In the mid-sixties the Pontiac Firebird was born. The Firebird has enjoyed a legacy spanning almost thirty years, and has been an American Icon the entire time. Evolution and the changes in technology and engineering has made the Firebird what it is today, a sleek, aggressive, street fighter with the engine to back up its looks. In 1993 the fourth generation Firebird was introduced, and it was the culmination of every Firebird that went before it. 285hp, 0-60 times under six seconds, under $25K, made it a worthy opponent, and back then it had plenty of others. With RX7s and 300ZXs waiting at stoplights, Stealths and 3000GTs hiding around the corners, and even Corvettes lurking in the shadows, the Firebird had its work cut out for it. All the above cars were the Firebirds competition, and they were all at least ten thousand dollars more... and of the five, two are dead (300ZX and RX7). The falling sales of high performance cars mixed with the trend towards SUVs has made the F-Body's future unsure. The average time it takes for a car company to design and build a mass production car is about two years. Car & Driver reported that GM hasn't given the green light on a fifth generation F-Body, and time is running out. How serious is the problem? I called Pontiac (1-800-2PONTIAC) and got in touch with Public Relations. They told me they had not heard anything about the lack of a replacement for the current model Firebird. So if Pontiac hasn't heard the supposed news, is it true? A lot of people apparently think so. If you go to the Save the F-Body website, there is a petition you can sign, with a quick summary of why you want to keep the F-Cars on the road. The list is rather long, and will eventually be showed to GM. One possibility is that it is just a rumor that GM is choosing not to deny. Perhaps facing the F-Body's death will boost its sales, and by not commenting the public is at the mercy of a "what-if" situation. There have been other rumors just like the current one. "Rear-Wheel Drive might not see a rebirth in the new F-Body" was a big one before 1993. "The V-8 is dead" was another. To be fair GM has really stuck to its guns about what makes the Firebird/Camaro so successful. Thirty years later and the Firebird still offers Ram Air, a 350 V-8 offering up to 320 Horsepower, a 2+2 configuration, rear-wheel drive, and sleek styling. If GM sticks to its guns while the SUV fad passes, then Firebirds will be eventually popular again. Although with me the Firebird will always be the tip of the Pontiac sword, and what car company could ask for a better flag-ship? So to answer the question of whether or not there will be a fifth generation Firebird, my opinion is yes.

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