Grand National -vs- Turbo Trans Am

[ajt86]

alot of people dont know what a TTA is- if you pull up in one they are like eh just another firebird. but when an all black regal pulls up everyones eyes get big. im going to buy a TTA in january befor they get too expensive. all it takes is somthing small to trigger the market. i noticed just from when the GNs were on full throttle- all of a sudden people were asking me about my car and 5 kids in my class wanted one. a little plublicity and people with deep pockets then the market will hit.

 

[turbot2496]

I think the TTA has suffered since the day they were new. They were a hard sell and many sat on dealer floors for quite awhile. It was very difficult to convince a pontiac purist that the six was worth having. Most pontiac guys were pissed about the TTA and wished it had a blown or turbod V8 instead of the turbo 6. Its always seemed to me that most of the cars were snatched up by buick guys who knew the potential of the car. I talked to a salesman one time and he told me that once he popped the hood and guys saw a V6 they just laughed and said that cost that much more than a 350 tpi???

I remember when I had mine and guys couldn't believe pontiac would put a turbo V6 in a GTA. Thats stupid they would say. You would take them for a ride to change their mind but it was always the same thing. "Yeah its pretty fast but it still would of been better to had a V8 with a turbo".

I do think these cars will have an extreme turn around in value someday though.

 

[phillyturbosix]

Allot of the working guys who could afford a GN could not afford the TTA's back in the late 80's GN was almost a workin mans car. Almost anyone could afford one new who was working a decent job. The TTA's you need to earn a little more money. At least from the owners I've seen who own GN's or TTA's from new. So it's almost a totally different breed of people like the TTA"s in their own special way. The GN was an awesome car.. but the TTA is almost like the caddy of them.
I remember one dealer who had a TTA new in 89. I saw it in there in 91 in the show room and they wanted 42K for it. I went back like 6 months later and someone paid the 42K new in 91 for it and drove it away. I have my TTA for the long haul. As to what it's worth now I could care less. I'm into it for the car, the fun,enjoyment, and the long term investment. That's about the only way you can look at them right now.

 

[ajt86]

thats why i want a TTA- i dont care how much my cars are worth, i want them because i love the car. cars arent an investment to me- its the joy of driving them- even washing and cleaning them out. its that pride you take when you just get done waxing it and its all nice and shiny you know? it just sucks that some cars you would love to have are just too much $$ to even think about affording. i would rather sacrafice alot now to get a TTA- 10 years when im settled and have good income these cars might be way out of my reach.

 

[phillyturbosix]

ajt86: You pretty much summed it up!

 

[2QUIK6]

And to point out the fact that you can buy a very nice TTA today for say $20k...drive it for 10 years or so and enjoy, and turn around and sell it with 50k more miles on it for about the same price you paid for it!

Now, go buy a new car (a sports car) for say $40k, drive it 10k miles, and sell it for $10-$15k less than what you paid......you do the math, the TTA is a much better toy!

 

[TClassic]

"...well like everyones been saying They SURE ARE a lot of fun to drive, after having 4 different T's over the years these are A LOT more fun, in my opinion, as well as they even get 'Looked At' by the females as well, unlike the Buicks!!

 

["More Boost"]

3rd gen f-bodies are just starting to rebound in price with TTA on top of the list, look at the jump in prices for 2nd gen. f-bodies recently, and yes i agree with 90% of the post's on this thread, But as far as who's car body looks better, that is purely the individual's personal opinion (and everybody's got one)

 

["More Boost"]

oh, and I blame e-bay for the prices people are getting for cars these days LOL

 

[macatoni]

All im gonna say is i love both cars very much. I would have settled for either but ended up with a tta. I have driven both and i say that once u drive a tta u will never look at a third gen the same way. My buddy had a 92 RS with a bunch of mods and it still was an awsome car, but man they really did good by throwing the buick motor in there cause they sure as hell pull all the way down the strip. Not to mention the aero dynamics. I mean they arnt perfect but they are better then the regals. Not to mention with a few mods my TTA is downright vicsous in the turns, if anyone doesnt believe me ill meet u on grizley peak in the oakland hills . With the v6 upfront u save a lot of wieght and the rest of the wieght distribution is just throttle control.

But still nothing compares to the all black regal that just spells out fear! I would want to paint the tta black if it wasnt a sin....

David