 When the 79-81 styling changed (front and rear fascia), James Garner was not pleased with the appearance and insisted the previous 1978 Firebirds remain throughout the remainder of the series.The turn which he performed throughout the show as well as most of the other driving stunts were his own and came to be known as the Rockford turn or J turn.Introduced in 1982, the wedge shaped Firebird was the first major redesign of the venerable pony car since 1970.