![]() ![]() For those who preferred to have a muscular pony car sans the exterior adornments, the Formula 400 was just the ticket. While the Trans Am was loaded with visuals like a shaker hood, fender mounted air extractors, wild front air spoiler, rear wheel opening air spoilers, and wide center stripe, the Formula had none of these. Of the four, perhaps the most intriguing was the Formula 400. The 1970 Pontiac line up was composed of the base Firebird with 250 cid six, the mid range, 350 cid Espirit, the 400 cid Formula 400, and the 400 cid Ram Air Trans Am. The quarter trim panels and headliner were composed of molded polymeric material that provided a smooth surface and absorbed sound. Even the base interior was sumptuous, with Pontiac’s indestructible Morrokide vinyl upholstery covering the bucket seats and door panels. Directly below the center of the dash was another stack that contained the radio and ashtray. Inside, the Firebird’s wide, expansive dash housed the instrument panel consisting of three center nacelles for gauges, with smaller gauges at the right and room for the heater controls and additional switches and knobs. A recessed tag housing, thin blade chrome rear bumper, and rounded lower valance completed the rear end’s clean look. The tail was flat and filled with twin tail lamps that met the quarter panel’s round rear profile. At the rear, the smooth tumble home enhanced the Firebirds fuselage shape. Up front, the twin nostril grille and single headlamps provided a clean appearance, thanks to the use of Endura to create a bumper-less front end with a valance that cleanly rolled beneath the grille with large cross hair parking lamps mounted in the lower corners of the valance. The Native American-inspired Firebird emblem was on the decklid and the nose of all but base model cars. A lift bar door handle added to the smooth side look. The massive doors were heavy, however the side appearance was cleaner and far sportier. Instead, the doors were lengthened to take up a larger portion of the quarter. One remarkable difference from pervious GM designs was the lack of a quarter window. GM chose heavily from the rounded shapes of Ferrari and Maserati, and it showed in the smooth flow of fender lines, the curved window glass and raked windshield. The sexy new body was rooted in GM styling chief Bill Mitchell’s infatuation with Italian sports car design. Stabilizer bars were used front and rear and the steering box was mounted ahead of the front axle for better response. Computer aided engineering chose the proper front and rear spring deflection rates predicated on model and usage. The suspension was tuned for more responsive handling with little compromise to ride comfort. There was little carried over to the second generation with the exception of the Trans Am nameplate and basic engine configurations. From design to engineering, Pontiac dominated the divisional rivalry, and this time around the Firebird would be all Pontiac from roof to road. Pontiac actually began working on their second generation just as the first Firebirds were hitting dealer showrooms. The circumstances surrounding the second generation Firebird were another story. Competition between Pontiac and Chevrolet was intense, and having to use the other division’s engineering and design was a bitter pill for DeLorean’s maverick staff to swallow. Their design and engineering lead time was significantly reduced and consequently, the Firebird was forced to use quite a bit of Camaro sheetmetal and other components. Pontiac didn’t have much time to transform the Firebird from its Camaro configuration before releasing it in February 1967. Chevrolet was the lead division in engineering the F-body, and Pontiac grudgingly accepted the platform for their use in March 1966, only after GM management turned down PMD General Manager John DeLorean’s proposal for his own Mustang fighter. GM misjudged the public’s response to the Mustang and then scrambled to develop a similar style car after witnessing Ford’s unprecedented first model year sales success. When Ford’s groundbreaking Mustang debuted in 1964, it tapped an emerging youth market that was hungry for a new type of car geared specifically to them. The story behind the development of GM’s F-body ponycars has been well documented. ![]()
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