As Hagerty reported, Inouye made that claim in the 1979 book "The Fabulous Firebird," confirming the hood decal concept was put on hold for a couple of years after Mitchell gave it the kibosh.

The Firebird's hood logo was eventually a big part of the model's identity, but the design changed in subtle ways over its lifespan. By 1976, all Special, Anniversary, and pace car edition Trans ...

The base Firebird came with a 3.4-liter V6 good for 160 horsepower, while the Formula and Trans Am had the 275-horsepower, 5.7-liter LT1 V8 under the hood, paired with a six-speed manual as standard.