Confirmed: SLP Firehawk G8 - Discuss
09-23-2008, 09:57 AM
#261
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I just got an email back from Pontiac...the at least SEEM interested in what we think...take the time to let them let know your opinion on the subject, good or bad.
cac@pontiac.com
1-800-222-1020
cac@pontiac.com
1-800-222-1020
-Gary
09-23-2008, 10:01 AM
#262
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Sorry Folks, as much as we would like to be working with Pontiac on this program - Pontiac has nothing to do with it nor any control over the program.
Regards,
David
09-23-2008, 10:09 AM
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09-23-2008, 10:45 AM
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To me it is a no brainer. SLP has a great history with performance vehicles and delivered so well with the Firehawk. Why Tarnish that? What do you have to loose by calling it anything else? I doubt the Firehawk community would be offended if you DIDN'T call it that.
You can make everyone happy and improve an already great car and just come up with a new name for a new vehicle; or you can anger a considerable crowd and part of your target audience with the Firehawk name.
Personally, if I had my say in SLP, I would rather not get on the bad side of any performance car enthusiasts. No matter how small of a percentage it is. Why loose any fans at all? Make the car, start a new legend, give it a new name and don't step on anyone's toes at all.
I have no doubt the car will be another great SLP performer. It would be a shame to see it have a bad rep before it is even released.
You can make everyone happy and improve an already great car and just come up with a new name for a new vehicle; or you can anger a considerable crowd and part of your target audience with the Firehawk name.
Personally, if I had my say in SLP, I would rather not get on the bad side of any performance car enthusiasts. No matter how small of a percentage it is. Why loose any fans at all? Make the car, start a new legend, give it a new name and don't step on anyone's toes at all.
I have no doubt the car will be another great SLP performer. It would be a shame to see it have a bad rep before it is even released.
09-23-2008, 10:46 AM
#268
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I'am not pleased about this like the majority. I would think people might buy the SLP/Firehawk G8 but if they do they'll probably take all the Firehawk emblems off of it, if they refuse to do up there own G8 with there own personal taste on the car.
09-23-2008, 11:00 AM
#269
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Carrying on the SLP-branding idea, I can think of many classy ways to incorporate the well-known SLP logo well with future ventures. It's a shame that this opportunity isn't taken - it could really breathe new life into the company.
09-23-2008, 11:21 AM
#270
I took a random sample from here at work and even asked my wife what they thought. One word came from all of them and most weren't car people. All of them said the same thing first: "Isn't a Firehawk supposed to be a Firebird?" None of them liked it. But I still wish SLP the best but I still think the Firehawk name being used is a mistake.
09-23-2008, 11:43 AM
#271
Let's face it, we are all getting upset over nothing. Just like what was stated, GM is hurting, they can't sell corvettes much less Pontiac G8's.
By the time this comes to fruition, who's to say that Pontiac (or GM since Dave says Pontiac has nothing to do with it) won't pull the plug on this or the G8. Hell, who's to say that Pontiac will be around in another 1-2 years.
I wouldn't be surprised to see GM consisting of Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, Saturn in a few years. You get your sports cars and sedans with chevy, GMC sells the trucks, Caddy gets the higher end market, and saturn gets the entry level market.
So SLP, get your money while you can, because you're jumping aboard a sinking ship that might not make it to port before they go under.
So we all could be getting upset because of what, 500-1000 cars being sold as G8 firehawks?
I wouldn't be surprised if we see the camaro for only 3-4 years as well before it get's axed a second time.
By the time this comes to fruition, who's to say that Pontiac (or GM since Dave says Pontiac has nothing to do with it) won't pull the plug on this or the G8. Hell, who's to say that Pontiac will be around in another 1-2 years.
I wouldn't be surprised to see GM consisting of Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, Saturn in a few years. You get your sports cars and sedans with chevy, GMC sells the trucks, Caddy gets the higher end market, and saturn gets the entry level market.
So SLP, get your money while you can, because you're jumping aboard a sinking ship that might not make it to port before they go under.
So we all could be getting upset because of what, 500-1000 cars being sold as G8 firehawks?
I wouldn't be surprised if we see the camaro for only 3-4 years as well before it get's axed a second time.
09-23-2008, 11:53 AM
#273
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So that means that the car can't be ordered like the former Firehawks were right? This will basically be a conversion like Regency or Western Hauler then? I'm also guessing that means the conversion will be done by an SLP approved installer in the area and not by SLP themselves.
09-23-2008, 11:58 AM
#274
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Funny you say that. I dont know if this was posted yet but I didn't want to read all 15 pages. Appears it is well know this club doesn't like this idea.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/22/s...bird-firehawk/
I for one like the idea as long as it stays on the high performance rear wheel drive American muscle vehicle such as the G8. If they make it a trend such as the Vibe Firehawk I would rather eat my own vomit. The name can be used as long as it has the power to back it. I just dont want to see the Chevy HHR "SS" kind of crap. This G8 Firehawk would be much more powerful than the Pontiac Firebird Firehawk so that sounds fair to me.
09-23-2008, 12:03 PM
#275
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So that means that the car can't be ordered like the former Firehawks were right? This will basically be a conversion like Regency or Western Hauler then? I'm also guessing that means the conversion will be done by an SLP approved installer in the area and not by SLP themselves.
I didn't say that - We are not yet ready to announce the order process procedure, when we are ready I will post the info.
Regards,
David
09-23-2008, 12:15 PM
#276
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I must have re written this reply 15 times but I don’t want to sound ignorant out of my anger. All I am going to say is this is a slap in the face to Firehawk owners. I don’t own one but am a die hard F body guy and I want to say sorry to you Firehawk guys. You were in a league of your own of owning a Firehawk but that’s going to be changed now
09-23-2008, 12:28 PM
#277
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what I posted on the Firehawk forum:
it's a freakin' 4 door family sedan for cryin' out loud. It just opens the door up to everything under the sun being named "Firehawk". Don't you think if they named it a G8 ZO6 the Vette guys would be up in arms? I have no issues with the Firehawk name plate being used on a car that it actually makes sense on. Not on a damn soccer mom's family sedan that will be used to pick up the kids at school, bring groceries home on the way home from church after picking up the family dog from grandma's house. If they are targeting the ///M series and AMG crowd with this car, naming it Firehawk will not help with that. The Firehawk (actually, fbody in general) was an in your face take no prisoners cross of a muscle car and sports car that most of the status quo didn't care for because it was so rough around the edges. I'm sure this is NOT the image GM/SLP wants with their G8.
09-23-2008, 12:30 PM
#278
Here's what a little searching found.... SLP filed for the Firehawk trademark back on August 13, 2008. There are a few other Firehawk trademarks, not just for SLP or Firestone.
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...ate=o7fug7.2.2
They are only the latest to file for that trademark. The oldest living trademark for "FIREHAWK" is owned by Firestone that they filed for back in 1984. http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...te=o7fug7.2.41
Here's all of them...
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...h=Submit+Query
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...ate=o7fug7.2.2
They are only the latest to file for that trademark. The oldest living trademark for "FIREHAWK" is owned by Firestone that they filed for back in 1984. http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...te=o7fug7.2.41
Here's all of them...
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...h=Submit+Query
09-23-2008, 12:36 PM
#279
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Here's what a little searching found.... SLP filed for the Firehawk trademark back on August 13, 2008. There are a few other Firehawk trademarks, not just for SLP or Firestone.
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...ate=o7fug7.2.2
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield...ate=o7fug7.2.2
There are other blanket copyrights out there that have had us covered for years, because we had to transfer Firehawk from SLP Engineering to Performance Parts, the mark had to be re-submitted.
Regards,
David
09-23-2008, 12:38 PM
#280
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Basing the project feedback solely on dealer interest is a bad move. Currently there are something like 3,000 new 2008 Corvettes still sitting on the dealer lots. Dealers had a lot of 'interest' in having Corvettes on the lot too. Now the 2009 Corvettes are showing up, and the 2008 cars haven't been sold. As we all know, the Corvette plant recently got closed for a while and they are now laying off workers there and slowing production rates.
The target buyer for this modified G8 would be the modified sedan buyer. 35-50 age range most likely. Someone who likes the appearance and performance of the regular V8 car, but wants something special. These guys do not want hood stripes and 1980's style "FIREHAWK" script logos on their cars. They want something with more than factory performance and aggressive visuals, but it should also be refined and expensive looking. This current idea looks to cheapen the appearance of the G8.
I'd rather buy a higher level G8 with some forged wheels, bigger brakes, nicer seating materials, supercharger, and some cosmetics in the currently popular carbon-fiber or brushed aluminum look. Something that looks as high class as an AMG or Brabus type build. Something that would kick the crap out of those euro cars, but look just as professional and respectable at the same time.
SLP is missing the opportunity to promote their own established company name. Instead of wasting time using "Firehawk" to promote a vehicle to a market who will probably shun the Firebird connotation completely and continue to call us mullet-boys. You could have called it simply the "SLP G8". Could have been a nice chrome or brushed logo that looked professional.
Brabus Mercedes
AMG Mercedes
RUF Porsche
M-Series BMW
RennTech Mercedes
Dinan BMW
Firehawk Pontiac????
No. Try:
SLP Pontiac
SLP Ford
SLP Dodge
etc...
The target buyer for this modified G8 would be the modified sedan buyer. 35-50 age range most likely. Someone who likes the appearance and performance of the regular V8 car, but wants something special. These guys do not want hood stripes and 1980's style "FIREHAWK" script logos on their cars. They want something with more than factory performance and aggressive visuals, but it should also be refined and expensive looking. This current idea looks to cheapen the appearance of the G8.
I'd rather buy a higher level G8 with some forged wheels, bigger brakes, nicer seating materials, supercharger, and some cosmetics in the currently popular carbon-fiber or brushed aluminum look. Something that looks as high class as an AMG or Brabus type build. Something that would kick the crap out of those euro cars, but look just as professional and respectable at the same time.
SLP is missing the opportunity to promote their own established company name. Instead of wasting time using "Firehawk" to promote a vehicle to a market who will probably shun the Firebird connotation completely and continue to call us mullet-boys. You could have called it simply the "SLP G8". Could have been a nice chrome or brushed logo that looked professional.
Brabus Mercedes
AMG Mercedes
RUF Porsche
M-Series BMW
RennTech Mercedes
Dinan BMW
Firehawk Pontiac????
No. Try:
SLP Pontiac
SLP Ford
SLP Dodge
etc...
I agree! Along the same lines of my post above.