They’re talking about how car models are split into “generations” and which years belong to each one. This helps you understand what changed over time—like design and engine choices—without memorizing every single year.
The Pontiac Firebird is a classic American muscle/pony car. It came in different “generations,” meaning different model eras with different designs and options. The hosts are talking about how many eras there were and roughly which years they cover.
The Camaro is a Chevrolet muscle/pony car. In this segment, they’re talking about different generations—like the “second generation”—and how the newer eras (80s/90s) came after. They’re also comparing it to the Firebird.
Company
Chrysler Corps
They’re talking about the history of Chrysler—how the company formed and grew by buying other companies. It helps explain why multiple car brands ended up connected.
A “blower” is a device that forces more air into the engine. More air usually means more power, assuming the engine is built and tuned to handle it.
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Rose BB21: Nice Here's a picture or two, um, which it has the, uh, the mileage counter on the back of it, which looks like a bicycle wheel.
Rose BB21: Yeah, it's very cool. Uh, smokey's. Cool. We talked about Smokey last time, some of his cool tricks for getting around the rules, which then became harder rules. And of course it's nice to meet other people that really enjoy that. I mean, granted it's not few and far between. People love smokey best damn shop in town.
Rose BB21: Gina. Gina was like, seems totally shocked by your question,
Emily BB21: Hmm. Yeah. Yikes.
Rose BB21: he still did it. Yeah. Do you
by saying that I was ignoring it and means I wasn't ignoring it, doesn't it? So my question last week was. What are the generation and years like how many generations and what were the years of the Pontiac Firebird and there are four generations, Firebird Firebird, four generations. Uh, the first one was very short.
Rose BB21: taillight. I think it's cooler than the, than the back end of the Camaro.
Emily BB21: Yeah, that's too bad. Did he get paid for any of it?
Rose BB21: dad's got the beginning of the second gen Camaro, and so they're near and dear. He's got the 70 and a half Rs,
Emily BB21: Yeah.
yeah, they're just, they're getting older and you know, the new generation is coming up that's really in the eighties and nineties cars. And I love, you know, I wanted a second gen, but I couldn't afford one. Uh, maybe someday I'll have a second gen. That'd be great. They're bigger. Uh, but I really love my little, and I, you know, I love night rider, so I have the night rider generation.
Rose BB21: I do wish they had made a Firebird of the last Gen Camaro. The transformer Camaro.
Rose BB21: Yeah. Was it 12, 13, 0 9? I don't know.
Rose BB21: Yeah. Yeah. We, we know how it feels to be on the internet and no one care, deal. We do it every
Rose BB21: Eki. Minnick. M uh, he said WP Chrysler formed Chrysler Corps from Maxwell slash Chalmers. Acquired Dodge Bros. And Fargo created Plymouth and DeSoto. And then Jesse wrote in, uh, veggie tats. He must have a lot of vegetable tattoos. Um, he said, Maxwell Motor Company, question mark, like, I'm Ron Burgundy.
And what I have written down was that, um, it was, it was Maxwell Motors and that Walter Chrysler had worked for Alco, um, the American Locomotive Company in Pittsburgh. And he went on to GM, was kind of invi. He got the automotive bug in the twenties and went on. It was like invited to GM out of Alco. I mean, that's a big deal being an Alco.
Rose BB21: Uh. So anyway, he wanted to compete with every level and I had more notes on what level was what, but I don't have it memorized, so I'm not gonna sit here and
Emily BB21: you do love trains. Um, surprised you didn't know that.
Rose BB21: defense book Y Yeah. Uh, second time in a row. Written by the great and late Pat gal, bill gal's, father, maybe you know, bill from South City rot and custom. Most of us do. Um, and it's funny because my dad had given me my original copy of that book. When I told Bill about it, I said, you know, my dad was never gonna build a performance V six engine or build any engine or whatever.
Uh, I mean, just absolute legend, pat Gal. So like, it's just good to have the book. This version, the color on the cover is, uh, not quite as orange as the last one that I had. And I think on the one that I have, they blow up the image of the V six. There's a, I think there's a Buick V six here on the cover with a blower and they mm-hmm.
Emily BB21: Yeah.
About this episode
The hosts trade car trivia and personal stories, starting with Pontiac Firebird generation talk and comparing it to the Camaro—plus a wish that the last-gen Camaro had a Firebird variant. The conversation also revisits “Smokey” and his rule-bending tricks, noting how the rules got tougher. Between that, they field internet-style questions about Chrysler’s early corporate history (Maxwell/Chalmers, Dodge, Fargo, Plymouth/DeSoto) and connect it to the hosts’ train-loving background. The episode wraps around a shared appreciation for Pat Gal’s performance V6 book and its different cover editions.
