The Pontiac History - Designing A Legend

Rarely does an automobile gain legendary status, but Pontiac's Second-Gen Firebird has aptly earned that title. The body style ran for 12 consecutive years-a monumental feat for any vehicle, considering the direction of the mid-'70s performance car market and that the popularity of the performance-flagship Trans Am is as high today as it has ever been. While powerful engines and superb suspension packages have without doubt contributed to the vaunted status, arguably the most critical element to its success is the timeless body styling.

Though any number of Pontiac Studio designers and division engineers in some way contributed to its development, Pontiac Studio Design Chief William L. Porter is often credited with the visionary leadership that generated the graceful body shape. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Firebird's introduction, we asked Porter if he might share his views on the developmental history of the Second-Gen models, and his thoughts on its strong following today. Join us as we explore the details of the conception of America's '70s super car.

The Early DaysBill Porter entered General Motors' design staff in 1957 as a summer student before moving into a full-time position the following year. His first foray with Pontiac Studio came in 1960 as a junior designer, and he contributed to the design of a number of models over the following couple of years. As the decade progressed, Porter received promotions that took him away from Pontiac. He would return, however, in 1968 as that studio's design chief, and his contributions to the division would become legendary.

"Jack Humbert was chief designer of Pontiac Studio throughout most of the '60s, and he was responsible for the First-Gen Firebird," recalls Porter. "He was later promoted to an executive position and oversaw the Pontiac and Chevrolet Studios. That's when I was made chief designer, and he became my immediate boss. Though Jack had already started the second-generation car, the '69 Trans Am was just nearing production, and I helped finalize some of its fine details like the stripes and fender scoops."

Humbert and modeler Jerry Snyder had only begun sculpting the basic shape of the all-new car when Porter arrived. Of it, he says, "They started the 'clay buck'-a fullsize model constructed of clay and foam based roughly on the shape of the preliminary drawings. The body was very round, and I could see that it had the potential to be shaped like the Italian sports cars on the leading edge of modern design at that time. The basic proportions of the package were excellent to begin with, so the car had a lot going for it right away.

"Pontiac and Chevrolet had to share an upper design, which was basically the beltline upward. Henry 'Hank' Haga, Chevy's Design Chief of Studio 2, and I each had our own ideas for the final body shape. Hank favored the angular designs of renowned Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. I was taken with a plainer, curvaceous look featuring long, muscular shapes based on elliptical vocabulary like that of the E-type Jaguars, Lotus 11 and 16, and the designs of Italian coach-building company Pinan Farina."

Porter and Haga had created two distinctly different concepts from the same basic design, and GM Design management had to choose one common upper to be shared by both the Firebird and Camaro. "My lowerbody design had a softened crease, or 'bone' as we called it, that ran the length of the car, horizontally through the middle of the door. Hank's crease was sharper in character and located higher on the door than mine, and a similar crease appeared in his roof, just above the side windows," says Porter.