The first three wheels pointed out in your post are certainly hideous but the GTA wheels are some of the best looking (and lightest) factory third generation wheels that were ever available on our cars. Bar none I think they are the best factory wheel. Especially the black version of them.

In general I'm a fan of the Firebird and Trans Am much more so than I am of the Camaro. I always hated the Camaro tail lights and the front looks flat and uninspired to me. I absolutely HATE the fabric patterns on the inside of the car with regard to the seats and door panels. I see that crap and I think of polyester suits, used car salesmen and Leisure Suit Larry video games. I don't mind the ground effects on the Trans Ams for the most part but I couldn't stand the ground effects tacked on to 1983 Daytona Pace cars and 1984 Trans Ams with the "aero package." The other issue I have is with the 1985-1990 Firebird/Formula bumpers. The bumperettes are ****ing hideous. WTF were you thinking Pontiac? Still despite those things I've always thought the Firebird was a much better looking car than the Camaro. The only third generation Camaros I really like are the 1991-1992 RS and Z28's.

 

There's nothing like hearing the UH's and AH's after running down the 1/4 in my slow 3rd gen LOL. I never liked the 4th gen body style anyway. But too each its own.

 

GTA wheels are sweet, gold or black, doesn't matter. I'm not a big fan of the stock Firebird rims, but the 15" Camaro 5 spokes look GREAT. My least favorite thing about 3rd gens is the Camaro interior. The gauges are all smashed in front of the driver then the rest of the dash is flat and empty. The fabric patterns are also pretty gross, some of them.

I've really stopped giving an F what people think of my car. Half the "enthusiasts" around here are kids with Honda's or Subaru's with giant wings and fart cans. I'll tell you who does like 3rd gens though... CHICKS!

 

1. first gen 67-68 the 69s are ugly
2 third gen
3. 2nd gen 70-73 the rest aren't that good looking
4. fifth gen
5. fourth gen never liked the early ones but the later years started to look better

 

Looks are 10000% opinionated....

Like said above i think the pontiacs always had a snow plow on front lol. I love the looks of my TA though!

 

The GTA wheels are.... okay. They're not bad, just okay. The wheels I listed are not GTA wheels though. When you say GTA I think 16 inch crosslace wheels. Those wheels are the ugly 15 inch wannabe crosslace wheels. The 16 inch firebird salad shooters on the other hand are ugly wheels, but polished up and clean they can look really good on the right car. I hate the wheels, but the right car can pull them off easily. For the record Im not a huge fan of my 91-92 Camaro 16's either. I like them a little better than the salad shooters, about the same as the crosslace. The other thing about the crosslace wheels is taht teh front wheels are deeper than the rears. It's just... odd. They should have gone the camaro route and hidden the offset difference a little better.

For reference

GTA wheel that I think is okay:



Ugly base wheel:

 

i'm 100% diffrent compared to you, i LOVE the grid tailights of iroc's, i love how they they are flat and when properly cleaned, look like a mirror but they dont always look totaly flat if your looking directly on them, i think chevy did a fabulous job on the front end and i can understand what you mean how the front is to empty, thats ONLY when the nose emblems are removed, otherwise they look great. I also love the interior, sure a few pieces of leather would be nice but i love how the interior shines up and isnt boring looking. personally iv never cared for 91-92 birds, the nose just isnt my style but thats just me.

 

It's probably because not enough 3rd gen owners care about their cars and let them dissolve into eye sores. Then there are those of us who do the craziest and ugliest appearance modifications known to man/woman which only further solidifies the 3rd gen stereotype.

I have a clean 3rd gen, nothing fancy just clean and i get nothing but thumbs ups and hollers of how nice my car is on the road. Hate the power plant or not but 3rd gens get much respect when they are kept up. They are certainly beautiful cars and people will almost go out of their way to give you compliments when you take the time and maintain a clean 3rd gen. This is just from my experience.

 

Mine too! I get compliments all the time from people. People who are riding with me for the first time are amazed at how often it happens..

 

even before i got a new paint job i was getting alot of compliments. Just because i kept up my camaro. No one expects a 3rd gen to have a new paint job but when most people see a kept up, nicely maintained 3rd gen they appreciate it. My interior was clean and always vacuumed (just as it is now), my car was washed and shine was on my tires. It didn't matter to if all my clear coat was still shining or all there but people seeing someone who cared about what probably was there first car when they were growing up really made them respect what i was doing.

 

I don't think any of them are ugly. There are a few that I loved the looks of. Camaros 67,68,70-73 and the "Bandit" black TA. I hated the 74-77 Camaro but got a 78 Z/28 when the covered the crome with molded ABS. Not as pretty as my freinds 73 Z but not bad looking. I think the 3&4th gen F-bodies are much better looking than Vettes of the same years. I only like the looks of the 68-74 vettes.

I am not big on 3rd and 4th gen because I got out of muscle cars after totaling my Z/28 in 81. I just bought a '92 Z and love it. I like the styling OK, but for me it was that it was a 25th Anniversary Edition with a short-stroke engine. I guess it was the nostalgia that got me. It is a milestone year for the Camaro, the 305 reminds me of the original 302, it is a genuine Z/28, its black, it was in really decent shape, and it was practically free.

 

camaronewbie here is a pic of a 68 and 69. i just think the 67 and 68 style look a lot cleaner.

 

same here, my car isnt mint, its got some bruising on her but iv had many many people that have seen me restore the paint from faded and moldy to a near show room shine stop by and compliment me and my work. i even had a guy yesterday i didnt know at all stop in his truck and said nice and gave me the thumbs up while i was working on the wheels show's people still love these cars.

 

I like third gens because they are just becoming classics yet are still affordable to get into as a sports car. I think fourth gens look like glorified
Geo storms! compare the two you will see what I mean. But seriousley everyone has their own ideas on what looks good that's why detroit puts out so many different models and changes their design from year to year.

 

I completely agree. The base crosslace wheels suck but the GTA rims kick ***.

I agree 100%.

 

For me I love the '69 there is something about the styling on that car that is it's own, the 3rd gen. comes in second because it is low, wide, sleek & I love the t-tops on these cars...that's what I grew up with, then come the early 2nd gens. '70-'73 they looks so mean with the big grill & the Corvette tail lights mind you I do like the look of the '81 model with all the accessories on, the 4th gens. are the ugliest but they have the best power plants, especially the LS series...I guess you have to sacrifice something there "power or looks" and lastly the 5th gen. does look good to me but it's those damn tails lights that just don't sit well with that car...personally I would incorporate '69 tails on there for sure if i owned one!

The Trans AM's & Firebirds...my favorites are the '70 455 SD & the '77 Bandit car...I never did like the 1st gens. or the 3rd gens. as for the 4th gen. the Firehawk has the best look but one thing that I don't like on all the 4th gens. is their huge tail lights...they reming me of the 5th gen. Camaro's nice in the front but ugly *** ends!

 

Did you know that the 2nd gen styling (esp. the nose) was based on Ferrari designs?

 

the '78-'81 Camaro was the ugliest of all F-cars, to my tastes. The '67-'69 Firebirds were just about as bad. Good thing there aren't many of them.

 

i like all firebirds, my only beef with the third gen is the corporate engines, ive always liked the body style

 

Best to worst:
1. 1st gen F-body
2. 3rd gen F-body
3. 4th gen F-body
4. 2nd gen F-body

In each generation there are certain models for both cars I tend to like/dislike more. This is just by what generation I feel the cars have the most appeal for me.

 

My opinon...
all camaros are ugly on the front end from the late 70's through 97 that would include 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation.
The trans am on the other hand, takes away those ugly sunk in rectangle headlight boxes and super blocky frontends and changes the whole look of the car.
Its still the same car, but every single chevy/pontiac "copy cars"... the pontiac ALWAYS looks better except 1st gen.
Sorry camaro guys.. you can make your cars look as good as you want from the side and rear, but the front is still gonna be ugly as ****!

I like my cars to look mean, not like a bugeyed fish.

 

And as far as the 5th gen goes.
They need to shrink the whole damn car about 20%
Then it would be bad ***, they are Huge when you pull up next to one.

 

haha cant wait for the replies for this guy theres going be like 20 camaro muscle dudes after his azz in a few minutes when they read this. bugeyed? ya sure, have you seen firebird headlights popped up? how is the front ends blocky, camaros wouldnt be so aerodynamic if so. Sure you got your own opinion, but you dont have to be a AZZ!

 

I forgot to add that I liked Rockford Files' Formula and the theme song. Hated that talking car whats-his-name had, didn't like the show either.

 

I know it's all about opinion...why why do you guys think the 74-81 camaros are ugly? I think they looks awesome. Especially from a side view. What exactly make them ugly to you guys?

For me it goes (best looking to ugliest)

3rd gen
1st gen
5th gen(close tie between 1st and 5th for me. I love the new camaro.)
2nd gen
4th gen

 

It was them stupid bumpers from 74-77 that I hated, once they hid them under ABS they weren't too bad. Not as nice as the 70-73 noses though. I wish they had kept the round tail lights on all of them, no real reason to drop them from the design.

 

Well to me the round taillights were to much like the corvette. I'm sure that's why they changed the design. I personally like the 78-81 the best. I love all 2nd gen though. To me there is no ugly camaro. The ugliest to me would be the 82-84 berlinetta and sport coupe noses withthe big holes in the. The one after 84 with the thinner holes I like.

 

I was never a Camaro fan, I like Trans Ams over Camaros every year. I however have a softspot for the Iroc Z. My dream Iroc would be metallic blue, the 16" wheels, T tops, and the 350 TPI with a gray interior. That combination for me is the best best camaro ever made. Same as I think the best trans am is a 88 GTA, black paint, black leather, hardtop, digital dash and the 350TPI. Tint the windows on that and its probably the best looking F body ever. I just love how on GTAs especially black with the parking lights and fogs are on with the hood vents they just look mean as absolute hell. I have sylvania sylverstar headlamps and foglamps in my GTA so it looks good even with the headlights up because the light is so white and bright. I love Irocs and GTAs!!!

 

I agree with you there. IROC-Z is my dream car also. Same color too! GTA and TA are my favorite firebirds mainly because they have gfx and don't look as thin as base or formula models.

 

My dream car is a 70-73 Z-28 with the split front bumper. That's a mean looking car, Rather have one of them than even a Vette.

 

I guess it's the big rear glass for the 3rd gens that some people might not like.
undecided on camaros, but i absolutely hate 4th and 5th gens. early 4ths are only slightly more appealing than the later.

the firebirds for me go:
1. early 2nd
2. 1st
3. 3rd
4. 4th

??

 

I am not big on the looks of the first gen cars simply because all the 60's pony cars looked pretty much alike to me except the original pony car...the Mustang.

 

Wow! What a wide range of opinions. I guess I shouldn't be suprised. Opinions are just that, and we are all entitled one. With that said here is mine.
All F-bodies have their good points.
1st gens: Classic styling, old school performance, collector demand.
2nd gen: Great styling (my opinion) performance (earyl ones)
good handeling (for the era)
3rd gen: Great styling, improved handeling, increased performance
(as compaired to late 2nd gens and early 3rd gens).
Affordability.
4th gen: Good performance, great handeling,

5th gen: Awesome performance.

I have owned a first gen Firebird 350 convert, a 2nd gen RS Z/28 Camaro and a 3rd gen '85 IROC Camaro. I still own the Firebird and IROC. I love them all. The 1st gen is a real head turner and attracts attention when ever it is out of the garage. However, it is not as much fun to drive as the '85 is. I also get a lot of comments when I drive the IROC. In case you are wondering , I do drive the Firebird about 3,000 miles a year,same for the Camaro, so ,they are not trailer queens by any means. How would I rate the different generations?
I can't!
Are any of them ugly? Not if the are in good condition and shined up for show. Are there ugly F-bodies out there? For sure and in every generation except for the 5th but wait , they will come.

 

Funny thing is, I've been thinking the exact same thing! As for the other opinions, I am not on the "third gens are under powered" band wagon. They are about a hell of a lot more than strait line power. Handling, low drag, etc. I was out of the old school. I had a 68 Charger R/T that could eat Chevelle 396's for lunch. My Camaros are mostly stock, and I am plenty happy with there all around performance.

 

My '92 305 Z is rated 30-50 more HP than my '78 Z. The '92 is about a second quicker in the 1/4 mile (when new). Took a holley and a straight pipes to get the '78 to do 15 sec. The '92 is pretty much there out of the factory. Threw N2O on the 78 and it was whole 'nother story.

 

There aren't to many cars designed to go over 200mph without some major aerodynamic changes made to the body. The third gens could do it right off the showroom floor. That's why the IROC and Chevy paired up with each other in the IROC series. As for power, in the 80's, there wasn't to many cars that would keep up with the Camaro or Firebird except for the Vette which had a little more horses. For today's standards with the new horsepower ratings and fuel mileage they don't compare. But then your comparing apples to oranges. I had a 86 IROC in 86. Lost my license because of it. I now have a 87 and am 51 yrs old and still drive it like i stole it because it's still one of the funnest cars i have ever owned. Third gens ROC!!

 

Third gens are in a time slot that all cars go through- not old enough to be classic; too old to be 'trendy'. 1st and 2nd gens went through it too- you couldn't give muscle cars away at one time in their lives. In fact, I know of one guy that bought a Dodge Daytona 500 wing car (with the 3 foot wing on the back!) during the oil shortage in the 1970s. The dealer couldn't move it and sold it to him for $1500!!!!! NEW!! Came with the 440 engine I think- it is worth around $250,000 today...
The 1st gen cars didn't mature until 1969- the best of their generation. The 2nd gens peaked with the 1970 1/2 split bumper Camaro in my opinion- very early in their development. The 3rd gen looked best the last two years, 1991 and 92. The 4th gen matured as A DONER CAR FOR THE LS1 TRANSPLANT TO THE 3RD GENS!!! LOL!

 

I bought my 327 '68 Camaro for $700 in '74. Same year I could have had a '63 split-window vette for $4500. Today's ho-hum can be OMGs in 20 years.

 

95% of new cars have the snow plow and bubble butt(no bumper) look going on. I hate this look. For me I would have to rate the Camaros(not firebirds cause I'm not a firebird guy lol) like this:

82-92 - no gfx is my preference, but I like the 85-90 gfx
70-73 - high rise spoiler not the low one and solid bumper. 360hp LT-1 mmhm
69 - Don't like 67-68 too small looking for my tastes.
98-02
78-81
93-97

Not even gonna list the 67-68 or the 74-77 as I don't like those years. and 5th gens are just ugly, I don't even consider them true Camaro's since they're not f-bodys

 

LOL, true. It's weird how the T/A went from having one of the best looking front ends in '78 to having the ugliest one in '79. Whoever was responsible for that should have been fired.

 

it didn't hurt sales.

 

 

I like the real first gen TA when I was a kid:

 

I like the 3rd and 4th gen Camaros. The absolute ugliest car ever made is the 5th gen. The PT Cruiser was until GM made that pile of crap. It does not even look like a sports car. It looks like a truck that's been rolled and pooped on.

 

camaro matches it better if you ask me.

 

depends on the model but many are. I have yet to have someone not like my 91 though.

 

I had a chance to drive a 5th gen, and it felt like I was in a wash tub, not a pony car. It had climate control, navigation, and outside temp. A personal luxury car, not a muscle car.

 

Things are different these days. I'm sure the average buyer of a 5th gen wants the extra things todays cars provide nav, better stereo, etc. I bet if GM offered "stripper" versions of the Camaro they probably would make **** off em besides people like us that are gearheads. I wiil agree with you that those cars are huge though, my 4dr Grand Prix GT looks small when parked next to the 5th gen. It needs to go on a diet.

 

I would've expected you folks thought better of the 4th gen and 5th gen camaros. neither of them are my favorite, but I don't hate them either. the 5th gens look fat and do need to shed some weight, but I do generally like the look of the car. that car is so big 20" rims actually look more like 17s, and that really ruins it for me. yea they've got too much stuff in them too, but you can always take it out.

 

To these people who say that they don't like the 5th gen because it's too big and too heavy...well it couldn't really be avoided that much. They had to compromise with modern comforts for every driver in today's age and that along with all of the federal requirements, it adds up. I mean compare it to the concept 5th gen. It's slimmed down a little. Who knows...there is speculation and i guess it was confirmed that a z28 will be coming out within the next couple years...that will most likely weigh less. And then after that the 6th gen is going to be based off of a new smaller base. We'll see.