In 1967 the Chevrolet Camaro debuted. Five months later came the Pontiac Firebird. The Firebird shared the same basic design as it's relative the Camaro only "Pontiac-ized". Different badging, of course, and a few front and rear end modifications. This held true with the Firebird until the very end of production for the two F-body muscle cars.
So there's no surprise that when the Chevrolet Camaro concept was announced that muscle car and Pontiac fanatics started screaming Firebird. It's only natural, right? Well, think again. The chances of a new Firebird are still alive, but they're on life support.
Pontiac is dubbed the "excitement" division for General Motors, so it's only fitting that the brand have it's own muscle car but inside the Pontiac camp it's a battle between re-introducing the iconic Firebird or going more towards the path they took with the new GTO in 2005. As it stands, the GTO is winning out.
General Motors feels as a whole that the days of simply re-badging a car and sharing the same platform across two brands are over, and even if a new Firebird was introduced it would be completely unique and nothing like the 2010 Camaro that we see today. As a muscle car fan, and a guy who yearns for the old days, that deeply disappoints me as I'm sure it does many others who have been hoping for Pontiac's version of the Camaro to surface.
Since I was a child growing up I've always had a soft spot in my heart for fast, good looking cars and the Camaro and especially the Firebird were two cars that I always told my friends I would one day own. I'm extremely psyched about the 2010 Camaro, don't get me wrong, but I've always just simply preferred the Firebird and Trans Am. Just call me a fan of the "Pontiac-ized" style.
So there's no surprise that when the Chevrolet Camaro concept was announced that muscle car and Pontiac fanatics started screaming Firebird. It's only natural, right? Well, think again. The chances of a new Firebird are still alive, but they're on life support.
Pontiac is dubbed the "excitement" division for General Motors, so it's only fitting that the brand have it's own muscle car but inside the Pontiac camp it's a battle between re-introducing the iconic Firebird or going more towards the path they took with the new GTO in 2005. As it stands, the GTO is winning out.
General Motors feels as a whole that the days of simply re-badging a car and sharing the same platform across two brands are over, and even if a new Firebird was introduced it would be completely unique and nothing like the 2010 Camaro that we see today. As a muscle car fan, and a guy who yearns for the old days, that deeply disappoints me as I'm sure it does many others who have been hoping for Pontiac's version of the Camaro to surface.
Since I was a child growing up I've always had a soft spot in my heart for fast, good looking cars and the Camaro and especially the Firebird were two cars that I always told my friends I would one day own. I'm extremely psyched about the 2010 Camaro, don't get me wrong, but I've always just simply preferred the Firebird and Trans Am. Just call me a fan of the "Pontiac-ized" style.
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