Pontiac does not build many cars like the Pontiac Sunbird: a 2-door coupe / 2-door hatchback / 2-door station wagon with 140 cuin 2300 I4, built from 1975 to 1994 as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry. Its designer of record is Irv Rybicki (1977).
The background
The Pontiac Sunbird (also known as the Pontiac J2000 and Pontiac 2000) is a model line that was manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from the 1976 to the 1994 model years. Loosely deriving its name from the Pontiac Firebird, the Sunbird was introduced as the eventual replacement for the Pontiac Astre, replacing it entirely in 1978 as the smallest Pontiac (the later T1000 was slotted below it in size). The first generation of the Sunbird used the subcompact GM H platform. Serving as the Pontiac counterpart of the Chevrolet Monza, the Sunbird was offered as a two-door notchback coupé and three-door hatchback and station wagon. The model was manufactured alongside the Monza, Buick Skyhawk, and Oldsmobile Starfire at Lordstown Assembly (Lordstown, Ohio), South Gate Assembly (South Gate, California) and Sainte-Thérèse Assembly (Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec), Canada.
The second generation of the Sunbird used the compact GM J platform. Serving as the Pontiac counterpart of the Chevrolet Cavalier, the Sunbird was marketed at various times as a two-door notchback coupé or convertible, three-door hatchback, four-door sedan, and five-door station wagon. The model line was manufactured alongside the Cavalier at Lordstown Assembly (Lordstown, Ohio), Ramos Arizpe Assembly (Ramos Arizpe, Mexico), and alongside the Buick Skyhawk and Oldsmobile Firenza at Leeds Assembly (Kansas City, Missouri) in 1982 only. While not as long-running as the Bonneville, Grand Prix, and Firebird nameplates, Pontiac would use the Sunbird nameplate for 17 model years. After the Sunbird skipped the 1981 model year enti
The engineering
Under the skin sits 140 cuin 2300 I4; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. The gearbox is a 4-speed T-50 manual / 5-speed T-50 manual / 3-speed THM-200 automatic / 3-speed THM-250. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 97.0 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Where it sits in Pontiac's history is not in doubt: the Pontiac Astre came before it; the Pontiac Sunfire followed it; it was built at Lordstown, Ohio, U.S.. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Hyundai Pony, the BMW 3 Series, the Volkswagen Polo. Its Pontiac stablemates include the Pontiac 2+2 and the Pontiac 6.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Pontiac Sunbird — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.