Pontiac Fierro: Whats so unique?

[PublicSecrecy]

I have a thingy due on Nov. 4th on the Pontiac Fierro. I need to know what used to be unique about it, why it was implmented/introduced and any other details. All information would be greatly appreciated as it is a b!tch finding info on this bloody car.

 

[skip0110]

.... as it is a b!tch finding info on this bloody car.

Possibly because you are not spelling it right? Pontiac Fiero.

 

[Duke]

It's mid-engine. Unheard of in an American car.
It's a two-seater. Unheard of in an American car.
It has a metal space frame and bolt-on plastic body panels, rather than unibody construction. People expected a ton of aftermarket body customizations, some of which happened, some of which didn't.
A Cadillac Northstar V8 fits in back... 'nuff said.
In absolutely typical GM fashion, they spent a bundle developing the car, then cancelled it immediately as soon as they got it right.

 

[McLaren]

Well, ^ he pretty much summed it up for me and you. As a matter of fact, I drive a Pontiac Fiero. Although I have thought of a Diablo bodykit, my checkbook can pay for it.

It's really not that bad of car. For me, its something I find fun to drive.

 

[PublicSecrecy]

Thanks a lot. And yes i realize i spelled it wrong but that was only on GTP...i knew it was a midengine rwd 2 seater but i didnt know it was unheard-of in an American car...i guess i never really compared to all the other American ones...

 

[eliseracer]

Although I have thought of a Diablo bodykit, my checkbook can pay for it.

Oh God, please don't...

 

[MistaX]

Whats so unique?

Kick the bumper, it blows up.
Theres more bodykits/replica kits avalible for it than any other car.
The base design was stolen from Toyota's MR2.

 

[Duke]

The base design was stolen from Toyota's MR2.

...only if you consider the MR2 to be a ripoff of the Fiat X19. It's not like Toyota invented the platform layout, or anything. To say the Fiero's base design was stolen from the MR2 is completely untrue.

 

[Firebird]

The suggestion that GM stole the Toyota MR2's design is even more laughable when you consider the Fiero debuted a year before the MR2....

 

[PublicSecrecy]

There was a yellow Fiat X19 parked in (edit) front of (edit) my house a couple weels ago. I just about **** my pants when i saw it.

 

[Omnis]

my mom had a fiero. badass car....mint too...but stupid dad traded it for a pos rustang that died a few years afterwards.

 

[MistaX]

The suggestion that GM stole the Toyota MR2's design is even more laughable when you consider the Fiero debuted a year before the MR2....

Not that year! That other MR2.
That MR2 came out in 84 or something. The Fiero came out after that.

 

[Firebird]

How 'bout... NO.

The Fiero debuted in 1984. The MR2 Mk I debuted in 1985. 1984<1985, therefore the Fiero came out first.

"That other MR2" you speak of must be the non-existant one that debuted before the Fiero.

 

[1X83Z]

"That other MR2" you speak of must be the non-existant one that debuted before the Fiero.

The Mk0.

There was an Mk0 Supra too, it came out in 1963.

The coolest was the Mk0 Ford Taurus, which debuted in 1979, long before there was even competition. Or demand.

 

[PublicSecrecy]

Wasnt there also an MR2 Group S? I seem to recall it being kind of edgy and AWD. ????????????

 

[McLaren]

Oh God, please don't...

I won't.


The best place to do it wants to much money. I'll give it a decade. Then I'll go out by the real deal.

Anyways, I think there was an issue were Pontiac was going to make the Fiero faster, but somehow the plan was cut.

 

[Ev0]

I'm just curious, but what were the production numbers like for the Fierro? And for what model years?

 

[wana b drifter]

It's mid-engine. Unheard of in an American car.

A Cadillac Northstar V8 fits in back... 'nuff said.
In absolutely typical GM fashion, they spent a bundle developing the car, then cancelled it immediately as soon as they got it right.

you can put a DOHC 3.4 or any GM V8 back there. They're a real ***** to work on though, you can't even reach the spark plugs on one side of the motor.

 

[kirkis9]

you can put a DOHC 3.4 or any GM V8 back there. They're a real ***** to work on though, you can't even reach the spark plugs on one side of the motor.

werd.
A good friend had one, and a bad AC too. We stood over the engine like dry humping it, arms fully extended into the depths, while another passed wrenches to my cramped hands from below. The bolting ensued with agonizing 10degree increments. I will never work on a fiero ever again. *shivers*

 

[skip0110]

....like dry humping it....

I knew someone with a Fiero (in my auto shop class) and I helped him put a system in it. Even a small system in that tiny car sounds big. But sitting behind the steering wheel, I felt cramped. And I'm only 5'7" and 135ish lbs.

 

[retsmah]

Wasnt there also an MR2 Group S? I seem to recall it being kind of edgy and AWD.

I don't know much about it... not much MR2 left in it, tube frame an V8, doesn't even look much like an MR2 anymore with what they did to the front.

The Fiero was an affordable mid engined sports car, there aren't too many of those around. We've got the Fiero, X1/9, MR2, then there is the 914 and Boxster, although I'm not sure how affordable those really are.

Unfortunatly as Neon mentioned it was cancelled when they got it sorted out.

 

[skip0110]

http://www.hotrodder.com/emarsh/
Look at this nut...he managed to fit a 406 Chev in there. WITH TUBULAR HEADERS.

This is engineering at it's best.

 

[Omnis]

moroso covers...is he a floridian by any chance?

 

[Duke]

you can put a DOHC 3.4 or any GM V8 back there. They're a real ***** to work on though, you can't even reach the spark plugs on one side of the motor.

Hell, on a stock V8 Camaro most folks just trade them in before they figure out how to change the back 4 plugs. That's the joy of modern cars - tight packaging.

 

[Gil]

The Fiero was a great concept. But it faltered a bit in practice.
By the time GM started putting the V-6 in the thing the die was cast and no one was buying the things.
Also, the car could not be towed under any circumstances. If it broke bad enough to need to be ferried to a garage it had to be loaded onto a flat-bed. Towing put too much stress on the spaceframe and ruined the car.
As duke said, the Fiero was not your typical sporty car of the '80s from an American manufacturer.
But, like the MR2, Pontiac took an established passenger car motor, and shoe-horned it into a modern sporty package.
It was originally concieved as a runabout or a commuter car. The base version with the 98HP 2.5 liter I-4 turned about 35 mpg on the highway. (Also unheard of in an American car of that era). The car only lasted 4 model years 1985-1988.
Its most auspicious showing, was the role several modified versions played in a very bad action movie, "Action Jackson" starring Carl Weathers.

 

[PublicSecrecy]

I saw the 1990 Playboy issue featuring Sharon Stone form action jackson...wtf?!