I was reading through the Charlie's earlier post where he said the GTO would be on hiatus untill sometime next decade and got to thinking. I am guessing it will go away because of lack of an appropriate platform and some internal indecisivness over where to take it (quad coupe, etc).

Made me wonder why GM just does not give Pontiac the Firebird back? It would share the Camaro's platform again, which would help spread costs out even more. On the firebird's worst year if I remember right it sold 30K units, which is more than the GTO in it's current form will. It would be neat if they positioned the Camaro as a Mustang killer, then moved the Firebird up to a G35 competitor. Make it more upscale and pricey then the Camaro. Drop the Camaro's retro styling for an agressive, clean, modern design. Hell, maybe even only offer a V8.

Main reason I suggest this is because without the GTO, aside from the Solstice, Pontiac's lineup would not have any RWD performance cars...which is what the brand was initially built on. This is assuming the RWD sedan is also a ways out.

Just something I figured I would throw out....I know the odds are like zero...but I am a Firebird guy at heart.

 

Cuz lutz is a ho.

they'd prolly mess it up anyhow and Give it the G6 "Clean" Treatment

 

That's a good question.
I am guessing that since Pontiac has the Solstice, Saturn has the Sky, that is already 2 sports cars from GM in the low end market. Now we will have a Camaro pretty soon. They also have the Vette. So the cars sort of compete with each other. To GM it is cheaper to build fewer cars per market, to make more money. With The Mustang taking most of the sells, GM won't be making any money off of the sports car market. Today I got tons of info in the mail from the nice folks at DCX (they air mailed it all from Germany). I am thinking about going mopar now. If all goes well, I might even get to see what they have baking in the oven (in a few months). The main reason I have defended Chevy (and GM) is because of Red and what he's done for us. But you can only get the cold shoulder so many times. In a year, GM will be kicking themselves for not listening to us (Me, my attempts to contact them, other people, and theirs).
(But then again, I'm also kind of grumpy right now)

 

This needs to die, we already had a multiple page thread about bringing back the firebird within the past month I think. It covered everything you guys are asking about. Really, there no point to bring the topic back up because its already been covered and even then theres such a lack of information right now, there nothing to do but wait.

 

Maybe GM planning on a Solstice Coupe to be Pontiacs affordable performance hardtop priced between $20,000=$30,000.

 

GTO, Firebird and Camaro!

 

Um, the GTO is going on a hiatus since when? I'd like to see a confirmed news report before I believe it.

 

Sure I'd like to see a new Firebird......but I'd also like to see a case for it that makes some business sense.

The Firebird accounted for 25-30% of the 4th gen F-car, yet devoured the lion's share of the F-car budget. Camaro paid the bills, but Firebird got the money. Look at the '98 refresh, Firebird got two different front and two different rear fascias, new interior, several new wheels. All of the money for those things came out of the Camaro's hide...and probably damaged Camaro's potential sales numbers....if not the Camaro brand itself. GM figures if Camaro is to effectively compete with Mustang - both in sales and profit - it needs to focus it's resources on a Chevy Camaro rather than a Chevy and Pontiac Camaro. Any money spent on a Firebird twin, would most likely canabalize Camaro sales anyway, so really, what would be the point.

That is unless, someone can come up with a Firebird concept with a substantially different draw than Camaro. Something very few people on this site are even willing to consider - so dead the Firebird will likely stay.

 

Firebird - the 1st Hybrid Sports Car!!!!

 

I would like to see the Firebird come back. If the GTO does indeed get the axe for at least a few years, I don't see why not. Pontiac is going to want a rwd v8. The Firebird may have consumed more of the budget than its sister car, but that doesn't necessarily mean the past must repeat itself. If the Camaro goes retrofieds, this is a perfect opportunity for GM to offer a more contemporary F-body as well, to cover both of their bases.

 

I'd be happy with a Solstice Coupe in liew of a new Firebird. I'd be happier with a new Firebird, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Maybe I should just save up for a Vette......

 

Very good point, I never looked at it in those terms.

 

From the looks of it, Pontiac is getting neither a Firebird nor anything else. The Solstice is beautiful, but not enough to carry a brand. In any event, GM saw fit to give Saturn a version of the car - just in case something should happen to Pontiac.

So again it's time to ask, where is Pontiac going? I thought they were going to be a niche performance brand, but after its best selling niche performance car is gone, what will they be left with? They have the G6 that will soon be outclassed by Saturn's Aura, a very outdated Grand Prix with no update in sight, and a couple of very quickly done rebadges - SV6 and Torrent.

Compare this to say, seven years ago, when the brand had the Firebird, a stunning new Grand Prix, and a fresh Grand Am. Once again, I'm very unsure if Pontiac will exist past say 2010.

 

I would only want the Firebird back if it was different. 4th gens were damn near clones. Okay they looks were different but thats about it. Identical engines, suspensions ect.

I want some individuality here.

Of course if this could be feasibly done is another matter.

 

Pontiac needs a v8 rwd sedan and maybe a a wagon for its line up.