1988 Trans Am GTA Notchback - Hatch-22

Successfully amassing a collection of Pontiacs produced in limited numbers can be a rewarding experience for any hobbyist. Some appreciate the scarcity and beauty of these automobiles, while others are strictly collectors with value in mind. Whatever the reason, rarities are the focal point of many collections. Such is true of Dave Alger and his son, Carl, of Lexington, Kentucky, who are in the process of gathering up a rare Trans Am from each year of the model's 35-year production run.

You may think, with enough cash, that it wouldn't be too difficult, given the rare Ram Air and SD T/As of the First and Second Generations. But what about the Third-Gens, aside from the Anniversary cars or possibly a 1LE? Anniversary T/As weren't produced in every model year, so what rarity was produced in 1988, for instance? Do you remember the GTA notchback?

The GTA Notchback Story
By 1988, the aerodynamic Third-Gen Firebird was in its seventh year. Unfortunately, sales weren't as hot as the car's body lines suggested. Executives at Pontiac were eager to differentiate the Firebird from the Camaro, but were limited by their shared chassis. The year before, the Gran Turismo Americano, or GTA, was introduced as a step in the right direction. It featured a more comfortable ride, one that was commended in the June '88 issue of Motor Tend, and it helped begin the separation of the two F-cars.

Chief Firebird Designer John Schinella and Firebird Engineering Manager Tom Goad discussed with Auto-Fab owner Bill Bailey the possibility of a special notchback hatch design for the GTA. It was intended to further set the '88 apart from the Camaro, as well as the rest of the Firebird line. The simple addition was made from fiberglass to save on tooling costs. Dealers, as well as Pontiac executives, found the notchback to be aesthetically pleasing so it was given the green light. "I felt that it provided the GTA with a unique look and more character on the street and, at the same time, distanced it from the Camaro," says Schinella.

Pontiac officials anticipated they would need 8,000 to 12,000 units per year, but Auto-Fab's output capacity was limited to roughly 2,000 to 2,500 units. Regardless, notifications were sent out to dealers stating that the new option AA8 was available.

According to Pontiac's Sporty Car Marketing Manager Lou Wassel, shortly after the announcement, problems surfaced at the Van Nuys F-body assembly plant in Southern California. It appeared that the notchback didn't fit and all AA8 orders were put on hold until Auto-Fab could identify the cause of the problem. Lou recalled that Auto-Fab rebuilt its molds using a new design. Fresh notchbacks were sent out to Van Nuys where they faced the same obstacles. The assembly was yet again closely inspected. Lou claims that the notchback wasn't actually the cause of the fitment issue; rather it was variances in the production tolerances of the car bodies.

Lou says that modifications were made to the design one more time before they reached an acceptable fit. By this time, it was late in the '88 model year. Some dealers had lost interest and were hesitant to promote an option that had been delayed twice, certainly affecting their sales. Adding to this, there wasn't any mention of the option in dealer literature that year and many of the salespeople weren't educated on the notchback, either.