I've always been a Firebird fan. Up till about a year ago I owned a 1st gen Firebird. Camaro's never did anything for me.

 

See that's my point. There's obviously Firebird fans out there, so lets make sure that Pontiac and GM do not forget about the Firebird. Let them know there's still enthusiasts that want the Firebird back.

P.S I love 1st gen Birds. It's a shame you had to get rid of it. Beautiful car

 

Me too.

I thought I was doing that when I signed the petition on this site .

What else can we do?

 

What petition do you speak of? Is it the one for the Camaro at the top? Becuase if it is it pretty much only applies to the Camaro.

Us Firebird enthusiasts can send email much like the ones sent in for the Camaro. If enough get sent in, it will have to be documented and will get noticed by the higher ups at GM. Maybe that will get the ball rolling on a possible 5th gen 'Bird.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing a Firebird back over the Camaro, Gm was always worried about the Camaro becoming better than the Corvette. So instead of bringing back the camaro, bring back the Firebird. I've always wanted to see a L67 engine(GTP) in a RWD Firebird.
As for people saying the GTO is Pontiac's sports car, it's a sad sad day when that is considered a sports car. I hate the styling(it looks like a re- styled Grand Prix), the engine is mild at best for an LS1. The Grand Prix GTP (spend 60 bucks for a new pulley and a few hundred for an intercooler kit you have it running faster) runs as fast as the GTO. Then Pontiac has the new GXP with the Northstar in it.
The G6 is replacing the Grand Am, the G8 I believe is replacing the Grand Prix(I could be wrong on the G8). Besides after i get rid of my firebird, the closest I will get to a sports car will be a GTP or something like that.

Let's all face it, Ford is kicking Gm's @$$ and GM is screwing the pooch on the f-body issue!

 

I would be all over seeing a Firebird return to Pontiac. If there were a petition going, I would definetly sign it. However, I think many of the guys here make a good point. The Pontiac would need something to make it unique from the Camaro that its been living in the shadow of. A new engine would go a long way into solving this. I could see a base Firebird sharing that 3.9 v6 with the base Camaro, and the Formula sharing the base v8 with the RS. As far as the Trans Am goes though, I think it would be badass to see a Turbocharged six in the top dog Trans Am, making close to if not 400 hp. The engine from the Velite concept would more than suffice. Have some letters running down the side of the Bird reading "Turbo Trans Am," or something to that extent. All wheel drive would help differentiate it as well. It would be awesome if they took the time to tune the exhaust as well, to give it a badass note, as opposed to the farty sound I am sure everyone here is afraid it would sound like.

I know many of the guys on here would scoff at the idea, insisting the top model needs an 8, but I cannot honestly see GM investing the money into an engine independtly for the Bird, so I see this as the most reasonable alternative to letting the Firebird name fade away, which it will.

I think this car could fit in Pontiacs lineup, if it weren't for the fact that Pontiac seems to be trying to emulate BMW in its bland designs and names all derived from numbers. I like how GM is stepping up the quality of their cars, just not how they are directly copying some of their competition. It is alright to be American, and we don't need names like G6 or G8 to make cars sound high class. I fear that if we did get the Bird back, they would give it some stupid name like F6 or F8. gol10dr, you mentioned them replacing the Grand Prix with a stupid name like G8? I hope this is not the case, as the Grand Prix has much heritage, and I would hate to see it thrown away. I thought the Grand Prix was sticking around, and was going to be built on a RWD platform in the next few years, with an optional ls4 engine?

I know that if they made a car like a high hp Trans Am, even if it was a Turbo six, I would still buy one, as long as it was good looking and handling well. Obviously better styling than the GTO would be a must. I will have an ASE certification in a few years, just in time to buy a new Camaro when they are reintroduced, and if the z28 is the new top dog, I will own one. I think an AWD Turbo TA would make a great garage mate to that car.

 

The more and more it seems the new Camaro will be heavily retro flavored, the more and more I hope Pontiac sees that another great way to differentiate Firebird is to go with clean, modern styling...

Not trying ot reopen the retro thing, but clearly there are people who are not on board with this... with a modern Firebird, and a retro Camaro, you can claim buyers from both camps.

And with Mustang only coming in one flavor, a modern styled Firebird could be an even more powerful force.

 

Going back to the 3rd and 4th gen engine thing:

I dont think the engine in a Trans Am is any more a Chevy engine than a Z28's engine is a Pontiac engine.

For 20 years everyone has taken the Pontiac f-cars to be re-skinned Camaros with Chevy engines but in all reality one could say the Camaro is a re-skinned Firebird with a Pontiac motor. But I do feel it is for that reason alone that a firebird won't return any time soon. Blame the General for that one. 20 years worth of false identity. If it comes back (2 years or more after Camaro) it wil almost have to be significantly different. (level of powertrains, seating layout or platform, or all 3)

 

I won't buy a 5th gen unless it's a Firebird.

If I buy a Chevy, it's going to be a Vette.

 

I have to admit I'm one of those that are deeply saddened by the thought of no new Firebirds but I think I'm finally coming to terms with it. Who know's I may switch to the Camaro camp after 2007. Given the state of GM and the fact that there is no personality in the Pontiac ranks on the scale of RP, I really don't expect to see a new Firebird for a very long time - if ever.

One thing that came up repeatedly in this thread was engines and which division makes them and I want to comment. I've owned a Trans Am in one form or another since 1976 but the Pontiac motor wasn't what defined my allegiance to a Firebird over a Camaro. If you consider just horsepower, there was a steady decline in Pontiac iron throughout the 70's and the value of having the Pontiac name on a sticker on the air cleaner lid diminished.

From my vast library of useless Firebird information , the 455 in standard form went from 325hp in 1971 to just 200 in 1976. The SD455 peaked at 310 in '73 down to 290 in '74. By the end of 2nd gen production in 1981, the 301 Turbo was rated at 200hp.

After that, it's all Chevy motors except for the TTA which, by the way, was also used in the Buick Grand National. The question is, who developed that? Buick, Pontiac or Chevy? Or, maybe it's a GM Powertrain engine

So, I'll take an LT1, LS1, LS6 or LS2 any day in my modern day Firebird! Not to mention, a modern GM (a.k.a. Chevy) engine can get excellent gas mileage!

 

It's nice to see some others that feel like that. Not many super dedicated firebird nuts here.

Off-topicish: are you the same DR EVYL on LS2.com?

 

Yeah... I think I'm in that boat. I think the Camaro is infinitely better than any ricer, and most domestics, and I'd rank it among my top five favorites, but I've always favored the Firebird's styling over the Camaro's. The Camaro just seems too conservative for me.

Corvettes on the other hand ....

are way, way outta my price range... for now.

 

And the same Dr. Evyl from The House of Evyl

Yea, same one.

 

While I see your point, I don't think this is really true. The 305 and 350 engines used in the 3rd Gen. cars are classic Chevy small block through and through. I think an argument can be made that the LS1 cars share a "Corporate" engine (though it's still bears much more resemblance to a small block Chevy than the classic Pontiac V8) but the third gen motors are an evolution of the classic Chevy introduced in 1955.

 

Yeah, I doubt I'll buy a new Camaro when it comes out even though I do love it. It's just this whole lack of acknowledging what the Firebird meant to many depresses me. GM and Pontiac just about lost me as a customer with that decision. I might be in the minority on that, and they might not care, but considering I own a '97 Grand Prix GT and a '02 WS6 that's a guaranteed Pontiac sale if the had a fresh new 'Bird on the lots. Other than a CTS-V or Vette (if I can afford either one ) or any other potential cars in the pipeline, GM has lost me as a customer. That's how strongly I feel about the Firebird.