2006-09-07 05:25:05 · 17 answers · asked by Momof4:nomore! 4 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Pontiac
Here's the story.
When Firebirds were first made in '67, there were no Trans Ams. The fastest version was still a Firebird.
Trans Ams were introduced as a performance and appearance package in '69, but at that point a base Firebird could pretty much be made the same car if the right options were chosen. This changed over time.
Firebirds in the early 80's could be bought with 4-cylinder engines, while Trans Ams always had 8 cylinders (with the lone exception of the '89 Turbo pace car). By the time the model was discontinued in 2002, you had to buy a Trans Am if you wanted the best motor.
As a side-note, Trans Ams were named after the Trans-American Sedan Championship race series sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) from 1966 to 2004. The SCCA held legal rights to the Trans Am name, and Pontiac actually paid the SCCA a royalty for every car sold.
But the short answer is the one I always give my friends who aren't into cars like I am: a Trans Am is a Firebird with options.
2006-09-09 16:50:38 · answer #1 · answered by Otto 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Pontiac Firebird and the Firebird Trans Am are essentially the same car in terms of body style and construction -- it's just that the Trans Am is usually "tricked out" with a better paint job and more aerodynamic gadgets. Some of the Trans Ams have more powerful engines than the standard Firebirds, but that's not true in all cases. You can get a Firebird with the same engine that'll go just as fast as a Trans Am for less money because it doesn't have all the extra frills.
2006-09-07 12:32:07 · answer #2 · answered by sarge927 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its a Firebird with TransAm package. Usually wheel flares, etc... and a higher end engine. Although, can have Firebirds with same specs as TransAm with out the body changes. My husband has had 3 of em so he knows how to mix and match lol
2006-09-07 12:32:07 · answer #3 · answered by Sarah R 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Firebird is the base model but can be had with all the bells and whistles such as a V8 ,air auto ,pwr st,pwr brks,wdws,radio pkg and nice tires.Years ago they could be had with different paint pkgs. such as the ones we built to honor the St Louis Cardinals(painted red and with firebird emblems to compliment the paint and they were called Red Birds) in honor of the Cards anniversary We also made one that was sky blue and it was called the" Blue Bird" option. The Firebird Formula was a beefier firebird with heavy duty suspension and usually a lower geared rear end and could be had with or without a 4 sp tranny and all the bells and whistles.A Trans Am was a Formula with a spoiler pkg and with a lower geared rear end than the Formula and a shaker hood scoop,more decals and a slightly lower ground clearance than the Formula Now the Trans Am WS6 option was a Firebird on steroids. A car that had sway bars as big as a baseball bats ,stiffer springs and shocks and sometime in the 80's had Recaro seats that made you feel like sitting in the cockpit of an F16 They had fancier mag wheels than the Formula but the same could be had on a base Trans Am There was as much difference as daylite and dark between these models of the Firebird
2006-09-09 02:55:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Firebird and Trans Am's are both Pontiacs.
Trans Am is a Firebird with more options(and a Big Bird on the hood). Firebird is the base model.
http://www.firebirdnation.com/forums/index.php?act=home
2006-09-07 21:22:28 · answer #5 · answered by randyrich 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Trans Am is a trim package as well as perfomance package, every Trans Am will have a V8 engine in it and all Firebirds will have a V6 that is the biggest difference however there are also many changes in appearance between the two. So I guess you can say they are two different cars although they carry much more similarities than differences.
2006-09-08 01:32:32 · answer #6 · answered by urnamesucksnutz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are the same car. The Firebird is the name for the base version of the car. The "Trans Am" is an option package for it that gets you more power, better handling, different trim package and other options.
It's the same idea as a Honda Civic DX compared to the Civic SiR.
2006-09-07 12:32:29 · answer #7 · answered by Ism 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Firebird and a TransAm are pretend Camaro's.
F.O.R.D.
Fix Or Repair Daily
2006-09-08 13:21:48 · answer #8 · answered by Mimi Di 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
trans am is an extra cost performance package for the firebird. the firebird is the base model.
2006-09-07 13:55:41 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All Trans Am's are Firebirds, not all Firebirds are Trans Am's.
2006-09-09 02:48:03 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋