The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Still Blurs Kitsch and Cool

The distinction between kitsch and cool can be as blurred as a party clown’s twisted pink balloon poodle and a Jeff Koons “Balloon Dog” sculpture. There’s no denying that the second-generation Pontiac Firebird Trans Am muscle car tipped the scale toward kitsch, adding flares, spoilers, and a set of cringeworthy decals—available as of 1973 as a $55 option—to an otherwise respectable design. None of that, though, prevented the “Screaming Chicken” from eventually becoming a disco-era style icon. While that car speaks volumes about the most culturally and aesthetically bankrupt decade of the 20th century, it’s as difficult to resist as a La-Z-Boy and a Tupperware bowl full of Cheetos.

Pontiac’s Firebird had a longish life in car years, with four generations spanning 1967 to 2002. Production ended eight years before the brand—founded in 1926—became defunct in 2010. The Firebird shared the same platform as GM’s Chevrolet Camaro, and the first generation of the model, available in coupe and convertible versions, was a good-looking pony-car competitor of Ford’s Mustang and the more upscale Mercury Cougar at the time.

The second-generation Firebird debuted in 1970 as a coupe-only design featuring a fastback profile and a distinctly European flair. Those cars were made until 1981, losing steam when large-displacement V-8 engines became unavailable in 1980. The garish Firebird-decal set endured through 1981, and the car’s facelift in 1977, featuring four rectangular headlamps, did no favors to the original design.

More committed collectors, hellbent on having a big bird decal, will want the 1973 Trans Am Super Duty, of which only 252 examples were made that year. The latter is powered by a 445 ci V-8 developing about 290 hp—an engine offered as a $550 option in period. Alternately, true connoisseurs of kitsch will want the Trans Am Y82 Special Edition from 1976 (an example of which is shown here). This variant was introduced the same year Pontiac was celebrating its 50th anniversary. That car was made famous by Burt Reynolds’ character in the 1977 action-comedy film Smokey and the Bandit. The Starlight Black paint was embellished with gold highlights on the exterior and interior, including, but not limited to, gold headlight grilles, gold honeycomb-style wheels, gold bird emblems, a gold dash, and a gold-spoked steering wheel. Oh, and let’s not forget the creepy German Gothic gold script spelling out “Trans Am” on the decklid.

By 1977, the Trans Am’s power had diminished significantly compared to vehicles from the high-output era that came to a quick close following the 1973 oil crisis, one that took the wind out of performance. So, the 1973 Super Duty represents the most powerful big-bird-embellished Trans Am model of them all. Values range from $105,000, for an example in good condition, to over $200,000 for the best of the best with a four-speed manual transmission.

Non-Super Duty models command about a third as much. Collectors wishing to make a more theatrical entrance will put on their best Stetson and get behind the wheel of a 1976 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Y82 Special Edition. Or a reasonable facsimile, as the black-and-gold scheme was more broadly available without some of the Y82 embellishments. Altogether, 2,590 Y82 Special Edition cars were produced in 1976, 2,161 of which had a 400 ci V-8 and an automatic transmission, while 429 were equipped with a 455 ci L75 V-8 (alas, making only 200 hp) and a four-speed manual transmission.

For the Y82 Special Edition, values range from $40,000 for a good-condition car to $140,000 for a concours example with a Hurst T-top. The ill-fitting, garish T-top became a regular production option in 1977, proof that bad taste—like its antipode—is timeless.

Click here for more photos of this 1976 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Y82 Special Edition.