I agree, that's a good idea.....of course, I always get flamed when I bring that up.

 

BOOST!

Dunno about the 4 doors, but it wouldn't be bad if the Bird was put on a diet/ scaled down a little bit.

 

Basically a Solstice coupe with more agressive sheet metal, That could work.

Kappa 2 seat coupe
2,800lbs.
300HP Turbo 2.4L
"retro styling based on the 2002 WS6"
$25,000

It would make the 350Z look like an overpriced slow pig

 

See, this is what I'm talking about. Though I'd prefer it stay 2+2 RWD V8, if it came back as something like mentioned above and was a solid platform and great performer, why couldn't it work? I'd think there would be a market for it.

And on the note about if it was AWD with a blown or turbocharged LS2 it would cost about $50,000, but why would it have to be relatively cheap? Now at $50,000 that is too high. But what if the Firebird came back and had the quality build and options and started at $35k or so and top of the line came in around $42-43K? To me, if it was built well and was stylish for me, I'd purchase it. If it's "worth" what it is being sold for, what's the problem?

 

Because mid $30K+ 2+2 V8 RWD coupe is now GTO territory

 

Yup, sorry I was actually going to post as well as long as the GTO bumped in price. But theoretically it could work right? If the car delivered on all aspects, it'd be worth it.

 

Well, i guess the answer is clear.


The GTO has to go

 

Only problem is above $40K is Cadillac territory, plus Buick will have a RWD coupe the will be geared more toward the lux crowd.

 

The firebird is dead. But I've always thought that a AWD turbo I6 or V6 would make one bitchin' car. Leave the Camaro to the traditional muscle car formula and make the Firebird more Supra / 3000GT VR4 / Skyline like.

 

 

IMHO, the only Firebird that was distinctive over the last 20 years was the Turbo Trans Am of 1989. It was hella quick, had a unique engine, and clearly differentated itself from the Camaro.

Taking on a flight-of-fancy, and forgetting that Firebird at the moment is just as dead as Oldsmobile, I think you are on the right track.

What you are proposing wouldn't overlap the Camaro, Corvette or GTO. It would be a loaded, AWD Camaro based car, with a blown V6 and perhaps an automatic. It would cost about 40-45 grand and be priced well above the GTO which would stay as a Grand Touring muscle car, would go about it's performance in a different manner than Corvette, would be more as a high performance track car so it wouldn't overlap Camaro the way the old 'Birds did. Solstice would still be an entry level sports car.

What you are proposing is about the only way I could see Firebird NOT overlapping another vehicle in GM's stable (let alone Pontiac's).

BTW: The Turbo T/A was veeery expensive when it was out, and for the last time, GTO DOESN'T take the place of Firebird. Solstice takes the place of low end Firebirds. The next Camaro is going to get all potential Firebird sales. The GTO replaces the Grand Prix GTP coupe.

Some people are just too hardheaded.

 

It's interesting (and telling) that so many people here say the Firebird was not as special when both F-cars shared a powertrain...

In an alternate universe, people might be saying the Camaro was not as special when it started sharing a powertrain with Firebird.

 

Guionm, you bring up good points here about the GTO being a replacement for the GTP coupe and Solstice taking the place of low end firebirds. Here's what I'll ask you considering you have a wealth of info and have a view from the inside ( I love your posts ): Would it really matter that much if the Firebird would cost speculatively from the range of $35-45k if it delivered on all aspects? People keep saying the GTO is $32k and that's the benchmark, but GTO is RWD and 2+2. Firebird would be completely different as proposed here. So as you said it would not overlap any of Pontiac's current cars let alone GM's, wouldn't it theoretically have a solid business case? Now I know people are still hung up on relatively cheap performance for the buck, so that's why they say anything above $32k is not good, but if it's a completely different car why couldn't it work? Only thing I would see holding it back is that the GTO is slotted as Pontiac's Halo car and Pontiac not wanting to disrupt that. But then again, doesn't a fully loaded Bonneville GXP cost more anyways? So a more expensive Firebird shouldn't be a problem.

Guionm, your take on this if you would be so inclined.

 

Hmm... I wonder how they did that dimensional hopping in Sliders...

 

Thats true. Its kinda irritating (And I'm a Camaro/Corvette fan but Firebird is right up there) reading people saying "who cares Firebird is DEAD". I mean, some of you guys realize there are hardcore Firebird fans out there that like the Firebird and not the Camaro? If you look at the Firebird (minus maybe most of the third gen 'Birds) they've always been styled a little more extreme than their Chevy counterparts and some people love that.

I would be all for an AWD v8/v6 boosted Firebird. Even if it is Kappa based. It would be different than anything else GM is offering and it would be separate enough from the GTO and Camaro.

Oh Darth and that alternate universe probably is led by High Performance Pontiac. Funny reading articles about the Firebird where the Camaro is mentioned. Something along the lines of "Well when the Firebird and its evil sales stealing Chevy brother were redesigned in 1993....." And reading that magazine, seems Firebirds love to go Mustang hunting as much as Camaros do.