I'm going to make my own Firebird.

 

agreed haz-matt,lol

 

I would buy it in a heartbeat(no pun). It's may be mullett, but I would rather have my old mullet back than be on Rogaine like I am now!

I'll take one and throw Sally Fields in with it no matter how old she is now. Bandit always had a good time with her.

No really, Ask some of the district managers around the country. They have been told a Trans AM may be on the horizon INSTEAD of the GTO.It's a name only but marketing is everything. Ask around. Don't take my word. And this is after Lutz said"No Trans AM".

Maybe I'll have money by then(2010??).

By the way.. Chrysler is already starting their Crash testing on the Challenger I hear. how is GM doing on this? anybody like to guess??

john

 

It's all good....


All you Camaro guys pissed and moaned and you got your little Camaro back.. Us Firebird guys hold our heads up high and accept its death..


Edit- This post was not meant to **** anybody off

 

just like the guy that converted an 05 GTO into a Chevelle SS

 

I'm a die-hard TA fan - my "Blackbird" 1999 TA WS6 is my dream car and has NEVER let me down. I fell in love with TA's from the first time I saw a '77 (all of 7 years old). I personally think that while the most common reference to a Trans Am is mullet related, most people love the cars. I still get comments at gas stations! And while the screaming chicken and black and gold color scheme is usually scorned, I remember when I first saw an '85 with the paint job and thought I was gonna pass out - it was gorgeous!! (Anyone have a decent picture of one of those, btw?). Then someone did a mod car for Need For Speed that has the 2002, 30th anniversary edition with black and gold trim, instead of yellow with black trim and it blew me away again!! And if a surrogate is really needed, ok, how about a dark gray metallic with gold pinstripes? (my personal choice)

Bottom line is: There's a way to do a new, cool Trans Am - PERIOD. Sure folks may carry over some parts of the historical Trans Ams, but if a concept Trans Am were a nice blend of future and past like the Camaro concept there's no reason to think it wouldn't rock and all the stigmas would disappear OVERNIGHT!!

And as for the racing series, cost, and most other arguments - they can be dealt with too. GM knows Trans Am is marketable - even if they just call it Firebird / Formula. A Formula GTA would have "Trans Am" badges on the aftermarket the day the car goes into production. GTO could easily replace the Grand Prix with the Firebird being the Camaro sibling. And as far as stealing sales? Yeah, that's possible, but if the combined volume target is 150k units annually, then GM was already planning on splitting the platform between different models already - so that may not be as big as some think.

To me what a Trans Am comes down to is DOES GM WANT ONE? While I may think they'd be crazy not to, they really have to think it fits with their corporate plan. From the look and style of the Solstice and the statements of Pontiac being an American BMW, I'd guess it'll never happen.....BUT, who says GM can't reverse that decision? "American BMW" is a helluva benchmark and convincing consumers that you've hit it is a LONG, LONG road - and you may never succeed for the prestige factor alone (is that a BMW? No, it's a Pontiac.......yeah...). So if GM wants to save Pontiac, they could easily decide to change directions for the brand, with Solstice being a torch-bearer until they decide on a new direction. So we could conceivably see a Firebird appear in a year or two just to gage direction for a "new" Pontiac.....never know......the Rageous should have been made - it would've created the whole crossover segment before anyone else realized it......Aztek should have been skipped - it was characture of what could have been.......anything is possible in this business - ANYTHING.

GM wants to thrive, and if they really are at "battlestations" as has been reported, they might just surprise us all - and I suspect they will. In the meantime, I'm going to drool over the new Camaro and toast GM for such a gorgeous design and hope they have the courage to deliver it to the market right the first time...........if that's all we get, I'm still buying one. My Blackbird will still have been a dream car for me and Trans Ams will always be classics to me - not having a new Trans Am can't take that away................although the mental image of a new Pontiac Banshee on the Camaro platform will always make my skin tingle

 

I wouldn't be shocked if by the time the Camaro comes out that there isn't an out there bodykit to make it look like a firebird/TA, a huge rear wing, aerodynamic front clip, forward fender flares and BSMs. SOMEbody will do it. Maybe someone from here should be the first?

 

design and sell it yourself and make some cash

 

Anybody know where I can find a picture similar to the Camaro poster that shows the individual generations of the firebird? If I'm gonna do this I'll need to draw from the history of the car.

Some opinions on what the body kit should leave alone/change?

Obviously we don't know the final dimensions, so I probably won't fiberglass anything solid for awhile, but at least I can start working on some sketches.

 

Shellhead I agree with you . Its about GM. GM doesnt want a Firebird. They want there "Hot Selling" GTO . Hopefully they get proved wrong a second with that one. Then maybe they'll warm up to the bird .

 

American BMW isn't supposed to mean this American brand is the equivalent of a BMW. Obviously they want to do that with Cadillac, not Pontiac.

BMWs are considered performance and drivers cars across the board. Whether they are or not is irrelevant, thats what Pontiac wants to be. They would probably be closer to that goal, if they stopped saying that and made the refined performance cars they have proved they are capable of in the past.

For the people in the cheap seats.

GTO IS NOT FIREBIRDS REPLACEMENT.

GTO IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A HIGH VOLUME CAR.

GTO WILL NOT "SISTER" TO CAMARO AS FIREBIRD DID.

Its a choice between one great car or two good cars. Should be kinda obvious.

 

Yep, GTO is not the Firebird replacement.

Camaro is.

 

Your Right Good Ph.D It shoulda been Obvious after the train wreck that was the 04 - (who the hell cared ) GTO .

 

I think you missed my point. I see no reason for the Firebird faithful to be upset that the GTO exist, even in lieu of Firebird. IF Pontiac is supposed to surpass Chevrolet in refinement, performance and cost, the GTO makes sense.

I wouldn't have a problem with a Firebird that was in one or two empirical ways superior to Camaro. However way too many people would for it to ever happen, plus that would be cost prohibitive.

The coupe market is small and GM isnt in the best of health. Maybe some years in the future.

 

My thoughts exactly... GTO gives Pontiac an upscale muscle/sport car that is bigger. More than just a reskin for the time being. More of an alternative rather than direct competition. If there proves to be demand, a more direct competition to BMW could show up as a firebird. But Camaro would probably be pretty flexible and could probably fill that role as well. I actualy like Camaro getting all the resources. I know that doesnt sound fair to firebird fans but there isnt a Mercury Mustang rebadge. All their resources go into Mustang...