Pontiac Trans Am - An American Classic

The Pontiac Trans Am has captured the American imagination for nearly four decades.  The first F-body Trans Am went into production in 1967, although the auto began retailing to the general public two years later.  The Trans Am won a huge fan base by appearing in such big-screen hits as Smokey and the Bandit and the TV hit Knight Rider as the intelligent car KITT.  All told, there have been four generations of Trans Ams, and some car collectors focus exclusively on individual generations.

The first generation (1969) included the Ram Air V, a 500 horsepower beast, and the Ram Air VI, which got 345 horsepower.  The second generation boasted more diversity.  It included the 1971 Base 455 Pontiac, the 403 Oldsmobile, and the 4 speed Pontiac 305. 

The third generation (rolled out in 1982) included the 1987 Tuned Port Injection 305, the 1989 305 Throttle Body Injection version, and the 5 speed Cross-Fire Injection made in 1983 (fewer than 700 of these vehicles ever made it off the manufacturing line).  The fourth generation (started in 1993) included LT1 5.7L vehicles as well as LS1 5.7L vehicles. 

The Trans Am often gets compared with its cousin car, the Pontiac Firebird.  Other automotive engineers feel that it has more of a kinship with the Chevrolet Camaro. You can find vintage Trans Am series accessories (such as the performance and appearance package originally marketed for less than a thousand dollars in 1969).  Early series Trans Ams are rare--fewer than 700 hardtops were ever manufactured from that first minting.