There is no denying that out of the two, 95% of gearheads will choose the 1973 Pontiac Trans-Am over the 1977 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. No doubt in my mind or yours, I’m sure. And if that Pontiac is packing a real-deal Super Duty mill, that number is within the noise of 100%. I get that. Here’s the thing…we aren’t talking about outright performance or desirability here, we are talking about importance. And here, I think that Chevrolet’s actions might have been more important than Pontiac’s.
The Trans-Am’s situation was a case of die-hard gearheads like Herb Adams fighting against GM’s head-cold administration. Overall, Corporate saw the writing on the wall and was quick to make a change to personal luxury. Pontiac as a whole was moving that direction, but there was an enclave of performance folks who just wouldn’t quit. Cars like the Can Am, Trans Am, the final iterations of the GTO, the Formula X program and so on showed that at least a few people within Pontiac didn’t want to move to fluffy couch bench seats and opera lights.
Over at Chevrolet, though, it wasn’t as bright a story. At the end of the 1974 model year, the Camaro Z28 was packed away into history. There was still a Rally Sport option if you wanted the flash-and-dash look, but Chevrolet would’ve rather sold you a Type LT, with the luxury appointments and the more mature appearance. The loss of the Z28 was perfectly in-time with the demise of the Chrysler E-body twins, Challenger and Barracuda, the AMC Javelin, and the arrival of the V8-less Ford Mustang II. The name of the game was no longer power, it was either luxury or economy, depending on how affected you were by the first gas crisis. And it was no secret that GM had been looking at killing off the F-body twins within the same timeframe.
But a funny thing happened: Trans Ams sold, well enough to make the case for keeping the Firebird hot. Whether it was the engine selections or the success of Smokey and the Bandit, the sales figures got Chevrolet jealous. Remember, this was during the era where GM divisions still competed against each other a bit. When the Firebird outsold the Camaro, Chevrolet got the hint and brought back the Z28 for a limited mid-1977 run. Yes, the rubber-nosed 1978-81 did better, but the return of the Z28 started a couple of movements:
*Z28 wasn’t so much a straight-line special as it was a handler and looker. With horsepower levels riding on “dismal” levels, handling wasn’t a bad direction to go.
*Compared to some other “Decal GT” cars of the era, the 1977 Z28 is actually pretty restrained. Blacked out trim, body-color painted bumpers and coded wheels, relatively small callouts and a unique lower airdam helped the shovelnosed Camaro visually pop.
And while you truly can’t credit the Z28 with the kick-off of the second coming of the horsepower wars, the return might have been the signal that Ford needed to put more sport into the upcoming Fox Mustang, the car that did really wake up the automotive world in 1982. If the Z28 could return after sinking beneath the waves successfully, if the customer draw really was there (and it was), then the Mustang Cobra (later, GT) was a no-brainer.
What do you think?
I think uh, no.
Trans Am kept the flag waving through the dark ages of poor horsepower and figuring the the technology of making power while meeting emissions and mileage targets. The 82 Mustang GT came along as soon as the tech was there to have some decent power while meeting the other goals. The Camaro was just along for the ride, a niche product until the niche opened up.
agreed.
The reason the Z28 came out of hibernation was the Trans Am. I actually like the looks of ’77 over the ’74 Z28. Chevrolet at times seems to stick their head in the sand. OK, many times!
Nope
Both are turds .
An embarrassment, marketing-wise. Chevy left the party with it’s nose in the air, sat outside for awhile listening to Pontiac have all the fun then begged to come back in. I was in high school in those years, F-bodies never lost their popularity, kids who somehow could afford new or nearly-new cars got Trans-Ams or LT Camaros as there weren’t Z-28s…all while GM was wanting to kill ’em all but couldn’t quite do it as they were selling too many. How stupid is that. Sure the E-bodies and real Mustangs were gone but the F’s were much better cars in their time.
That said, I’d love to have a ’77 and don’t mind the bumpers once they went to body-color, less bulbous look than the ’78-up. I stared at a cheap one on CL for quite a while last year before having to pass.
Gen 2 Camaro’s, great cars. Had 3 of ’em, 2 79s and an 80. All 2bbl 305/th350 cars. Dump all the emissions crap, open the exhaust, tune em right and they would run like raped ape with great gas mileage. Great daily drivers. Miss all of mine. Will be lookin again soon.
the trans am all the way
Your smoking crack if you’d want the Camaro over the Trans Am, though the Formula has always been my Firebird of choice.
I agree with Donny. Both were smog era POS’s. I guess if you were an adolescent during that era they meant something to you but that doesn’t change the facts. Both were underpowered and didn’t handle or brake very well.
Wrong, F-bodies handled and braked very well for the period. Also, it didn’t take much to get the power out of them.
Bought a brown z off the trailer. I couldn\’t handle the bird or the 403 olds.
It hopped up fine, it was a lot of fun.
Bought a brown z off the trailer. I couldn’t handle the bird or the 403 olds.
It hopped up fine, it was a lot of fun.