How Uncle Killed Pontiac

The French philosopher-economist Frederic Bastiat wrote about the unseen repercussions of government interfering with the market’s natural progressions. In other words, what might have been. Perhaps the saddest four words in the language.

One such might-have-been is the 1982 Turbo Trans-Am.

You have probably never heard of it. Because, of course, it was never produced. But it almost was. And had it been, Pontiac might not The Law Frederic Bastiat Best Price: $0.99 Buy New $5.80 (as of 06:15 UTC - Details) have gone out of business.

But, I am getting ahead of the story.

It was the early ’80s and the Pontiac Firebird (and its sister car, the Chevy Camaro) were long overdue for a major update. They’d been in continuous production since 1970 and although they’d both set sales records for their respective divisions in the mid-late Fascism versus Capitalism Rockwell Jr., Llewelly... Buy New $4.75 (as of 08:05 UTC - Details) ’70s – in part because they were neat cars but also because there were so fewother neat cars around during the disco-era darkness – by the time of Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration, it was clearly time for a change.

The third generation Camaro/Firebird (“F” cars in GM-speak) that were in development would be lighter and smaller, emphasizing sporty handling rather than 0-60 and quarter-mile times.

But – as originally planned – they would retain their unique  divisional identities, as had always been the case in the past. Meaning, the Camaro would get a Chevy-designed and built drivetrain while the Pontiac would get its own “pure Pontiac” powerplants.

How Capitalism Saved A... Dilorenzo, Thomas J. Best Price: $2.18 Buy New $7.37 (as of 12:45 UTC - Details) Especially the high-performance Trans-Am.

It wasn’t the air scoops and decals on the hood that made a Trans-Am something other than a Z28 sold by Pontiac. It was the Pontiac V-8 under the hood. A 400 or 455 rather than a 305 or 350. And the difference was more than merely cubic inches. Pontiac’s V-8s were not Chevy V-8s. They shared no major parts; they were unique designs and had different characteristics, including different power curves – the Chevy being inclined toward high-RPM horsepower while the Pontiac (especially the long-stroke 455) was esteemed for its freight train torque output. This gave each car a different driving feel – a different character – despite the shared platforms.

They even looked different – very much so.

A usually friendly sibling rivalry existed between Camaro guys and Firebird guys. But the important thing was that there were objective functional/mechanical differences between the cars that gave people a reason to buy one rather than the other.

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