Modern Muscle

The 1999 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am competently doubles as my daily commuter car, but that is definitely not why I bought it. Indeed, this outrageous automobile is, first and foremost, a muscle car. It is a driver's car, meant to be driven fast and hard. It was made for screaming, smoky burn-outs and roaring madly as it accelerates down the road from a red light. If such ideas turn you off, then this car is probably not suitable for you.

The Trans Am is powered by a detuned Corvette LS1 engine outputting 305hp @ 5200rpm from a 5.7L (348 cubic inch) V8. My Firebird is a convertible and weighs 3605 lb, but the coupe version is lighter at 3405 lb. In either case, the car's power-weight ratio is between 11 and 12 hp/lb, which is superior to most vehicles in its price range. Coupled to its large engine displacement and thus high-torque -- 335ftlb @ 4000rpm to be precise -- the Firebird will outaccelerate others such as the Jaguar XK8, the Porsche Boxster or the Mercedes-Benz CLK430. 0-60mph can be done in mid-5's. From the stop to the quarter mile, 14 seconds later, the Trans Am would be 50 feet ahead of the aforementioned vehicles. The top speed is close to 160mph. If you purchase the optional WS6 Ram-Air 320hp engine package with the car (complete with two wild-looking air intakes on the hood), expect the overall performance to jump up by an additional notch. In short, the power that arrives near its 6000rpm redline makes a full-throttle ride in the Firebird a thunderous experience.

Being a traditional American muscle, the car has relatively large dimensions compared to its peers from overseas -- it is quite long at 193.8in (16 feet), with a wheelbase of 101.1in. Its coupe-doors are quite wide, so parking the car may require some care, since you can not park close to the adjacent vehicle. But being big has the obvious advantage: the Firebird has as much as shoulder and hip room as a Nissan Altima (and, of course, unlimited headroom if you put the convertible top down on a sunny day.) The luggage capacity is 7.6 cu.ft., which is reasonable for a sportscar. While having a large engine, the Firebird gets decent gas mileage, around 17/25 mpg in city/highway for the automatic and slightly more for the manual. Another "large" item in the car is the powerful Monsoon stereo system, with a heart-thumping heavy bass note. The audio equalizer is a nice feature and is very easy to use, giving the user immediate access to modifying all ranges of the audio.

The vehicle is actually very trouble free, I have had no unscheduled trips to the garage after a year. So far, I would give it a perfect rating in reliability.