Man I'm diggin that NikiVee! Nice job!!! I'm sure that is the image Pontiac wants to move away from but I like it. It would be cool to see that same car with the dual hood scoops and a thirdgen lower fender vent.

 

^^ Build that, and I'll be tthe first in line with cash in hand, build just the Camaro, no sale, I'll keep my 4th gen T/A

 

Damn nice job

 

my first car was a '77 trans am with a T/A6.6.
build that photoshop with the '77-'78 nose and I would cancel my shelby order(just move the fender air extractor a bit higher).But,I don't see the firebird ever coming back,not with the ugly GTO still around.

 

I didn't read the second 2 pages of this post, but one on the first page had a great idea...at least in my book. Someone pointed out that that all of the cars in this segment are currently "retro" cars, so why not build the new Firebird/Trans Am as a more modern and evolutioinary car. I think that would make great sense. There are a lot of people who dont like all this retro hype and by catering to them with a current platform, I think they could really be onto something.

 

I own a 2000 Firebird Formula, and don't want the Firebird to come back with this Camaro concept.
GM will have a hard enough time bringing the Camaro back, and not totally screwing it up, let alone 2 pony cars. There's just no financial justification to bring back the bird at this time.

 

Look at my sig....

 

So there's no finacial justification for a Firebird?!?!, and I suppose GM is making money hand over fist by slapping a Saab badge on a Trailblazer, or a Pontiac badge on an Equinox, doubtful, so where's the finacial justification there ????
Plus the line of trying to avoid product duplication/overlap, would be easier to take if it weren't STILL happening

 

Ok, tell us....how many could be sold and how much would it cost to do? And why would people buy them?

 

Well considering the GTO has only around 12k units, I think 15-20k units would be do-able.
Price it like the Firebird has traditionally been, a bit higher than the Camaro ($20k base, going up to $38k for the top of the line Trans Am, with more content to justify the higher price)
And why would people buy it, same reason they buy a Camaro for the name, plus IMO a Firebird looks better

BTW That's not my photoshop, it's a guy on LS1tech S/N of TripleTransAm

 

Hey, I'd like to see another Firebird. A GTO too. While we're at it I wish we could have a Nova, Regal T-Type and 442. (hell, let's bring Oldsmobile back while we're at it), as well. The hard part is making a compelling business case for all that.

The current GTO was easy. It was already developed and in production. And still cost GM something like $50-$100 million to move the fuel tank and certify it for US sale. And like we said .....that one was easy.

How much would a new Firebird cost if based off of Camaro? Let's limit changes to new front and rear fascias, some other sheetmetal, interior, afew new wheels, etc. (basically a Camaro with a Pontiac styling package...not really what I'd want in a Firebird, BTW). How much for that? $200 million? $300 million? Your guess is as good as mine. And how many did you project they'd sell....15-20K? Hope they'd sell WAY more than that, for that kind of investment.

And where would this money come from? From other programs...that's where. And mostly from Camaro.

Firebird made sense when 100,000 Trans Ams, (that's Trans Am only...not Firebirds), were sold per year. It just doesn't make any business sense today....especially since it would cost lots money and do nothing more than cannibalize Camaro sales.

 

Not entirely true, I bought my T/A because I thought it was good looking and More Sporty. I considered a 99SS hugger orange for about a day, but knew I wouldn't be satisfied. Plus I don't want a car that everyone else has. If I didn't buy the T/A I would have went with a Mustang because of the huge aftermarket to Customize how I wished, even though alot of people have mustangs.

 

[QUOTE=Z284ever]
And where would this money come from? From other programs...that's where.
QUOTE]
Well considering in 02 the WS6 ALONE sold more units than the 05 GTO, I think what program to cut to get the money is a no brainer, kill the GTO and use that money to make a Firebird
Maybe you never manage to sell over 50k Firebirds, but if you manage to get 20k, you've doubled the sales compared to the GTO
The notion that the Firebird would canniblaize Camaro sales, I say so what, the money made still goes to GM corporate, what does it matter what division makes the sale

 

Personally, I think it makes more sense for Pontiac to have a GTO, (that is, a traditional 5 passenger GTO, which could compete directly with the Challenger), than to have a Firebird. But at any rate, there's no money to get from killing a GTO. GTO production will cease in 8 months - with an uncertain future.

Regarding "so what" if Firebird cannibalizes Camaro....well.......Camaro IS the program my man. Taking money away from Camaro to create a car which will cannibalize it -in both sales and developement money - is kinda stupid. And if Camaro is underfunded, sales will suffer, jeopardizing the entire program. Say goodbye to Firebird then as well.

From my perspective, Firebird died at the end of 1981 anyway...

 

Well I think anyone thinking a firebird will be back is dreaming. I know Scott and several others at GM said 2 or 3 years ago if the camaro came back the firebird was gone and would not be back and I will take his word. We lost the camaro because of poor sales and the firebird sold about 1/3rd as many as camaro then