Two weeks went by before Larry called. They arranged to meet in a restaurant parking lot. "When I saw it come around the corner, I knew it was my car," Debbie recalled. "It was my dream car." After several purchase offers from men, Debby was the first woman to take interest-and she bought it.
Her new Sky Bird was immaculate and all original. A quick look down the window sticker also indicates that it included a bevy of options. It's believed that most Sky Birds came with the base Esprit V-6 engine, or the optional 301 or 305 Chevy. Debby's, however, came with the optional 350 (Y9), making 170 hp.
The VIN and a look under the hood indicates that it's a Pontiac powerplant. It's backed by a Turbo 350. The dash boasts a Rally cluster, AM/FM radio, air conditioning, a tilt steering wheel, and cruise control. Outside, body-side moldings protect the doors and fenders from common parking-lot damage and a rear spoiler adds some flare to the rear of the unassuming Esprit body. A 2.41 geared 10-bolt sans Safe-T-Track tries to deal with the power being sent to the rear.
Debby began to show the Sky Bird with her '69 Firebird and noticed that it was attracting a lot of attention. "It took Top GM Car at the Edgewater Muscle Car Show on October 12, 2008," Debby says. It has won several trophies at various events, but possibly the most prestigious was winning First Place in Class C at the Trans Am Nationals in 2008.
She's extremely proud of her new Pontiac and it's the perfect "cool-chick musclecar" for her. It's unrestored with just over 14,000 miles and is immaculately detailed by her and her good friend Michael Collins.
Mission Complete
Pontiac deliberately dared to build a car it would market directly to women. Dodge's La Femme was built from 1955 through 1956, after the company observed that women were beginning to take interest in automobiles. Though sales were low, the market was there, and Ford revisited the idea with the Mustang, however, there was never a package that was designed to tastefully lure women into the showroom like the Lady Birds.
Pontiac continued to offer the special Esprit packages through the '80 model year. The Sky Bird (W60) was carried over for the '78 model year; then the Red Bird (W68) replaced it in December 1977 and was built through '79, followed by the Yellow Bird (W73) for '80. According to Jim Mattison of PHS Automotive Services, 5,616 Sky Birds were produced for model-year '77. While that may sound like a relatively high number, not many people can say they've seen one of these blue beauties.
The cars are clearly marked...
The cars are clearly marked as "Sky Bird," two words, but some GM literature lists the car as one word, "Skybird."The cars are clearly marked as "Sky Bird," two words, but some GM literature lists the car as one word, "Skybird."
Sky Birds came with color-coordinated...
Sky Birds came with color-coordinated aluminum snowflake wheels.
Debby and her friend Michael...
Debby and her friend Michael Collins pose by her dream car.