TAC Central => Lobby => Topic started by: roadking77 on February 18, 2025, 07:06:16 AM
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Today Feb. 18, marks the official unveiling date of the 1979 Tenth Anniversary Trans Am. On that day it was the pace car for the Daytona 500.
Production started in early January and ran into early May of 1979. They were available to dealers Feb 1. Total production was set at 7500 units of which 1817 were manual transmission 5683 were automatics. There were no available options as the car was fully loaded. With the purchase of the manual transmission the cruise control was eliminated.
Pricing by comparison:
Tenth Anniversary Trans Am $10,619.
Base Firebird $4824.
Trans Am $6299.
Corvette $10,200.
Fleetwood Cadillac $13,000.
Lincoln Continental $16,000.
These were not inexpensive automobiles. Something not thought about was that the prime lending rate was at a near all time high of 16% or more. In 1980 it reached its highest point ever of 20.5% which means that it was even more expensive to finance this car!
Jimmy Carter was President of the United States.
Pittsburgh was the city of champions as the Pirates won the world series that year and the Steelers won the super bowl.
Terry Bradshaw of the Steelers was given a Tenth Anniversary Trans Am for being MVP of the super bowl. I have read that he later traded the car for a horse.
Top 10 movies of 1979:
1-Superman
2-The Amityville Horror
3-Rocky II (which featured a Trans Am)
4-Star Trek
5-Apocalypse Now
6-The Muppet Movie
7-The Jerk
8-Moonraker
9-Alien
10-10
In regards to the Daytona 500, the race was significant in its own right. It was the first Daytona 500 to be a televised broadcast from flag to flag. Also the first to use in car cameras.
The race came down to the last lap with Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison running neck and neck with a commanding lead. The two cars became entangled with an ensuing crash, Richard Petty passed and was the winner driving an Oldsmobile.
A fight broke out between Yarborough and Allison as a result!
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Happy 46th!
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Great write up! I didn't know any of that. Very interesting. Would make for a great plaque in front of your car.
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A very interesting write up and great glimpse back to 1979. I remember the TATA being announced but have forgotten many of the details. I felt Pontiac really pulled out all the stops to make this car. Incredible paint scheme with a beautifully upgraded interior and all the high line options. When you think about how cool a TA was back then, the 10th anniversary took it to a much higher level. I do recall thinking how crazy expensive anything over 10K was for a car! Priced out of reach for the majority.
Can't believe how many great movies there were in 79!
Bradshaw was one of the all-time greats but not a car guy. For those interested here is a link to a Jay Leno segment where he takes Bradshaw for a ride in a TATA.
https://youtu.be/PqKhbe_GYJg?si=agR2XuPDqdfLG6yP
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Thanks for sharing Kerry! Very cool :cool:
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I forgot to add, the $10,619. price tag is equivalent to about $48,000. in todays money. So by comparison to cars today it was a bargain!
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Awesome Wright up. Very cool info!
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My step father worked as a salesman at a dealer at that time. I remember going to work with him on a Saturday and a TATA sitting there fresh off the truck. The owners son and I "detailed" it for the showroom floor.
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Thats sounds pretty cool!
There was a Ford something drag racing car that sold for record money at mecum a few years ago. I was quite surprised that the sponsor was the local Ford Dealer and I even knew the driver whose name was on the door. I said something in passing and my brother in law told me that it used to sit in the dealer showroom when it was being campaigned back in the day. He worked there as a 'clean up boy'. He said he remembers that car well and how he would sweep the floor around it.
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Thanks for sharing, great writeup and info. Interesting to see Jay had the MSRP at $15k ($75K today's money).