially used in the early 1990's. Yes, Camaro's were more popular, made the same power at the wheels but never did they look as mean. When I was a teenager you could find LT1 Camaro's and Formula Firebirds all day long. The minute you asked for that raised spoiler dealers told you to go fish or "What about a Mustang GT?" All my friends were all about the Camaro's, Firebirds, Supra's, 3000GT VR4's, and Eclipse Spider's. The Trans-Am became almost a mythical, untouchable car that you rarely saw driving on the road going to school.
I looked for months and months just to find a used Trans-Am of any color or year starting with 1993. Then one mythical September morning in 1996 my father took me to a used dealership about 40 miles from our home to look for F-Body's. At that point I had largely given up and was willing to settle on a Z28 or Firebird Formula. We go into the lot and asked a salesman if they had any used Camaro's or Firebirds for sale and he said "Unfortunately not but would you be interested in an Anniversary Trans-Am?" I had to ask him to repeat himself "A what?!" Five minutes later and I was staring at my 1994 25th Anniversary Trans-Am LT1 w/6-speed and I bought it right then and there. What's funny is I had to drive my father's Z28 convertible home while he drove my Trans-Am because I couldn't drive stick. We actually got speeding tickets on the way home playing around too much on the interstate. I learned how to drive my car that day and you better believe it turned heads at my high school. I wound up getting a 2002 Firehawk Trans-Am in 2002 and man was that LS1 just a beast in 02.
Addendum- When Pontiac decided to replace the Trans-Am's with the GTO I was angry but it was even worse when GM killed Pontiac all together. You took a piece of my soul GM and I will never forgive you for that. Buick for Pontiac...what absolute fools. You broke my heart GM, you broke my heart. Now, they have done it again by destroying the Camaro and replacing it with a European design. Thank you Dodge for still standing with the true muscle car fans.
Right of course now Dodge is planning on killing the Hemi V8s after 2023 and Ford is planning on killing the legendary 5.0L Coyote V8 in the Mustang after 2029.
@@CJColvin
I don't think it's going to happen...at least not like that. I don't know if you remember but Dodge's original plan was to kill the Hemi in 2022. However, that changed to 2023 and I believe I know why.
I think Dodge is trying to hedge their bets. I wouldn't be surprised that they either miraculously have "enough stock" to continue selling the 2022/2023 Challenger/Charger all through 2024...or they extend it another year. The reason for this is twofold. The first is EV cars are not selling well at all. The other reason is deregulation is coming and it's coming fast. Americans by and large are pretty pissed about this self inflicted "gas crisis" and in 2024 a certain group is going to feel the brunt of that anger. When that happens this 3+ dollars to whatever it is everywhere else a gallon will come crashing down. Cheap gas from Venezuela isn't going to save them.
Addendum- It will be a cold day in Hell before I trade my American V8's in for any of that fantastic plastic junk EV cars the automakers are trying to force down our throats. I love my Stinger Yellow Challenger and will drive it until the wheels fall off.
@Sinn0100 Amen Brother, my dad has a 2019 Charger RT Scat Pack with the 392 Hemi V8 in it and man its a beast (especially for a muscle sedan).
@@CJColvin
That sounds sweet!
Grandfather '69 T/A Proud of his youngest Grandson on display here, the '99 T/A.
His Older Brother & the 1st Grandson was the '89 Turbo T/A.
Their Father is the '79 Silver 10th Anniv T/A.
The 30th Trans Am is the one to get..last of the anniversaries, blue chrome rims, pace car and production badge.
The 98-02 WS6 model was my Dream car throughout high school. If they hadn't got so valuable I'd still really want one, but they now sell for just as much used as they did brand new 20 years ago.
I got the 1986 firebird, bought new & updated over the years with the corvette powertain and suspension from 2020
A work associate had the '99 model and she used it effectively. It fit her style and was largely a fashion accessory. It did suit her in that era.
My favourite GM car ever!!! The bird!!! I miss that one more than I miss any other american car
Badass review! I'm impressed about how fast that old car is damn! Imo👍👍
That 69 did pretty good in the drag race. And I like the shifter in the 69 better. Both sweet rides
Where was everyone when Pontiac was struggling to survive ? Not buying Pontiacs. Pontiac was GM's badge aimed at the youth market, but the youth market was buying BMWs , VW Gtis, and Civics. They wanted nothing to do with American cars.
As a practical matter, most GM cars of the era were pretty much the same, mechanically, with a few stylistic tweaks to distinguish one brand from another.
Stephen every Pontiac/Buick/gmc or Pontiac/Buick/Cadillac dealer I was at in 09/10 said Pontiac out sold the others.
I drove an 08 G6 on a lease, nice car, I know Detroit supported Pontiac, you still see a ton of them today.
I had a '05 GTO with 400hp, and yeah, it wasn't a real Pontiac, but I was supersized at how well it drove and how well it was built. I replaced it with a fully loaded incredibly beautiful CTS, and they drove nearly identical, just with the GTO having an extra 100hp. But point being the GTO was really well made, held up fantastically to a super well reviewed car, yet no one bought them. The G8 was an even better car, and no one bought that either. The Chevy SS was an even better car, and no one bought that either, except for the difference with the SS was Chevy pricing it way to high. But point being GM did a really poor job marketing these, instead just showing commercial after commercial for trucks and pretending they didn't make cars anymore.
cuz american cars are ugly now
Stephen , I graduated college in 1999. Went to buy one and got declined. They did offer me an Oldsmobile Alero. Lol.
14.6 second 1/4 in the 99? Was Betty White driving??
In 78 I had a 69 Bird with a 400 Catalina engine and she was fast as heck. I sold her to my brother to go to college, but boy do I miss that triple green rocket.
14.6!! Who was driving that day that's at the very least a second off what that car can do
Even 0-60 times were off some people got 5.4secs. Must of been a hot day and they didn't use 93+ gas. All LT1/LS1 PCM retards timing when using lower grade gas both my book manuals say's that my 97Z28 an d 99SS.
@@DimitriosChannel The big smoky burnout they do every time they launch doesn't help times either.
I want them both
Lol yeah 14.6 if you just dump the clutch and roast the tires through the 1/8th 😂😂😂
starting to feel like motorweek is trash.
I did 13.57 in my 4 speed 2001 Z28 with only catback and SLP lid, also my first run ever at the drag strip. 14.6 for this car is sad.
My favorite is the 94 model change. Awesome fav from my childhood
“Maybe people had more friends back then” hahaha savage
The '69 would have cost about $16K in 1999 money. Crazy.
Yeah, I wonder how the old girl would do with modern rubber.
Best Trans Am is the 71-74.
I wish Pontiac could've also provided a '73 or '74 SD 455 CI Trans Am
I love the 30th anniversary T/A.
Damn on another retro video a 85 trans am with 305 Carburetor did the 1/4 in 14.7 with less then 200 hp and in this video with the ls1 99 they got a 14.6. What were they smoking
I would take either one!
You Americans made some seriously cool cars once upon a time!
I love how they always thought the giant smokey burnout was the quickest acceleration test
My personal preference, I dig the 1989 20th Anniversary Pontiac Trans Am. It was an aerodynamic car with the Buick Grand National driveline and it was pretty quick!
That's a slow 1/4 for the LS1. Heck, the LT1 was faster then that. An average driver was getting 13.8 in the day. 13.6-13.7 good driver.
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
Rick James I own a 1996 ws6 Trans Am LT1 it would do 13.5 in the quarter at 106 miles an hour bone stock i believe the track had a lot to do with it given Houston Raceway Park is almost at sea level.
Rick James I had a 1le lt1. I could beat the heavy ws6. I could run under 14s all day.
6000RPM clutch drop at 2:44 ?
I don’t think the audio is turned up enough.
The '99 is a nice car and performs very well, but I'd still take the '69 in a heartbeat.
Let's take both the the auction and see which one brings in more money...lol I would take that 1969 all day over the 90
Amen Brother same here.
This was 20 years ago, imagine if we compared the '69 to a 2020 Camaro.
14.6?
And...
14.7? Christ. Throw in aftermarket linkage, a blueprint tune, and some modern ZR tires, and that old Trans Am probably does low-13s...just like the 99' SHOULD HAVE turned lol
Dr.Beef Its mid to low 13's stock. They spin the fuck out of the tires as you can see and they use that crappy and untrue 14.6 time.
***** I remember that article, I think it actually ran a 12.7 with the tire pressure dropped a bit.
Dev Rose I said it did that. Thank you for re-stating the same thing.
***** Dude, unless it's one of the very last Grand Nationals or the GNX, most of them DID run upper 15s.
Dr.Beef Yeah they are not 13 seconds stock everyone with that gen camaro ss and trans am, talk them up to be 13 second cars, they're not.
Id still take the 2002
14.6 at 101 with the 6 spd? Where was the test? Denver?
Any reviews of the new for '93 F-bodies?
These were beautiful cars. I would drive the 99
Honda: I need an oil change
Trans AM: am I a joke to you?
Both of these vehicles should be in the 13s in the quarter.
gm should make the pontiac trans am am an option for the new camaro...where they give it to some aftermarket company like lingenfelter where he would cut the roof for t tops, lower it an inch, put bigger tires and rims on it, a few go fast items and a loud exhaust then all you need is a wail tail and some cheesy stickers and bam, instant trans am
30 yrs and it's only a tenth of a second faster? .....okay....
See it's the same as the horsepower... yeah, that's it... just like the old horsepower figures are inflated compared to today, so were times..... but seriously, this show was always a little nostalgic and would talk up specific brands
The late 90’s summed up in that car!
That '99 was the best looking car the road at the time. IMO may be to this day.
That '99 is now 20 years old yet styling and performance would pretty well hold it's own even today. GM sloth let that division sink right the hell outta sight...man...whaaaat happened...
Plus this trans am they have for the 99 is the top notch. That 69 if it was the top car shouldn't it have all wheel disc breaks?
I miss my Pontiacs
COOL MotorWeek | Retro Review: '99 Pontiac Trans Am 30th Anniv : '69 Trans Am comparo
Very nice this comparo ofPontiac Firebird 69 vs Transa Am 30 th Anniversary 99. 69 Pontiac Firebird is my favorite.
14.6 ? Needs a driver mod. That's a sub 13 to 12 second car all day long.
$3,556 in 1969 is $23,603.60 in 2017.
I was thinking while watching "I wonder what that equals after all the inflation.." then I saw your comment. Thanks :)
And that 69 T.A was hand made
@@jarrodmedeiros7506 Yeah, but it was a lot more cheaply made than today.
And you also have to consider the safety features put into today’s cars. Think about when you could get shoulder belts or airbags as an added option (which was far past the 69’ TA) and take that into account as well
@@99thpeanut59 How is plastic worse than metal? I mean, the materials were far off being better quality: these things rusted faster than you had the time to say your comment. And it got even worse in the eighties. No wonder why all cars from the eighties disappeared from everywhere where there's snow or humidity: they rusted so fast they could be considered biodegradable by modern standards.
"...If ever."
Oh how blissfully unaware we were of just how true that would be.
BRING PONTIAC BACK!!!!!!!
SPACE TRUCKER with how many people there are saying this you'd think a petition would have been started already
20 years later, which one has held up and doesn't look incredibly dated and tacky? The 69 trans am
I would take both, and a 70 model to boot. I had a 93 TA auto, 98 TA 6-spd., and the wife had a 2000 TA auto. I sold my 98 to my sister (heavily modified) and one day I will get it back!
Pontiac always had the more flamboyant styles over the Chevy. Most of the time I thought a lot of it looked busy on some cars but the WS6 looked plain mean and in your face! Still puts a smile on my face when I see one.
GM always wanted Chevy to be on Top,Pontiac did had great cars,,,,,since the early 60's
Put new tires on the 1969, and the top engine option RAIV and the 1969 will take the 1999.
Hmmm so a 99 trans am did the quarter in 14.6 in this video. But in a those retro video a 85 mustang with 210 hp did 14.3 in the 1/4
Yeah they really went out of their way to make the 99 look bad.
Does anyone know what the 1969 model's price would be in 1999 money? Or 2016 money?
+Axel Trainwagon Adjusting for inflation the base price would be $23,692 today, well optioned would be $33,060 today
And yet they didn't know that three years later would be the last Firebird to be ever made in 2002. How sad is that?
My mind is still stuck in early 2000's dates.
I hear John talk about '69 like it was 30 years ago and I'm like "Yeah!".
Then I look at the current year and shit, man. '69 was 52 years ago. Wtf.
I thought the LS1 F bodies ran 13s?
Mr Anderson they did. Motorweek’s times are always slow.
One of the best cars ever made,
wait I always thought the Trans am was just another model type of the camaro. am I right?
+supercooled They were very similar, with small engineering differences and noticeable styling differences. In general, though, you're not wrong--same platform, similar suspension setup, virtually the same engine and interior components.
Pontiac used their own engine design until late 70s emissions laws killed them off. After that the Trans Am briefly came with a 403 Oldsmobile engine and then went to using Chevy engines.
For many years GO used a shared frame for cars across it's brands. The Camaro/Firebird shared the same frame from 1967 through 2002. Body panels and various items differ. The further back in time the more differentiation. As Tim Sharpe noted, the engines are the major difference mechanical difference. (But I would argue that going to a single engine design was more a function of consolidating the build process. (early Ford Mustangs and Mercury Cougars - the other pony cars, had a similar same frame approach, but other than panels, they were mechanically the same).