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2025 GMC Acadia Review9 Things You Didn’t Know About the Pontiac Firebird
You know the Firebird of Smokey & the Bandit and the Rockford Files, but here are a few things you might not know about this iconic Pontiac.
The Firebird Arises
The Pontiac Firebird was one of the few classic muscle cars to survive the turn away from the segment in the 1970s. Indeed, the Firebird’s popularity didn’t even peak until late in the decade with multiple movie and television tie-ins, including a particularly memorable turn as the hero car in Burt Reynold’s smash hit Smokey & the Bandit and six seasons on The Rockford Files. The Firebird survived through the ‘80s (with Knight Rider stoking attention yet again) and ‘90s and into the 21st century with its final, fourth generation. Despite its familiarity, here are some interesting facts about the Firebird you may not have encountered before.
Almost a Banshee
In the mid-1960s, John DeLorean and his team at Pontiac were hard at work developing a potential answer to the smash success Mustang. While sister-brand Chevy had their pony car, the Camaro, DeLorean wanted their Pontiac Banshee to not only compete with the emerging pony car sub-segment, but he also wanted to take on competing European GTs, which would nudge the new car perilously close to competing with the GM’s halo car, the Corvette. The Banshee indeed proved too fast and fashion forward for its own good and got the axe from GM management. All was not lost, however, as DeLorean and company were able to pivot to the Firebird, which hewed much more closely to the Mutang and Camaro.
Trans Am Premiered in 1969
The Trans Am Performance and Appearance Package was first offered for the Pontiac Firebird for the 1969 model year. All 697 cars were painted white with blue racing stripes and given the 400-cu.-in. V8, 55 of which were optioned with RAM AIR IV. The Trans Am also featured dual hood scoops, a rear spoiler, and an upgraded suspension. The Trans Am was offered as the Firebird’s top trim and catapulted to movie stardom a few years later in Smokey & the Bandit.
1969 Extended Production
Because of challenges for the next-generation 1970 model Firebird, Pontiac continued production of the 1969 model through the fall of that year and into February of 1970.
How the Firebird Got Its Decal
Despite its four generations and over thirty-year run, when you conjure up the Pontiac Fired in your head, you’re probably envisioning the third-generation version from Smoky & The Bandit in its black and gold with the giant firebird decal emblazoned across the hood. It turns out, the Firebird almost didn’t get its now iconic hood decal.
The firebird hood decal design was initially the work of designer Bill Porter who wanted a new version of the firebird for the car’s second generation. The first-gen version, taken from a Hopi Indian design, had been derided internally as the “sick chicken.” Porter’s updated version turned the wings upward, giving the firebird a phoenix-like aesthetic, and added feathers inspired by a Tiffany vase design. Porter had the design mocked up in the Pontiac paint shop. Design head Bill Mitchell just happened to pass by the shop and spy giant firebird decal. He did not like what he saw and swiftly put a call into Porter’s office to let him know with a few choice words.
The firebird decal was not on ice for long before Pontiac’s lead designer, John Schinella took up it up again. Schinella elaborated on Porter’s initial work, going so far as to mockup Schinella’s own Firebird with the decal and ride it down Detroit’s Woodward Avenue drag where it garnered praise from the public. Schinella went one step further and mocked up another car with not just the firebird decal but a black and gold paint job.
Where did he get the idea of a black and gold paint job? Bill Mitchell’s café racer Yamaha motorcycle, which itself was painted black and gold in honor of the John Player Special F1 team’s black and gold livery (courtesy of the cigarette pack’s colors). Schinella parked the newly painted black and gold Firebird, with its firebird decal, outside the office window next to Mitchell’s motorcycle. This time, when Mitchell saw the design, he loved it and allowed Porter to pitch it to Pontiac’s Chuck Jordan, who okayed it as an option for the 1973 model year.
1976 the Firebird Gets its Iconic Look
The 1976 model year was the first version to feature the black and gold paint job and the first year to feature T-tops. Of course, the car’s most iconic moment came that year with the release of Smokey & the Bandit. Even though the 1977 model, with its updated squared-off quad headlights, wasn’t in production yet, GM sent along the new front ends to the film’s production staff so the car on screen (technically a 1976) could have the new design, stoking more excitement for the upcoming ’77 model.
1979 Best-Selling Year for Firebird
That the 1979 model year proved to be the Firebird’s bestselling is both unsurprising and a little ironic. The Firebird’s popularity peaked in 1978/79 due in large part to its presence on television and the silver screen. The Rockford Files had made the car a mainstay of primetime throughout the mid- ‘70s and 1977’s Smokey & the Bandit made the car into an automotive movie icon. The 1979 model year in particular however is an ironic candidate considering Burt Reynolds drove a 1976 (mocked up to look like the upcoming ’77 model) and James Garner specifically halted the year-over-year updates to Jim Rockford’s Firebird Esprit with the 1978 model as he didn’t like the ’79 car’s updated grille design.
Despite not quite measuring up to the silver screen versions, the 1979 Pontiac Firebird sold 211,454 units that year, 117,109 of those being Trans Ams just like Burt Reynolds drove.
Most Powerful Engine
The Firebird got its share of powerful V8 motors over the years. The most potent of all was the optional RAM AIR IV version of 400 cu.-in. V8 offered in the 1969 and 1970 model years. The 400 V8 produced 345 horsepower and 430 lb.-ft. of torque.
Least Powerful Engine
Like the rest of the muscle car segment, the Pontiac Firebird suffered through the Malaise Era doldrums with a significant drop in output. While it retained V8 motors, they were significantly underpowered compared to previous years. Pontiac went so far as to add the infamous “Iron Duke” as a gas-sipping option for the third generation. The 2.5L (151 cu.-in.) four-cylinder made a mere 90 horsepower.
Origins of Firebird Name
You might guess that because Pontiac’s brand name traces to the Ottawa war chief and the original Firebird emblem was taken from a Hopi Indian design that the Firebird’s name had similar Native American origins. Instead, the mythos of a firebird or phoenix is of European origin and the first use of the name by GM dates back to a trio of turbine-powered concept cars from the 1950s, showcased at GM’s Motorama car shows.
