Trans Am changed it up a bit in the 70′s, when Smokey and the Bandit needed a more outlandish hillbilly rocket. Their golden bird was blazed across the front of late 70′s and early-to-mid 80′s

Unfortunately, the 82 Trans Am Firedbird known only as KITT was excluded from having a large hood logo – make being stealth kinda hard.

Since those Firedbirds of past there’s been many updates and variants, including personalized versions: tattoos, patches for hats and shirts, American flag Firebirds and…well just about anything you can imagine. But the underline theme and design have remained the same no matter what. Unfortunately, this Firedbird will no longer be able to rise up from the flames.

And Now, You Oversized Pontiac GTO Engine Moment of Zen

For the trouble to your wallet a Phoenix Conversion will get you a supercharged LS engine with a newly designed hood, and of course that iconic Firebird in gold & black. The vehicle will be lowered 1″-4″ w/sway bar and some Pirelli Pzero’s, Gold /Silver machined face snowflake wheels too! There’s also fender extractors, exhaust conversion (to handle the more powerful engine) a rear fascia clip with tail lamp lenses and rear spoiler.

As for your interior, embroidered head rests and console lid, turned aluminum door panels matching instrument cluster bring it back old school to the days of chrome-overkill and terrible gas mileage. The Chevy-stock shifters and steering wheel are replaced with a Hurst shift & Pontiac logo-wheel. 10-10 Bandit, Smokey’s on your tail.

Thanks for the great pics Jalopnik!

According to Jalopnik: Holden’s readying a limited edition version of its Commodore SSV (G8 Sports Truck) with Pontiac’s twin-nostril grille and hood scoops. According to Australian sources, the special edition will be called the Commodore G8 SSV.

A Legacy of El Camino
[nggallery id=1]

The move to stop the export program in the wake of GM’s bankruptcy and the killing off of the Pontiac brand has left a warehouse of parts once destined for cars to be exported to the US. Holden’s marketing department — sensing an opportunity — has decided to use the stockpile on VE Commodores, which will be sold as a premium priced, limited edition Holden. There’s even a special edition wagon in the works! Sticker listing will range from around $47,000 to over $55,000. A small price to pay for automotive immortality – because in the end, there can be only El!

Phoenix T/A Currently, we are completing a one-off Kevin Morgan “Trans Am” Concept, which we intend to unveil at the 2009 Trans Am Nationals. The concept will be followed by the first production conversion later this year. It will vary from the concept car but will be an exact version of the conversion kits we will hope to be offering this fall. We are working closely with a Detroit auto design firm to bring this kit to market. We will be offering everything from the body conversion only to the limited Phoenix Edition. The kits will be available as an installed conversion only.

Via: Jalopnik

2010 Pontiac “Trans Am” Specs:

Exterior

* 1′ – 1.5′ Lowering Kit w/sway bar handling upgrade
* Wheels & Tires
* Front: 20×9.5×120 CB-66.9 Gold or Silver Machined Face Snowflake Wheels. PIRELLI PZERO 275/45ZR20
* Rear: 20×11.5×120 CB-66.9 Gold or Silver Machined Face Snowflake Wheels. PIRELLI PZERO 305/35ZR20
* Hood
* Shaker Scoop
* Fender Extractors
* Exhaust Conversion w/ splitter tips
* Rear Fascia Clip w/tail lamp lenses and bulbs
* Rear Spoiler
TA Graphic Package

Interior

* Embroded Head Rest and Console Lid – KM Graphic Punch
* Turned Aluminum Door Panel
* Turned Aluminum Dash Inserts
* Turned Aluminum Instrument Cluster
* Door Panel Badges
* T/A SN Badge and Designation

It may be too much proclaiming these 3rd-Gen Trans Ams were “the golden age of Fire Bird” – but for a child of the ’80′s, this vehicle encompasses my youth better than sandlot baseball, Pacman, and OJ Simpson (before he killed two people) combined.

Pontiac completely redesigned their Fire Bird Trans Am for 1982, and offered it in three separate engine varieties. Fire Bird also shared about 60% of parts with another General Motors classic car, the Chevy Camaro. Trans Am buyers received a “Turbo Bulge” hood, styled loosely after the earlier Turbo Trans Am. This “bulge” remained beyond this generation’s 10 year run, and was made functional for the Crossfire-injected 305.

GM’s muscle car era may have been over by then, but that doesn’t mean Trans Am had to be slow. 1985′s model reached over 210 horse power, and was available with new hood vents and a redesign of the old-school Fire Bird decal. Trans Am received a great honor in ’89, being chosen for the pace car during the Indianapolis 500.

We have all missed the Trams Am, and since its demise fans world wide have customized their Pontiacs, raced them, and ever showed them off at local car events. But any true Trans Am fan who was around during the 3rd-Gen era should follow in the footsteps of these countless enthusiasts – who have completely turned their 80′s Fired Birds into KITT replicas!

2009 Pontiac G6

2009-2010 Pontiac G8

2010 Pontiac Vibe

2009 Pontiac Torrent

2009 Pontiac Solstice

At first glance the Pontiac G8 looks like the G6 (a favorite of the Hertz rental car company) had a baby with the depressing current remake of the GTO. But the performance is all there, with 6200 RPM’s and swift handling steering, brakes with good response time as well, which is always nice. 60 mph in 4.7 seconds is also decent timing for an American automobile.

If General Motors brought a finished, production ready 2009 G8 GXP V8 to Congress when asking for bailout money, every senator and speaker would have emptied their wallets on the House floor to fund construction of this vehicle – as long as Oprah gave one away to all Americans with a driver’s license.

Inside, the G8 GXP is…well it’s a Pontiac. Seating is ample for five, with enough cushioning so your ass cheeks won’t fall asleep after 2 hours of driving. But you shouldn’t travel cross country without an extra butt pad. Again, steering is decent even at high speeds, and with the acceleration factor you’ll want to test this engine out on an open US Interstate (but you didn’t hear that from us).

In all the vehicle, one of the few rear wheeled car lefts in America, and the last car to be made by Pontiac (or so it seems) is a good bargain. It is reliable, fast, not overly abusive on fuel economy for a V6 of V8, and has that sleeper body styling that may keep the highway patrol off your back. Too bad that 2009′s Pontiac G8 GWP seems to little…to late.

Thanks to Motor Trend & Jalopnik for these great pics!

The Pontiac Vibe gets back into the trend of popular hatchbacks with its complete makeover for the 2009 model year. More stylish and a better overall compact sport wagon, the Vibe is available in either front- or all-wheel-drive for both trim levels.The two different trim levels for the Pontiac Vibe are base and GT. The base sport wagon includes 16-inch wheels, a tilt/telescoping steering column and a four-speaker audio system. The 1SB package adds a better engine, cargo organizer and fold-flat front seat. The GT upgrades to 18-inch alloy wheels, a rear spoiler, full power accessories, keyless entry, cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather/cloth sport seats and an upgraded 320-watt audio system with MP3 playback.

The interior of the Vibe can seat up to five people with a 60/40-split backseat. Fabric is incorporated in the seats of the Vibe, but for GT models there are leather accents. The trunk has 20.1 cubic feet of cargo room which increases to 49.4 cubic feet when the seats are folded.

Six airbags are on all Vibes, as well as antilock brakes and an electronic stability system. Side-impact airbags for the front seats, active head restraints for the front seats and side curtain airbags also come standard.

What’s worth checking out this year in terms of mid-size crossovers is the Pontiac Torrent. Introducing the GXP trim with a powerful V6 engine, the roomy Torrent scored high in crash test ratings. Mostly for on the road, the 2008 Pontiac Torrent’s all-season tires don’t slack during foul weather, especially on the enhanced GXP.

This midsize crossover SUV is available in two trim levels—base and GXP—each seating five passengers available in front- or all-wheel-drive. The base Torrent has 16-inch alloy wheels, full power accessories, air-conditioning, cruise control, OnStar and a CD/MP3 player with an auxiliary audio jack. The GXP gets 18-inch wheels, more power, unique hood and body-color bumpers, performance-tuned suspension, dual exhaust outlets, remote vehicle start, privacy glass and a power driver seat. A sport instrument panel, steering-wheel audio controls, auto-dimming rearview mirror and front sport seats with multilevel heating are also included for the GXP.

The base trim is equipped with a 3.4-liter V6 engine that produces 185-horsepower from its five-speed automatic transmission. A much more impressive 264-horsepower is produced by the GXPs 3.6-liter V6 engine. The GXP comes with the six-speed automatic transmission with manual shift control.

Standard for both trims are electronic stability system and antilock brakes. The Electronic Trailer Sway Control is a new feature that detects trailer sway and maintains control when there is improper weight balance or excessive vehicle speed.