5th Gen Firebird? And thoughts about future Camaro

BigggD222 · 12-02-2005, 10:38 PM

Has there been any speculation on a 5th Generation Bird? Or is my favorite car done forever (at least for now)? And is it really that big of a deal of how many options there are for the future Camaro as long as there is an option to have a V8 with over 350 horses? I don't care if the SS or the Z28 is the top model as long as one of them can put a Mustang or Challenger in it's place, same with the CTS-V, STS-V, and GTO. What I would love to see on the new Camaro are some things that were on the Dick Harrel Camaro's. Such as rear fender flares, stagard stance, possibly and option for some deep dish rims in the rear, and an option for whatever kind of wing those badboys have. A 427 option for the new Camaros would be nice, but not practical, and I doubt GM will ever have another car that will come close to performing with the Vette at the same time. Those are some things I would like to see, but doubt anything like that would ever happen, we'll just have to wait and see in January!

HAZ-Matt · 12-02-2005, 11:15 PM

Sadly it doesn't look like we will be getting a new Firebird.

NewbieWar · 12-02-2005, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HAZ-Matt

Sadly it doesn't look like we will be getting a new Firebird.

the car fits perfectly into pontiac's image... i dont imagine why they wouldnt do badge engeneering... it fits in perfectly... and often pontiac's image is prefered a bit more... expecially by the pontiac people

BigggD222 · 12-03-2005, 03:57 AM

well seeing as there is always a good side and bad side to things, at least my car will be more of a collector's if I hold on to it just like everyone else who owns a bird, and the bad there won't be anymore!!!! At least the Firebird's and Trans Ams always looked that much better than Camaros!!!

amean94ta · 12-03-2005, 04:02 AM

there are already companys looking into firebird nose and rear bumper conversions

no pics or details just we will have to see

Caps94ZODG · 12-03-2005, 08:50 AM

just as long as it dosnt look like that dreaded Chevelle that company did out of the new GTO...talk about someone with to much money and no stylin brains..

saroyan689 · 12-03-2005, 12:49 PM

It would seem to me that adding a Firebird to the Pontiac line would dilute both Camaro and GTO sales.

30thZ286speed · 12-03-2005, 12:56 PM

Though Firebird looks dead at the moment things can change quickly. For instance in a few years when the Camaro comes out, what happens if its wildly popular, lets say surpassing Mustang sales, then I think chances could improve for a return of the Firebird. On the down side the only problem is GM is trying to eliminate overlap, and a Firebird could be considered overlap.

The horsepower rules have change at GM. The Corvette remains the top performer, but many cars in GMs lineup have just as much and a few have more hp than the C6 (base). A few years ago, that would have been unheard of.

HAZ-Matt · 12-03-2005, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewbieWar

the car fits perfectly into pontiac's image... i dont imagine why they wouldnt do badge engeneering... it fits in perfectly... and often pontiac's image is prefered a bit more... expecially by the pontiac people

The problem is that the Pontiac image is still incoherent and/or wrong at this stage. Pontiac as the American BMW wasn't ever going to pan out in my opinion. I, along with various other members on this board, think that Pontiac should be more Mazda like in their offerings. They at least have a Miata competitor now, but it would be nice to have something in the RX8 class, ie sports car.

I don't think you can really dilute GTO sales by much at this point, and as for Camaro sales... too bad

How do we know it won't be Camaro sales diluting those of the Firebird?

RussStang · 12-03-2005, 01:11 PM

Alot of people on this board seem against the Bird coming back; some of them have good reasons for it, and some guys just seem to hate it. I would love to see it come back though. If a new Bird was modern, and the Camaro is retro, I would go with the Bird. Make the Bird AWD. I know we have all discussed this on here before, but I would like to see it come back at some point in the decently near future. Alot of it will depend on the Camaro's success, so keep your fingered crossed for it if you want any likely chance at all of the Bird returning.

MarineReconZ28 · 12-03-2005, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RussStang

Alot of people on this board seem against the Bird coming back; some of them have good reasons for it, and some guys just seem to hate it. I would love to see it come back though. If a new Bird was modern, and the Camaro is retro, I would go with the Bird. Make the Bird AWD. I know we have all discussed this on here before, but I would like to see it come back at some point in the decently near future. Alot of it will depend on the Camaro's success, so keep your fingered crossed for it if you want any likely chance at all of the Bird returning.

The problem I see with that idea is that, say there is a set amount of money that can be spent on a Camaro... Well when you take a chunk of that away from Camaro to make the parts to make any firebird that obviously takes away from the Camaro... When you make it substatialy differenta by going modern instead of whatever the Camaro is going to be, that takes a bigger chunk, and AWD the same. So now you have a watered down Camaro just so you can have a half assed attempt at 2 cars instead of a full attempt at one car. I think focusing the efforts on a Camaro alone will make that much better end results. While both cars have a strong history and a lot of followers, I think the Camaro is going to benifit greatly by not having the firebird around. I dont know if something else is going to be a platform mate though.

RussStang · 12-03-2005, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarineReconZ28

The problem I see with that idea is that, say there is a set amount of money that can be spent on a Camaro... Well when you take a chunk of that away from Camaro to make the parts to make any firebird that obviously takes away from the Camaro... When you make it substatialy differenta by going modern instead of whatever the Camaro is going to be, that takes a bigger chunk, and AWD the same. So now you have a watered down Camaro just so you can have a half assed attempt at 2 cars instead of a full attempt at one car. I think focusing the efforts on a Camaro alone will make that much better end results. While both cars have a strong history and a lot of followers, I think the Camaro is going to benifit greatly by not having the firebird around. I dont know if something else is going to be a platform mate though.

I completely understand where you are coming from. My point was that if Camaro sells were really good, and GM was looking to draw in even more customers that didn't take to the styling of the Camaro, they could have an alternative. If Camaro sells are only so-so, it is doubtful to see a Firebird return at all. I don't think the budget would be as split this time between both Bird and Maro as much this time around either. There are supposedly many more cars being built off of the same platform as the Camaro this time around, although obviously the Camaros platform will be altered to some degree to account for its ponycarness.

HAZ-Matt · 12-03-2005, 02:03 PM

If Pontiac was to foot the bill for the changes that result in the Firebird, then how exactly is that money that is taken away from Camaro? How is engineering money split up among the brands at GM?

Z284ever · 12-03-2005, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HAZ-Matt

If Pontiac was to foot the bill for the changes that result in the Firebird, then how exactly is that money that is taken away from Camaro? How is engineering money split up among the brands at GM?

The 4th gen Firebird ate up an inordinate amount of the F-car budget.....leaving little for Camaro.

guionM · 12-03-2005, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 30thZ286speed

The horsepower rules have change at GM. The Corvette remains the top performer, but many cars in GMs lineup have just as much and a few have more hp than the C6 (base). A few years ago, that would have been unheard of.

Not really.

Grand National
GNX
Typhoon
Syclone
Trans Am Turbo
Trans Am T/A 6.6

That's just off the top of my head.

Actually the rule is that nothing IN THE CHEVROLET SHOWROOM can surpass the Corvette's performance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Z284ever

The 4th gen Firebird ate up an inordinate amount of the F-car budget.....leaving little for Camaro.

Ain't that the truth!

Anyone want to count how many noses, hoods, tail lights, and rear bumpers the Firebird line got during the 4th gen years compared to Camaro?

Keep in mind, Camaro sold in much higher numbers than the Firebird.