Sorry camaro guys but I don't GM will ever be able to convince me to buy a camaro .... the only time they've been successful in this venture to me was before I was born...and thats the first gen.

 

The Camaro WILL return.

The Firebird WILL return.

A Brand name recognition for 35 years gone like that? Think about it. Why bring back the name GTO? Because it meant something. And you think they won't bring back the T/A ?

IMO the GTO is going to help usher in the T/A! The GTO, a blast from the past. And the Trans-Am, a legend reborn. Space the releases a few years out and "OILAH", a formula for success.

on a side note, how do you spell "oilah" like a magician would say it?

If history is any indication, the cars will return. Escalade did not appear in 2001. Rx-7 did not appear in 1992. (The Rx-8 is not a replacement for the 7, indicating 7 will return.) Those are two examples that come to mind. Anyone know any others? My point is that sometimes it is cheaper for a company to not produce a slow selling vehicle for a year, spend the money they would have lost on R&D, and introduce a newer model the next year. In this case - the case of the f-body- they are taking 5 years!

Of course this is my wishful thinking, but I like to think of it as my logical wishful thinking

 

I feel the same way.

 

i think you mean.."voila!"

 

Id say firebird will come out second if camaro does well. My only reasoning is that thats what happened with the 1st Gens.

 

The Firebird is dead. I'm pretty sure it came right from the horse's mouth.

And you don't think that you can get GM to convince you to buy a Camaro just because it's a Camaro? Nobody's even seen the car yet! There probably are some drawings on the board, but that's probably about it. Sure, the drivetrain and chasis has been under development, but the actual body probably hasn't.

 

If there is any confusion about Pontiac's direction & the likelyhood of Firebird's return:

http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/04/pf/a....pontiac.reut/

Bob Kraut (who was pretty much to the Firebird what Scott Settlemire was/is to Camaro) is now in charge of GTO. He also has stated that the Firebird is indeed dead.

On a different front (to those of you who keep track of such things), Dave Hill, now that Corvette is about done, should be moving on to his next major assignment involving GM's high performance platforms (he ran the Y and F body programs).

 

Let's hope that Mr. Hill is willing to give more time/effort/resources to the "other car" this time than last time.

 

You said it!

 

In my opinion, I think that when they bring out the 5th gen Camaro and GM sees that it is doing well then they will bring back the Firebird/Trans Am. I can't wait till the Camaro comes back. It all depends on how many units are sold I believe. If the Camaro does poorly they will not be bringing back the bird.

 

If Firebird comes back...then what about GTO? In case some haven't been following current events, (or is that future events?)....Camaro and GTO will be platform mates, just like Firebird/Camaro were for 35 years.

For all intents and purposes, GTO has replaced Firebird on the high end, and Solstice on the low end.

Sorry to say it....but Firebird is dead.

 

Now I don't know squat about platforms - does that mean certain vehicles share a frame? But I don't see GTO and Camaro being more or less the same as the Camaro and Firebird were. Of course I really don't know anything about product planning and line up and all that. But I've read in other threads that Pontiac isn't neccasarily limiting themselves to performance a la vette territory like the f bods did. For example, the GTO is supposed to come with 350 HP stock, just like the 04 C5.

So my question then is if the gto and camaro share platform, what does that mean, and does it imply same engine specs?

thanks. nate.

I have a hunkerin the T/A will be back one day. Who ever thought the GTO would be? (20 years later, was it?)

 

Oh well if the Bird does die I'm going to by a 1st Gen. Plus the new GTO is a dissappointment in my eyes.

 

Why Firebird (and especially the Trans Am) is dead and wont return in the forseeable future: 101

1. GTO represents the new Pontiac. Don't disregard the GTO till you see it yourself up close & personal.

2. Pontiac is moving upscale, and a Grand Touring car is their stated flagship, meaning GTO. Need more proof there is no room for Firebird? One word: Solstice!

3. Pontiac has been trying to get rid of the Trans Am name since 1983! GM must pay a royalty on each car they sell with that name (the result of someone actually threatening to sue GM over DeLoren stealing the name... no one challenged his theft of "Grand Prix", "GTO", & "LeMans", and he attempted to grab "Trans Am" as well). If you look at introduction publicity pictures of the 3rd gen Trans Am of 1983, it's called "T/A". The only reason Pontiac changed it's mind was that the race series still threatened to take them to court.... and it was a sexual term back then (T&A).

3. Coupe sales are currently flat, and doesn't support the costs of designing & marketing of 2 identical cars. Also, since Firebirds wern't selling in large numbers, one can also make the case that the very very few people who would refuse to by a Camaro over the Firebird on principle isn't even a blip on the sales radar.

4. Pontiac simply doesn't want Firebird at the moment.

As was pointed out, the GTO and the next Camaro will infact be of the same structure, though word is Camaro will be a shortened version of the GTO structurally.

So, it IS still a real possibility that Firebird may return as a loaded Camaro with nothing more than a genaric Pontiac grill & different taillights to tell it apart.

However, even if Pontiac reverses itself over the next 24 or so months, the Firebird almost certainly won't be as different from Camaro as the 4th gen was.

 

While this is very true... I wonder how much of an impact this really had... If I remember correctly, Pontiac has the right to use the Trans Am name indefinately for the original price agreed on back in the day... which I believe is $10 per car. Name recognition alone is worth far more than that, IMO.