1971 Pontiac Firebird Reviews

It copped the chop this week when General Motors decided Pontiac, Hummer and Saab had to be sacrificed as part of a survival plan that is going to cost 20,000 jobs, 4000 dealerships and a couple of production lines.The last of the Aussie-made G8 sedans and utes will go to America some time next year, perhaps even earlier. Pontiac will be gone by December 2010.There is still a chance the Holden Commodore could continue as a major export for Australia.Whispers around Fishermans Bend point to a plan to keep the G8 program running by switching the Pontiac badge for a Chevrolet one. The ute would look great as a born-again El Camino.Even Industry Minister Senator Kim Carr can see the potential, but he is a man with rare vision on the motoring front.“There will be a place for Australian-made cars in the American market, whatever the badge. The Government is working closely with the industry to open new export opportunities,” he said this week.The G8 decision is a tough one but it was the only direct hit on GM Holden. White-collar layoffs are still likely as the company is “right-sized” for its future in the contracted GM world.And that proves Holden is doing a top job, as a company and as an international asset.Designers from Fishermans Bend do work for Europe, Asia and the US. Local engineers created the Chevrolet Camaro from the VE Commodore (it became a huge hit in America) and work on global projects and cars from South Korea.The list of Aussie exports runs from GM China boss Kevin Wale to ace designer Mike Simcoe in Detroit, sales chief Megan Stooke at Hummer and even a lawyer in India. There are dozens of them.It will take a while for Holden to adjust to the Pontiac decision but the best news on the production front is new boss Mark Reuss has fast-tracked the compact Cruze for the Adelaide factory.It is capable of taking up a lot of the slack from the second half of next year and is almost certain to go overseas as a new export star in Asia and South Africa.

This week its parent General Motors announced the termination of the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010. It also means the end of the Australian Pontiac export scheme where cars assembled in Adelaide were shipped to the US however Holden says it will not lead to local job cuts. Pontiac was a marquee brand for GM. However, the luxurious but gas-guzzling cars increasingly came to be seen as belonging to a bygone era. The Pontiac name comes from a proud American Indian warrior who led an unsuccessful uprising against the British shortly after the French and Indian War in the mid-18th century. Early on, the iconic brand was known for head-turners long on leg room but short on fuel economy like the Bonneville, Trans Am, Firebird, LeMans, Grand Am and Grand Prix. The first Pontiac car was built in 1926 and within a year it was one of the top selling US car brands. Pontiacs have frequently been honored as Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for their sleek styling, engineering and performance. They saw many reinventions over the years with one popular model, the Bonneville launched in the 1950s, aiming to offer speed and luxury in one vehicle. Later, the mid-sized GTO "muscle car" became a popular choice of street drag racer and stock car contests for its powerful engines in the 1960s and 1970s. But while Pontiac cars reached the pinnacle of popularity on its clever marketing and innovative styling, it faltered on fuel efficiency. Later the brand lost touch with its customer base, as it groped for a share of the lucrative family car market. Today Pontiacs comprise less than two percent of US car sales. Pontiac is not the only victim under the restructuring. GM also is looking to sell or phase out Saab, Saturn, and Hummer by the end of this year. Along the way Pontiacs have been the car stars of many movies and American TV series. One of the best known was Kitt, the auto star of the Knight Rider TV show, which was a 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am. In the movie Smokey and the Bandit, the bootlegger bandit played by Burt Reynolds used a Pontiac Trans Am to evade the law. Back in 1971 the car hero of The French Connection's famous car chase was a Pontiac Le Mans. Even the 1960s TV-created cult band the Monkees drove a Pontiac. An extreme make-over of a Pontiac GTO became the convertible `Monkeemobile.' Giles Chapman's book `TV Cars' reports that Pontiac was not happy with the makeover. "Pontiac was concerned its product had been made to look silly, but the cameras were already rolling before they could object." The car came to Australia as part of the Monkees 1968 tour before ending up in Puerto Rico. It is now restored in New York. Local Pontiac enthusiasts say they are sad to see the marque go. Club registrar of the NSW Pontiac club, Terry Bell, says the club has about 150 members, most of whom own Pontiacs. He says there are up to 460 members nationally. They have regular events including the recently-held nationals. Bell says the styling of the American muscle cars has won the brand popularity in Australia, even though few were imported by GM. "A lot of them have Firebirds from the late 70s up to the 80s." He says the mid-60s GTO was a star. "The GTO was the pinnacle of the Pontiacs because of its entry to muscle car market back in 1964. Bell says the writing was on the wall for Pontiac in the US. "I thought the Pontiacs might go with Oldsmobiles going. Pontiacs are a bit stale at the moment." Bell owns a 1966 Le Mans and a 1973 Trans-Am. "I've always liked the shape of the early ones." He says most of the Australian Pontiac owners are home mechanics who enjoy tuning and repairing their cars. "You can work on the early cars a lot better than the electronic, computerised newer ones." However, he says the demise of the brand won't harm local collectors.

The car was sent to death row yesterday as General Motors put the sword to the whole Pontiac brand in its efforts to survive the global economic crisis. Pontiac will be dead by the end of 2010 as GM focusses its revised viability program on four key brands in the USA - Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. There is no clear picture yet of how the G8 decision will affect Holden's factory at Elizabeth in South Australia, although its output had already been slashed in reaction to falling local sales of the Commodore and in anticipation of the Pontiac decision. "We will work with Pontiac to manage the phase-out of the G8 through to the end of next year. The announcement has only just occurred so we don’t know what their expectations might be, as the car is currently selling really well," GM Holden spokesman, Scott Whiffin, said this morning. "Notwithstanding the fact that this has only just been announced, we don’t envisage there will be any job losses at Elizabeth as a result of this decision." The bad news on the G8 was balanced by no news of any potential sale of GM Holden. General Motors has talked recently about selling its Opel and Vauxhall divisions in Europe and Britain - in addition to Saab and Hummer - but there was no mention of GM Holden when GM president Fritz Henderson worked through the latest viability plan in Detroit last night. The end of the G8 means GM Holden will shift its focus very quickly to the export potential of its new small car, the Cruze, which goes into production alongside the Commodore next year. The business plan for the car was originally only based on Australian sales but the car - and particularly the hatchback model - will now be pushed as a potential winner for GM outposts in other countries around Asia and also South Africa. It could also join the Commodore in the Middle East, where a version of the VE is sold with Chevrolet badges.

GM Holden's Elizabeth plant was due to start gearing up to build the Commodore-derived Pontiac G8 ST ute within months, with shipments due to start at the end of the year.

Instead of going for something wild or wacky - like Utenator or Kangaroo - it has quietly added it to the G8 family of imports with an ST name and badge.It also rejected the sentimental favourite, El Camino, after sifting through 18,000 entries in the 'Tame the Name' contest which followed the unveiling of the Americanised ute in the USA.“Frankly, we were blown away by both the volume and quality of the names that were submitted,” says Craig Bierley, Pontiac's product marketing director for cars and crossovers.“G8 ST was one of the most popular suggestions, plus we noticed a far broader trend toward simple, easy-to-remember names.”The reaction to the naming competition reflects the interest in the Aussie ute, which could become a huge winner as Americans downsize out of larger, gas-guzzler pickups in the Ford F150 class. It also shows the impact the Commodore has had since the start of exports as the Pontiac G8.Pontiac has taken months to announce the results of its name game as it had to clear each possibility for potential trademark use.It hints that El Camino - previously used on a Chevrolet pick-up - was the runner-up, but without admitting it.“We actually thought very long about El Camino. In the end, we felt it was more appropriate to honor the El Camino’s unique place as part of Chevy’s heritage and not use that nameplate on a Pontiac," says Bierley.The G8 ST will not go on sale until late next year, when it will be included in Pontiac's 2010 model lineup.Pontiac says prices and specifications will be confirmed closer to its arrival in showrooms but it will definitely only come with the Commodore's V8 engine, complete with a six-speed automatic gearbox and the Active Fuel Management system which Australians are still waiting to see in their Holdens. 

HOLDEN is expanding its American invasion with the Pontiac G8 now available for sale in Canada. Built at GM Holden's vehicle assembly plant in Elizabeth, South Australia, the Pontiac G8 features the same ride and handling as the Holden SS Commodore and is based on the rear-wheel-drive platform which GM Holden engineered for the global market. The move into Canada is the first for GM Holden and follows the release four months ago of the Pontiac G8 in the United States. GM Holden this year expects to export half of all vehicles manufactured in South Australia, to be driven on roads in the US, Canada, Middle East, Brazil, South Africa and the UK. GM of Canada communications manager Tony LaRocca said he expected the G8 to be popular. “We're particularly pleased with the high praise for the fun, yet fuel-efficient V6 model which will represent the majority of our volume.” In the US, the Pontiac G8 is one of the fastest-selling vehicles in the GM portfolio. Pontiac communication manager Jim Hopson said they had sold 6270 G8s since release. “Impressively, even in the face of record high fuel costs in the US market, the V8-powered G8 GT accounts for more than 70 per cent of those sales,” he said. “With the rapidly changing marketplace in the US, I wouldn't want to venture a guess as to volume for the entire year, but we've been very pleased by the performance of the G8 so far and our dealers still want more than we can deliver. “I can't really speak to the Canadian market, but I can tell you that the vehicle was highly anticipated by Canadian customers, who were always disappointed we were never able to market the Pontiac GTO in that country.” He said their customers viewed GM as a global company. “So the fact that the G8 is built in Australia is not really a surprise to them. “To those who specifically follow performance cars, Holden-built products are held in high regard. “Even though the Pontiac GTO (based on the VZ Monaro) was not as successful as we would have liked, the performance attributes of the car were never questioned and many of those GTO owners have been the first in line for the new G8, specifically because they knew Holden would be involved.” The G8 sedan is powered by a 3.6L DOHC V6 engine rated at 190kW and 335Nm of torque, built by Holden Engine Operations in Victoria. The G8 GT has a 6.0L small-block V8, rated at 268kW and 520Nm, with Active Fuel Management system, which increases fuel economy by alternating between eight and four cylinders. US Pontiac G8 product manager Brian Shipman said it was the “perfect performance package”. “The Pontiac G8 is currently the most powerful vehicle for the dollar in the US. It is faster 0-60mph (100km/h) than a BMW 5 series and has greater horsepower.”  

More than 18,000 eager Americans have joined the cheer squad for the Holden Commodore ute. They have each lodged an entry in a contest run by Pontiac to decide the American name for the Australian export hero. The ute tag used at home was rejected because it means nothing in the USA, where everyone talks about pick-ups. The VE ute was unveiled at the New York Auto Show earlier this year as the newest member of the Pontiac G8 family, joining the four-door sedan and perhaps pointing to a potential American expedition by the latest Commodore Sportwagon. It was displayed in the Big Apple wearing a simple Sport Truck tag. But Pontiac wanted something special for the work-and-play G8 and began a 'name the baby' contest. It has run for nearly two months and the result should be announced within a fortnight. "We were were overwhelmed by the more than 18,000 unique names submitted, and it's taking a bit longer than we anticipated to get through the trademarking process," Pontiac spokesperson, Debbie Frakes, told CARSguide. GM Holden is also waiting to hear the result, after originally hoping the Commodore ute would be taken up by Chevrolet as a born-again El Camino. It has yet to hear the result of the competition and is also waiting for the word from Pontiac.  

He is in form, has a strong car, and Ashley Madden believes he has the right stuff to win the Tassie Sixes Classic at Hobart International Speedway on Saturday night.The problem is, the same can be said for another 10 drivers in one of Tasmanian speedway's largest fields.Madden, 24, who won the Classic in 2004, goes into Saturday's stoush having won a feature race last time out.That makes him one of the favourites for the Tassie Sixes' biggest annual race outside the state championship.To claim the Classic again, Madden will have to deal with top local drivers such as Noel Russell, Dion Menzie, Marcus Cleary, Darren Graham and Dwayne Sonners.Russell is the driver Madden fears most.“He's a very hard man to beat, very consistent, a very good car, a good driver,” Madden said yesterday.Russell's XR6 Falcon has a power advantage over Madden's Pontiac GP with a Holden motor.“The Falcon engine is an alloy-headed, four-litre job. It puts out a few more kilowatts than the Holden engine,” Madden said.“We have worked tirelessly on tire and suspension set-up to try and go faster."“I'll definitely be a chance to win."“I have to make sure I qualify in the top 10 to have a realistic chance."“As long as I start up the front with the quick blokes, I'm fairly confident I can be at least a podium chance.”Each driver will contest two heats of 10 laps to decide grid positions for the 20-lap final.With an expected field of 25-plus, some drivers will miss the cut.“I enjoy the evenness of the class, no one has got a really huge advantage,” Madden said.“There's a great camaraderie between everyone, if someone needs a hand everyone is there, and we get to race all tracks round the state.”As well as the Tassie Sixes, sprint cars will feature in the final round of their state series. 

Music artist 50-Cent introduced the 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck at the New York Auto Show today, as well as other new Pontiacs, in New York. The sport truck combines the handling of a performance coupe with the cargo capabilities of a light truck. It provides both car-like fuel economy and a 0-to-60 time of 5.4 seconds. It can also carry a payload of more than 1,074 pounds. The sport truck is expected to arrive in dealer showrooms in late 2009.For more on the Pontiac Sport truck, read Kevin Hepworth's full story below..Australia's “working man's sportscar” has cracked the biggest new car market in the world with the announcement that a Holden Ute will be sold by Pontiac in the US.With General Motors already marketing the Commodore SS as the Pontiac G8, the news from New York that a ute will be added to the lineup from next year has sent local spirits soaring.“It's not every day that a manufacturer announces a vehicle that creates a whole new segment in a market, but with this, the first ute export to North America in the form of the G8 sport truck, it is exactly what Pontiac is doing,” GM Holden's chairman and managing director Mark Reuss, said.“The design, engineering and performance of the G8 sedan is already drawing praise from US media and Pontiac fans alike and we're confident that the sport truck and the GXP sedan will be as warmly received.”Speculation on a North American export opportunity for the Aussie Ute first surfaced at the Detroit Motor Show in 2002.GM product boss Bob Lutz, the man who later that year championed the Monaro into North America as the Pontiac GTO, suggested it as a replacement for the classic Chevrolet El Camino.That plan never eventuated but with the free trade agreement removing the 20 per cent tariff which had hindered the Ute previously GM decided to green-light the Pontiac program.“The FTA situation certainly made it viable,” GM Holden's John Lindsay said. “The numbers are not expected to be huge but it is great news for us.”The G8 sport truck is based off the new V8 SS Ute with a similar specification level and the same revised front styling treatment on the G8 sedan.Buick-Pontiac-GMC general manager, Jim Bunnell, said: “Pontiac has never shied away from offering segment-defining vehicles. There's simply nothing else like the G8 sport truck on the road today, and we definitely believe that there are customers who will be excited by its distinctive design, performance and cargo capabilities.”The sport truck will be officially unveiled at the New York Motor Show on Wednesday and sitting alongside it will be a fourth Holden model wearing a Pontiac badge.The new flagship, G8 GXP high performance sedan joins the G8 and G8 GT as Commodore-based Pontiacs.The GXP sedan, production of which will start in Adelaide later this year, and the sport truck due next year means Holden's Elizabeth plant will be producing 45 models off six variants.The G8 GXP utilises GM's new small-block LS3 6.2-litre V8 with 300kW and 546Nm. It will be the first Aussie-built Pontiac to offer both a six-speed manual and six-speed automatic gearbox. “Two countries separated by a common language”.It is unlikely that George Bernard Shaw was thinking of the classic Aussie Ute when he made his famous observation on America ... yet it is still relevant.To North Americans a Ute is an indigenous native, the people for which the state of Utah is named.That language barrier has prompted Pontiac to turn to the public in searching for a name for its new G8 sports truck, built off the Holden Ute and to be unveiled at the New York Motor Show on Wednesday.Pontiac has opened a website on which suggestions for a suitable name for the segment-busting new car can be lodged.Pontiac's marketing director, Craig Bierley, said the company was aware that the simple sport truck moniker did not fully describe the vehicle's ability to blur the lines between sports car and truck (the US description of any range of SUVs and pick-ups).  

Well, these two celebrity cars and many more will be auctioned at the renowned Barrett-Jackson classic car auction in the US.If the budget can stretch, each car is expected to fetch more than $500,000.The weird and wonderful Monkee-mobile was made famous in the hit 1960s television series The Monkees.The restored car is based on a 1966 Pontiac GTO and was modified into a convertible by US hotrod legend George Barris.If the Monkee-mobile does not appeal, Cooper, a noted car collector, is parting with his 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing customrecreation and there's also the original truck used in the Beverly Hillbillies TV series.Apart from the Monkee-mobile and Cooper's Mercedes, fans of the 1991 Oscar-winning film Thelma and Louise can bid for the original 1966 Ford Thunderbird used in the film.There's also a Hummer and trailer used on the 2006 movie Miami Vice and actor William Shatner's custom-painted 1995 Harley Davidson.Also up for grabs is the 1969 V8 Dodge Charger coupe, more commonly known as the General Lee car, from the television series Dukes of Hazzard.The Barrett-Jackson sale is billed as the world's greatest car-collector event.The televised six-day event starts 12, January 2008 and officials expect to sell more than 1000 cars.It comes only months after Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone auctioned his car collection.Once of Ecclestone's cars, a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K special roadster sold for almost $10 million.Apart from the celebrity cars, a host of muscle cars and classics, including Ford Mustangs and mint-condition Chevrolet Corvettes from 1954 to 2007, will go under the hammer.Barrett-Jackson will auction a vintage Shelby Mustang from each year performance legend Carroll Shelby produced his street-ripping 1960s classics.The highlight of the collection will be Shelby's personal 1969 GT500 convertible, followed by a pristine 1967 GT500 originally given by Shelby to his son Mike.