GTP Cool Wall - Pontiac Fiero

  • Thread starter Tornado
  • 70 comments
  • 17,020 views

Pontiac Fiero

  • Total voters
    71
  • Poll closed .
Tornado

Tornado

40,420
** 1984-1988 Pontiac Fiero suggested by Toronado **
fieroi2.jpg


Specs:
Engines - 2471cc OHV 8-valve I4 / 2837 OHV 12-valve V6
Layout - MR
Transmission - 3-speed automatic / 4-speed manual (1984, 1985) / 5-speed manual (1986-1988)
Power - 92 HP @ 4000 RPM / 140 HP @ 5200 RPM
Torque - 134 lb-ft @ 2800 RPM / 170 lb-ft @ 3600 RPM
Curb weight - 2590 lb / 2790 lb
Zero to 60 mph - 10.9 sec / 8.0 sec
Standing 1/4-mile - 17.7 sec @ 75 MPH / 15.5 sec @ 90 MPH
Price - $8,999 / $13,999
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This car has always seemed amazing to me. Similar to how the Typhoon was a performance package that was an epic struggle for the engineers to do, this entire model range must have led to some fierce fist fights. GM absolutely hated this car from the beginning it seems, not even allowing it the chance to be built unless it took nearly all of the drivetrain from other GM vehicles. They then rushed it out the door when it was built before the engineers could put the finishing touches on it (the engine fires and suspension problems), they kept pulling and decontenting the car in order to make the as cheap as possible to produce, and just when the engineers had perfected its early problems in 1988, GM pulled the plug entirely. All this despite strong sales and continuing improvements in the pipeline. There was even an internal concept for a 1990 model that GM never let out of the factory until 2003 which probably could have been a pretty good SW20 competitor.
To be frank, its hard to feel anything but sadness for the car considering how much it had to overcome to even be built, particularly considering how many nice ideas it had; and its sudden cancellation is the typical GM nonsense that we've all felt at some point in time. Sub-Zero simply for the anti-GMness of it all.
 
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Out of my 22 rules, 7 apply, 4 pros and 3 cons (with some piety) = 4 out of 7 = 57% = Uncool...by a little margin.

I just hate it, the car that has sparked the most cheap kit car conversions in the known world. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, if you cant afford a mid-engined super sports car then slap some bondo and some fiberglass panels onto your mid-engined...Fiero and wuzzah! Instant supercar...only it's not properly done most of the time, and it's still a just tiny bit faster than my mom's Fiat.

Ferrari_Enzo_Casero-1.jpg

Sorry Toronado :indiff:. Oh, and as Eric said the picture is of the interior (a seat) not of the car ;).
 
I laughed so hard at the (kitcar)picture. :lol: It's so true, and that makes it so much funnier.

It has too much baggage to be considered "Sub-Zero" for me, but can it be "Cool"? At least the people here were trying, and I think they deserve a lot of credit for that. Just look at the North American Toyota cars today. They are not trying very hard. :lol:
 
Toronado
Intentional pic was intentional. Speakers in the headrest = Win. But I suppose I should fix it. *sigh*
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:lol:. Yeah, they're win but many people vote for coolness based on how the car looks, and honestly the Fiero isn't ugly (although it isn't a master piece either) so it may net a couple of good votes for your nomination 👍.
 
Cool. Doesn't look that bad and 140BHP with MR is pretty cool. I heard that MR's have more exit speed than other drivetrain's, is that true?
 
Imitation sports car=Uncool.

The fact that most of the people I see driving them are either sporting a mullet or are a teen that want's a sports car but their parents wouldn't buy them a real one seals the deal.
 
As someone who's driven one of the later models with the 6cyl and a 4spd manual I have to say this car is subzero. Its just brilliant. And plus even if halfassed it was still a great idea from GM even though GM is and was rubbish.
 
I'm torn on this one...

On one hand, nice ideas, pioneering design for american cars of the time

On the other, its a wannabe...
 
I like the idea of these transversely-mounted mid-engine, 2 seat sports cars like the Fiero, MR2, Elise and my personal favourite the scraped, SHO powered GN34. The problem I’ve always had with the Fiero is that they took this concept and ruined it. How did they do this, U ask? The engines they used were just so underpowered. I voted cool but its just barely that.
 
Mid-engined, light, manual, catches fire, almost matches AW11 performance-wise and it's a Pontiac. Straight into Lord Kelvins icebox, Sub Zero.
 
Justin
Imitation sports car=Uncool.

The fact that most of the people I see driving them are either sporting a mullet or are a teen that want's a sports car but their parents wouldn't buy them a real one seals the deal.
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Wouldn't actually call it an imitation sportscar... as it actually is a sportscar (remember, the definition doesn't care how good of a car it is...)

Am flip-flopping on this one. Would love to make it subzero... just because it's GM actually doing something brave, and making a Pontiac that should have defined the brand in a positive way...

Maybe it did... maybe it didn't. And it's a mad idea that would never get greenlit in this day and age. Cool.

Hell. Subzero. Just because.
 
GM apparently hates this car, but still built it. That is a Sub-Zero to me.
 
Justin
Imitation sports car=Uncool.

The fact that most of the people I see driving them are either sporting a mullet or are a teen that want's a sports car but their parents wouldn't buy them a real one seals the deal.
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Add 50 year old teachers who are having a mid-life crisis to the list and I couldn't have said it better. 👍
 
I'm taking this one personnally, can not help it.

I never called it a sports car. It is more a car with sportive charecteristics.

Using one, I must say:
Pos:
* Feel when sitting in it (low sporty seats)
* Looks (debatable) but I think that the 1998 Pininfarina drawn GT is very good
* Confort, it actually has a lot of room for drive and passenger
* The US tries to make an affordable sporty car (yes that holds concessions)
* The US tried new terrain, mid-engine in a large production
* sound at least on the V6 engine

Neg:
* back tends to break out quickly
* stupid kits some people put on it
* not as fast as some common cars of that time (Golf GTI, Opel Kadett GSI 16v, ...)
* steering is a bit indirect and sensitive at high speeds
* breaking is not that fast

I've got one, I'm keeping it.
 
C-ZETA
Uncool. In some, if not most, ways it looks like a Nissan 300ZX.
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Do you mean the 300ZX that came out 2 years after the Fiero was restyled or the 300ZX that looks like every other car built in the 1980s?
 
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Speaking from personal experience.I got to drive a GT-V6 model once and I was fairly impressed with it's performance,overall good looks,handling.Not enough here to call it Sub-zero,so I will go with just cool.
 
From a brand that I don't like, I don't particularly think it looks very good (also too much like an MR2 which to me is a much better car), and even though it does have engine fires it's not very crazy.

Uncool.
 

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