1982.E2.80.931988 Pontiac

1985 firebird trans-am

introduced in 1982, wedge shaped firebird first major redesign of venerable pony car since 1970. partly due hugely successful nbc television series knight rider, instant success , provided pontiac foundation on build successively more performance oriented models on next decade. trans set production aerodynamic mark of .32 cd.

the next step in pontiac s resurgence came in form of first convertible in 9 years. gm adapted j-body cars. all-new 1982 j2000 (later renamed sunbird) had convertible part of line.

1985 fiero sport coupe

next came 1984 fiero. major departure pontiac had produced in past. two-seat, mid-engined coupe, fiero targeted straight @ same market semon knudsen had been aiming in late 1950s: young, affluent buyer wanted sporting performance @ reasonable price. fiero instant success , partially responsible pontiac seeing first increase in sales in 4 years.

pontiac began focus on technology. in 1984, special touring edition (ste) added 6000 line competitor european road cars such mercedes 190. ste sported digital instruments , other electronics more powerful v-6 , retuned suspension. later iterations see of first introductions on pontiacs of anti-lock brakes, steering wheel mounted radio controls , other advanced features.

full size buyers, disappointed lack of available big bonneville, complained, resulting in pontiac s importing canadian-market pontiac parisienne, featured bonneville s deluxe trim. car, although pontiac in name, no more re-trimmed caprice. despite fact, parisienne sold in profitable numbers , car continued in production until 1986 sedan, , 1989 safari station wagon.

with exception of parisienne safari, firebird , fiero, beginning in 1988 pontiacs, exception of firebird, switched front-wheel drive platforms. first time since 1970, pontiac number 3 domestic car maker in america. pontiac s drive bring in more youthful buyers working median age of pontiac owners dropped 46 in 1981 38 in 1988.