ORIGINAL: Yankee
Well the original E-body Challenger was essentially based on a shortened B-body chassis...
But I have to agree that in the grand scheme of things that it probably wouldn't be a practical idea, all things considered.
As far as Pontiac is concerned, it seems to have been going thru a major identity crisis of epic proportions for the last few years, and it'll continue this way as long as Uncle Bob (Lutz) and the rest of the powers-that-be at GM continue to hamstring it. There is
tremendous demand for a new Firebird and it would be undoubtedly a huge hit... but it seems like anytime such an idea is brought up, Uncle Bob puts his hands over his ears and yells "LALALALALALALA!!!!!!" (picture Eddie Murphy's character in Beverly Hills Cop in that one locker room scene and you get the idea).
Lutz isn't perfect but honestly I would love to see him back at Chrysler again. He may be wrong on the Firebird, but at least he has managed to make Pontiac more diverse (what was the real difference between a Grand Prix and a Bonneville when they featured the same engines, same transmissions, and a similar size with similar interior yet the slightly more larger Bonneville cost about the same at the base model as the top of the line Grand Prix). The G6 is way better than the Grand Am, the G5 is equally lame as the Sunfire, the Solstice although not my kind of car does manage to compete in a market that the Big Three have managed to ignore until now, etc. Lutz has really improved Buick in actually having desirable interior and featuring updated exterior looks and taking a more updated approach to powering the cars. Chevrolet hasn't been in this good shape in having competitive products in decades by constantly benchmarking the Viper, making their truck interiors look like they were designed with actual thought instead of an after thought of tossed together pieces that you would expect from a truck during the 80s, having interior and powertrain offerings that are making the most anti-domestic magazines say that Toyota and Honda need to be aware of Chevrolet. Cadillac is finally being considered by people who eat at places besides Country Kitchen.
Lutz is wrong about the Firebird, but I think he has done more good than harm for GM and wish we could have his touch again on interiors and exteriors on some cars.