“As the old saying goes, “Tired of going to the beach and having the bully kick sand in your eyes?” If so, check out Pontiac’s newest, industrial-strength entry — the Trans Am GTA. It’s a real muscle car that will ward off the automotive bullies.
This year Pontiac has borrowed the Corvette engine from its sister division Chevrolet, and popped it into the new Trans Am GTA — the flagship of the Firebird fleet. With the big 5.7-liter, tuned-port-fuel-injected engine burbling under the hood, the car is a real growler. It’s always a pleasure to hear a big V8. This is how The Almighty intended a car to sound and when good little turbo’ed engines die and go to heaven, they’ll get wings, become V8s, and sing bass in the heavenly choir.
Let’s talk numbers. Pontiac claims the GTA will do 0-60 in 6-1/2 seconds. That’s fast and its speed can be linked to the engine’s 210 horses and 315 ft. lbs. of torque. It’s quick steering ratio (12:1), the WS6 performance suspension (stiff), and the giant, 16-inch Goodyear Eagles let it corner like a bobsled. The ride is, euphemistically, firm. Maybe too firm for many and, consequently, the car’s suspension will have a lifelong vendetta with potholes and speed bumps. But that’s one of the tradeoffs you make when you choose a sports suspension that is in constant contact with the ground and when you want a car that moves as deviously as a jackrabbit in sagebrush.
On smooth stretches of highway it cruises along quietly and is wind-free at moderate speeds with the windows down. The test car’s cruise control had unerring accuracy and stayed on the legal speed limit regardless of hills, curves, etc. This is important to a car like the GTA because highway patrol officers can spot them in the dark… in a cave. They know the car has an aversion to low speeds. Only two driving habits need adjustment by first-time drivers — one relating to its power and the other to its exterior design.
Regarding power, there’s so much of it available that care must be taken when negotiating low-speed parking areas. It wants to jump at the slightest touch of the accelerator. New drivers must develop a light touch. Regarding design, like its kissing cousins, the Corvette and the IROC-Z, it has a long nose that constantly quarrels with street dips. Go easy. But after those minor hurdles are passed, the GTA is a delight to drive — city or highway.
Entry and exit are troublesome until you devise a system. To exit, tip up the steering wheel, place your left hand on the door sill and swing your legs out, pulling yourself out using the right hand on the wheel. Entry is the reverse. It takes some practice. Try it; you’ll like it. Entry and exit into the backseat area is similar to any two-door hatchback — annoying, stressful, and claustrophobic — and once you get there you can’t wait to be sedated or to escape. Let’s call those rear seats a “relative-from-Nebraska” storage area. Their strong suit is that they fold for additional cargo area.
But the front driving area is relatively free of flaws. The seats — both manually and power adjusted — are extremely comfortable. They have all the adjustments we’ve come to expect, plus inflatable lumbar and back-wing supports as comfortable as grandmother’s hug. But the seats are flawed for shorter drivers. A neighbor, who looms 5-foot-1, looked as if she were sinking in quicksand by the time she was settled. Pontiac should design the too-low seats so they can be elevated for those who require it.
Everything else in the driving area is comfortable and logical, particularly the big, readable analog instruments which each measures 4 inches across and are spread 20-1/2 inches across the panel. And they are equally as readable at night. Controls for the heater/air conditioner and AM/FM cassette stereo radio are immediately forward of the shifter for the 4-speed overdrive automatic transmission. Incidentally, the 5.7-liter engine is only available with the automatic transmission; other engines and other models in the Firebird line offer manual transmissions.
An overhead console houses a removable flashlight, map light, storage area for an electronic garage-door opener, and a system of adjustable dials to remind you of oil changes, fill-ups, etc. The center floor console storage area has a hinged top that (accidentally and not by design, I’m sure) will flip up to allow a two-level center armrest. The fabric on the seats and door panels is attractive, tough stuff, and nicely tailored. In fact, the map pockets on the doors are so well fitted that I’ll wager some owners haven’t found them yet.
The GTA is an exciting car to drive. It’s comfortable in a “big sports-car” manner and it has clean, lean good looks that attract the eye of those ranging from the hot-rod motorcycle set to those who are on the brink of taking up lawn bowling.
LOWBEAMS: It’s a hatchback, and hatchbacks torture rear-seat passengers. The GTA’s giant tires are wider than the fender lips and in wet weather (or areas where the city and state devoutly irrigate streets and highways) they flip road slush along the car’s side. Floor mats are “skidders”. Ride may be too firm for some. Entry, exit may bother the non-athletic. On a car with this speed potential maybe the hood should be hinged at the front, not rear. Engine a bit thirsty.
HIGHBEAMS: Reasonable price when you consider the performance potential. Lean, hungry, handsome good looks with top-notch monochromatic paint job. Fast, nimble, fast, nimble. Comfortable. Quiet, except for V8 rumble-snarl, which in one case was used effectively to awaken a pretty fellow in an Alp-area import who persisted in combing his hair through the halfway point of a succession of green lights; properly revved, the big Pontiac sounds as if it wants sauerbraten for lunch.”
PONTIAC TRANS AM GTA
MSRP: $13,259, includes many standard items.
PRICE AS TESTED: $18,828
OPTIONS AND PRICES: Test car equipped with many features that would usually be considered options. Major options include air conditioning ($775), cruise control ($175), premium AM/FM cassette radio with graphic equalizer ($529), GTA package, which includes the 5.7-liter engine and multiple interior and exterior options ($2,700), power locks ($120), tinted glass ($120), power windows ($210), rear defogger ($145), automatic mirrors ($80), tilt wheel ($125).
ENGINE
TYPE: V8 with tuned port electronic fuel injection, rear-wheel-drive with four-speed overdrive automatic transmission.
DISPLACEMENT: 5.7 liters
TORQUE: 315 ft. lbs. @ 3,200 rpm.
HORSEPOWER: 210 @ 4,000 rpm.
FUEL REQUIREMENT: Unleaded.
CHASSIS AND BODY
BODY AND FRAME: Unitized.
BRAKE SYSTEM: Power front and rear disc.
TIRES AND WHEELS: P245/50VR-16 steel-belted Goodyear Eagle GT radials with 16-inch cast aluminum wheels.
STEERING TYPE: Power rack-and-pinion, quick ratio (12.7:1).
SUSPENSION: Independent front and live rear axle. WS6 performance package includes 32mm front and 23mm rear stabilizer bars, special springs and bushings.
GENERAL
CURB WEIGHT: 3, 355 lbs.
WHEELBASE: 101 inches.
LENGTH: 191.6 inches.
WIDTH: 72.4 inches.
HEIGHT: 50 inches.
FUEL CAPACITY: 15.5 gallons.
FUEL ECONOMY
EPA RATING, city/highway: 16/25 mpg.
TEST AVERAGE, city/highway: 13.3/21 mpg.
WARRANTY
PONTIAC WARRANTY: Six years or 60,000 miles on powertrain, other specific warranties.