The Fourth Generation V8 Formula Firebird Is Still A Lot of Car For The Money, and A Blast To Drive

This car is entered in the Premier Auction Group Gulf Coast Classic running March 18th and 19th: https://www.premierauctiongroup.com/ The Firebird lasted for four generations, and stayed true to its purpose from beginning to end - enjoyable and high performance driving for a reasonable entry price. No other car pulled that off as well as the Formula Firebird models, which had all of the high performance mechanicals available with the Trans Am, but less luxury equipment and exterior trim - something that also made it lighter. While everyone in the world has heard of a Trans Am, the Formula is much lesser known - it's important to me because of my first car - a 1979 Formula in bright red (later yellow) that saw me through many years of really dreadful behavior and automotive malfeasance. These fourth generation cars really got the recipe right, but have been underappreciated for some time. They handle well, have a big V8 in the front, come with an available manual, and turn a ride in to work in to something more fun. Essentially, they still live up to their purpose. Firebirds went away in 2002, and Pontiac a few years later - when the fifth generation Camaro came out in 2010, the last Pontiacs were wrapping up - thus no 5th gen Firebird, which is a terrible shame. These cars have started to become more collectible in recent years, and the days of bargains are going away - people have realized the inherent value of a collectible car that's simple to own, looks great on the street, and delivers a ton of driving fun for the money. All said, these cars are finally coming in to their own, and assuming their place amongst the first three generations. Full review and test drive by Bill of Curious Cars. Vehicle is for sale at Autohaus of Naples, on the web at www.AutohausNaples.com, or at (239) 263-8500.