I'm gonna take lumps for saying this, but back in the day the color "bird" cars were considered "girl" cars (albeit by a less kind name). Many of them were powered by the anemic Buick NA V-6, some of which were even the odd-fire versions (AKA shake-motors). They were nothing special beyond the trim group, and that was selected with your average 23-25 year old secretary in mind. It was hardly a performance anything.
Today, 30 years later, with gen 2 Firebirds of any flavor being a rarity on the street, it's a different story. But back in the day anybody who was serious about performance wouldn't be caught dead in one. That's not being nasty -- it's just saying how it was back when they were new.