It's hard to believe that at one time, the beloved Firebird almost disappeared from the American automotive scene. Sales were not good and Pontiac was allowed one more chance before the car was dropped. A stroke of designing genius debuted an all new, extremely aggressive front end for the '77-78 model, and suddenly the Firebird was selling again. It also didn't hurt that the car was featured in one of the most popular films of the decade involving a race across America. The Firebird was prominently featured in the film and it won the hearts of muscle car fans everywhere. Once again, the Firebird was hot and it's been hot ever since. Firebird is one of the 1970s' signature muscle cars.