The paint does look a little bit tired, but I think that it may respond well to a decent polish. The wheels were also finished in the same color, with gold accents and “Red Bird” decals. The extent of the Red Bird Package was an exterior and interior trim enhancement package, and as the name suggests, the car could be had in any color, as long as it was Roman Red. It is located in Wilmington, California, and is listed for sale here on eBay. This Red Bird looks to be in pretty reasonable condition, and would potentially be something a bit different to your average Trans Am. Records for the 1978 model year are sketchy, but due to its late introduction to replace the Skybird, it is believed that totals for that year were significantly lower. The Red Bird was introduced in a bid to capture both markets, which it seemed to do reasonably well, with estimates of around 4,000 examples being sold in 1979. The Skybird was not a car that was widely accepted by the male population at the time, as the color saw greater acceptance among female buyers. Camaro production in 1978 was a staggering 272,631, though Firebird had the car beat in terms of available power.The Red Bird package brought no performance enhancements to the table for the Pontiac Firebird, but was a “dress-up” package for the Esprit, much like the Skybird package before it. With the Mustang now a compact car and the Cougar now a mid-sized luxury car, both the Firebird and Camaro would enjoy increasing sales through the end of the decade. Pony Car Competitionįirebird and the Chevy Camaro were the only cars of the original pony car class that could still be considered pony cars in 1978, and the lack of competition boosted sales numbers of both car models. Sales would continue to grow, and well over half of the Firebirds produced in 1979 would be Trans Ams. In fact, almost half of all Firebirds produced in 1978 were Trans Am models. Trans AmĪs it had been since 1975, the ever more popular Trans Am was the best selling Firebird model. Production of the car was at 24,346 for the year, and the car had a base price of $5,448. Like the Esprit, the Formula models also included the 305 engine, but also included a heavy duty suspension for better handling. It was the second best selling Firebird model behind the Trans Am, and production for the model year was 32,672. Touted as the luxury model Firebird, the Esprit model included a standard 305 V8 engine and a unique trim package. 32,672 were built throughout the model year. The base model included the six-cylinder engine, and was priced at $4,545. Once again, total production was up, this time to 187,285, and this number would cross the 200,000 mark the following year.

In addition to the aforementioned model that was optional for the Trans Am and produced 220 horsepower, another version returned from the previous year and was rated at 180 horsepower.

The former output was only available in California to meet the state’s emissions requirements. Three 350 CID V8s were available, and produced either 155 or 170 horsepower. This replaced a 301 engine that had been used for one year in 1977. A 305 CID V8 was standard for both the Esprit and Formula models and produced 145 horsepower. Other engine options remained nearly identical to 1977 models, and the base engine was a Buick 231 six-cylinder producing 105 horsepower. But the 400 CID V8 added 40 horsepower from the year before with a total of 220. In an age of rising gas prices and insurance premiums, horsepower for nearly all cars had been falling to compete with the new slew of very popular compact cars (with many more to come).

Under the hood, Pontiac was finally making an effort to reverse the trend of declining power. Around mid year, the taillight surrounds were changed from body color to black. Additionally, the Trans Am logo was slightly revised. Retaining the “Batmobile” nose that had been introduced in 1977, the grilles were revised into a honey comb pattern, most of which were black (the black and gold Special Edition Trans Ams were the exception). However, a few small changes distinguished the cars from those of the previous year. With sales skyrocketing, Pontiac didn’t feel the need to change very much on the 1978 models, and the cars were essentially a carry over from the previous year.

1978 pontiac firebird