My question is why were there so few made? Was there a reason for this? And why did the number of production keep dropping after the 88?

 

Can't answer your question but I noticed in the tech data here there were more gta's made then trans ams and thought that was odd. I thought it should have been the other way around.That is a good question.

 

Production dropped after 88 because consumer demand slowed. I'd bet Honda Civic production was inversely proportional during those years.

 

I'd blame Mustang GT's...they got a lot less ugly in 1987.

 

Lmao. As long as it was a hatchback and not a convertible/notchback, that's a true statement.

 

Mostly because people quit buying them.

Not alot of intelligence required to ferret out the cause... if I can manage it, surely a smart guy like you that looked at the same numbers I did, can handle it...

Has something to do, in a general way, with why Pontiac as a whole (and Saturn, and Olds, and Edsel, and Hummer, and Rambler, and Packard, and Oakland, and Mercury, and Hudson, and .... ) aren't available in new-car stores any more. Basically, whatever market niche they exploited, disappeared; at least, in sufficient numbers to support a "brand".

 

It does seem like every '88 Trans Am I see is a GTA.

 

And the TA's sibling, the IROC. Seems like the IROC's got even more popular in '88.

 

That's because in 88 you couldn't buy a Z28.. Only SC, RS(cali), and Iroc.

 

yes it is a hatch back, and what makes it hard to find certain parts even through the top catalogs ( YEAR ONE and Classic Industries)

 

there's a lot of parts cars out there so most of us just salvage whatever we can from those for cheap.
the "top catalogues" know this and that's why they don't offer us many parts.
It all comes down to supply and demand...
and the demand isn't there (yet)

 

I was looking at the #'s for 87 and there were alot more TA's made than GTA's that year, but did see the trend swapping in 88 and on. I always and still see more IROC's than TA's around here.

 

yea but what gets me is they are simple pieces like I'm missing 2 hood bolts and 3 or 4 red plastic screws for the rear interior panels. can't find them anywhere.