1990
A driver’s side air bag was made standard. The Firebird interior again received a re-design, this time the changes were much less drastic: the lower dash and under-dash panels were altered, and accessory switches were moved to a new panel above the heater and radio controls. The deluxe contoured interior door panels that were standard in GTAs and available in Trans Ams were no longer available. All models would have to make do with the rather crude, flat, carpeted door panels, although if leather seats were ordered, they put genuine perforated leather above the armrest on the basic door panels. In GTAs the cheap door panels looked very out of place next to the exotic looking articulating seats. The console got a new shift indicator. This time, there was actually a needle to indicate what gear you had selected. Previously, you just had to line up the shifter handle with the markings. Steering wheel mounted radio controls disappeared from the GTA (due to the addition of the airbag), and the L98 engine was no longer offered in the T-top cars due to fuel economy regulations. The LB9 and L98 platforms were updated with new speed density fuel injection, and the elimination of the MAF sensor reduced production costs and supposedly improved performance. All L98-equipped cars now received the N10 dual catalytic converters as standard, which technically was a mid year change for 1989.
Like the Camaro, the 1990 Firebird only received a half-year production run, as Pontiac labored to release the re-styled 1991 model. Production ceased on December 31, 1989.
ASC reported making no Firebird Convertibles for 1990.
Read more about this topic: Pontiac Firebird (third Generation)