“I think this is a problem akin to ‘what’s the worst movie?’ Like, yes Plan 9 or Manos are both utterly incompetent pieces of filmmaking that fail at every level, but they were also independent releases with shoestring budgets and nonprofessional . . . everything, and while they suck you can admire the sheer force of will it took to make these awful films. While say, any of the transformers movies are stuffed with a big name cast, amazing technical artists, huge budgets and yet they’re still unwatchably bad and at no time do you think, ‘I mean, it may be bad but it is cool to see someone’s vision come to life.’
So the Firebird is the big-budget failure. It’s the transformer series of cars — a soulless, joyless, cynical exercise designed only to separate fans from their money.
The Mitsuoka is Plan 9. It’s not got huge financial backing, it’s kinda one team’s vision and as such, you gotta admire the chutzpah it took to make it. Is it pretty? No. Is it good? Not at all. But one thing it’s not is a cynical cash grab. And that’s where it wins.”
— buckfiddious, Jalopnik (2021)
RE:SOURCES
- buckfiddious; 2021. Commentator in “The 2000 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Is Uglier Than The Mitsuoka Orochi. I Know What I Said.” Jalopnik. Posted 2:39 p.m., Nov. 5.
Add that to the list of GM’s worst of the ’00s which include the 2003-05 Saturn L Series facelift [the 74 AMC Matador sedan of the new century] , 03-05 Cavalier [an atrocity when the 95-02 was so clean and mini Camaro like in 2 door form], 03-? Sunfire [That front end is far worse than this Firebird’s actually ], Monte Carlo: half a**ed attempt at using styling cues from the 73 Monte Carlo, the Aztek speaks for itself, Canyon/Colorado trucks: like a cartoon version of a trim and neat S10.
For boring and anonymous: Turn of the century Cadillac DeVille. The CTS a riot of lines and angles and different just to be different. But better than the bland STS/Seville which looked like a blown up five door Chevrolet Corsica right down to the grille.
Then from other makes: the last Celica, Mitsubishi Montero. Prime styling atrocities from the era. Lots of lines going every which way gelling into parodies of cars.
The only Pontiac Firebird of this generation were the ones with the “Screaming Chicken” logo on the hood. Ranks right up there with Nissan’s Infiniti SUVs. Not just OOGLY !, but FOOGLY !!!!!