Check this out...

autoextremist article


There is something of extreme interest to Firebird people at the end of the first block... I will say no more.

 

Firebird wont happen .............stop beating the dead horse

 

I believe this was posted in the Auto News forum.

 

Not long ago it was the camaro that won't happen.

Fact is no one here really knows for sure about the firebird, no matter how cocky you are with your keyboard.

As with the camaro my hopes won't get up until I see something concrete, which for me was the camaro concept photos just before Christmas.

 

Yes, Re-post

 

I wouldnt dismiss this out of hand...

Although Autoextremist has never been a particularly good source of information in the past, I'm hard pressed to come up with a single nugget of news posted by him, that HASNT panned out in some form.

Interesting rumor. I wonder if it'll pan out.

 

Sorry for the repost. My bad. I don't even go to the Auto News section of this board anymore since this Camaro forum started up.


FWIW, I have and will continue going with the common wisdom of this site since I happen to believe that the bird is dead in any event and say there will be no Firebird this time out. If by some remote chance there is, I hope it is well distanced from the sheetmetal of the Camaro concept. I dunno, this one just seems to be a solo act kinda thing style-wise and a rebadge would be undesireable and even more ridiculous than some of the rebadges we have witnessed in the past.

 

(Sorry, just had to do that)

 

I can pull up where Bob Lutz said Firebird's day had passed. I can look up Lynn Myers (former Pontiac General Manager) mentions that Firebird had no place in Pontiac's future lineup.

But you aren't going to find any GM executive that said the Camaro wouldn't happen. You'll find words and phrases like: "Hiatus" or "someday" or "when we find a suitable chassis" or alot of linguistic manuvering in trying not to say anything. But you won't find the same finality that was said about Firebird.

Sure, there's still a chance (however remote) that the Firebird name might return. But if I were to bet MY livelyhood on it, I'd bet on a name other than Firebird IF Pontiac gets a Camaro based vehicle.

 

So you consider Lutz's "30 year nap" comment more of a "someday" than a "never"?

 

I was thinking the same thing

All I'm saying is, that it could be just their position to make sure something doesn't get out and blown outta of proportion for what they plan to do. I'd love to see the Firbird come back, but I would really like for it to not be a reskinned camaro.

 

Are you serious? Look at the context as to when Lutz said that. He was being interviewed about the new GTO and talking about the name returning after a 30 year hiatus. The question was raised about the return of the Camaro and he said "maybe after a 30 year nap."

Heck he was probably grinning or winking when he said it.

 

I wish the possibility of a return of the Firebird were true but I very much doubt it.

I don't know that I'll ever get over being sad about the demise of my all-time favorite car, the Pontiac Firebird Trans AM. It was, especially in its early and mid second-generation form, a truly special and unique vehicle; even though it shared a lot with Camaro; the two cars simply were not the “same” as they eventually became with the third and especially the fourth generations. It was (and still is) the car I am most passionate about despite owning cars that are “better” in any quantifiable sense.

The decision by GM to kill the Firebird line, if it’s truly been made, is one I wish they would revisit. However, I’d rather they leave it dead than bring it back and/or re-use the name on a car that diminishes what the Firebird, and especially the Trans Am has been.

It’s been said that the more things change, the more they stay the same…that is often true; but sometimes, things just change and we move on.

Rest In Peace, Firebird