The Last Firebird
On sale at local used car lot was this 2002 Pontiac Firebird, the fourth-generation model.
The Firebird sport coupe, especially in Trans Am form, was the signature car of the Pontiac brand for over thirty years. Changes in tastes and GM's declining U.S. market share led Pontiac to cancel the car at the end of the 2002 model. So this is one of the last of them.
Any non-Trans Am Firebird in its final year (I think this was the Formula model) would likely be powered by a 3.8-liter V6 built by . . . Buick? Pontiac and Buick combined their sales outlets along with GMC Truck earlier in this decade, but the idea of a Buick engine in a Pontiac - even an enigne from a Grand National - seems sacrilegious.
The Firebird's cousin, the Camaro, may have returned, but the Firebird will not, as Pontiac itself will soon pass into history. :-(
The Last Firebird
On sale at local used car lot was this 2002 Pontiac Firebird, the fourth-generation model.
The Firebird sport coupe, especially in Trans Am form, was the signature car of the Pontiac brand for over thirty years. Changes in tastes and GM's declining U.S. market share led Pontiac to cancel the car at the end of the 2002 model. So this is one of the last of them.
Any non-Trans Am Firebird in its final year (I think this was the Formula model) would likely be powered by a 3.8-liter V6 built by . . . Buick? Pontiac and Buick combined their sales outlets along with GMC Truck earlier in this decade, but the idea of a Buick engine in a Pontiac - even an enigne from a Grand National - seems sacrilegious.
The Firebird's cousin, the Camaro, may have returned, but the Firebird will not, as Pontiac itself will soon pass into history. :-(