Yeah, Pontiac had some cool stuff.
I working from memory here,
But didn't they have the first transaxle in the eary Tempest? Which I believe had Independent rear suspension.
And somewhere along in the sixties they made the overhead cam in line 6.
I've never been a big Firebird fan. But the 60's Catalinas and Bonnevillles were pretty.
Alas, "The only thing constant is change."