Gone and Mainly Forgotten

[dgs49]

I blush to admit that in the magazine rack next to my favorite toilet at home I have allowed to remain a car magazine from 2003, one that gives pictures and short descriptions of the coming 2004 and 2005 cars, focusing on those that will be new and exciting.

The number of these cars that no longer exist - even the ones that were still ANTICIPATED in 2003 is absolutely amazing. A few examples:

The Dodge Magnum - the author was fantasizing about how nice a Hemi version of this car would be. It came and went.

Cadillac XLR and XLR-V. All bullshit aside, it was an excellent, world-class car that simply catered to a microscopic demographic.

Chrysler Crossfire - a pretty good car with nice mechanicals that simply never caught on.

Mercury Marauder - basically a Crown Vic with a Mustang GT drivetrain. Did they ever sell any of these? Its cousin from across town - the Impala SS - is still fairly fondly remembered.

Pontiac GTO. An excellent car at a good price that (ignoring the demise of Pontiac) failed simply because it did not have eye-catching looks. The even-better G8 was not even anticipated in 2003, and yet it has also come and gone.


I'm not remembering all of them. I'll check in later with some more examples.

[Jarlaxle]

The Mag's sibling, the Charger, is still around & aeems to be doing well. The Mag was dropped because Chrysler wanted the assembly line space for the Challenger.

[dgs49]

That seems to happen quite often. My recollection is that the Fiero was finally starting to live up to its promise when it was killed to make room for mini-van production.

I was passed by a Hemi-Magnum on the way to work today. I don't know exactly why, but I love that vehicle. 19" wheels, Hemi, blacked out windows...sheeeeeeeit.

[Crackpot]

THe Fiero was Nerfed Because of the Corvette

[dgs49]

Not sure I understand the logic.

The Fiero was inexpensive and powered by (in its most potent form) a 2.8L V6 with 125hp. The Corvette was in a whole different category. Fiberglass and two seats was the only thing in common. No one considering a Corvette would "settle for" a Fiero.

Do you have a source for that opinion, or is it just yours?

[Crackpot]

Powered as originally designed it would have been faster than the Corvette. (which is why you could easily drop a 350 in a vehicle that only came with a 4 or 6 cyl.) just one of many examples of GM shooting itself in the foot to protect one of its "halo" brands.

[Rick]

The Fiero was a mid engine that was plagued by problems it lacked power and handled poorly.

Everyone I knew that owned one wished thay had never purchased it and got rid of it as soon as they could.

They did have nice lines though...

[Jarlaxle]

Not sure I understand the logic.

The Fiero was inexpensive and powered by (in its most potent form) a 2.8L V6 with 125hp. The Corvette was in a whole different category. Fiberglass and two seats was the only thing in common. No one considering a Corvette would "settle for" a Fiero.

Do you have a source for that opinion, or is it just yours?

The Fiero was supposed to get a 200hp version of the DOHC "Quad 4" and/or a 3800 V6. Either would have made it a Corvette-beater.

[dgs49]

I am not an expert on car design, but I know I read that in '87 or '88 Pontiac made substantial changes to the front-end suspension, which elevated the handling from "Chevette" to "Corvette."

And the late model GT's were fantastic-looking cars. As I think most of us agree, the car wasn't killed because it was a bad car, but rather because GM wanted the production facility for something more profitable. The only chronic problem I am aware of (other than GM's mediocre quality overall) was the engine's overheating. I recall that the engine bays for late-model V6's were covered with reflective foil to help heat dissipation.

[Rick]

http://www.autozine.org/Archive/GM/classic/Fiero.html

Unquestionably, Fiero's beautiful design was a strong selling point, although you can say the same to most other mid-engined sports cars. In fact, its beauty successfully hid its shortcomings in dynamics and build quality and attracted some 137,000 customers in the first production year - that was more than the number of X1/9 Fiat sold in the first 6 years ! However, as the American fever cooled down and customers started facing the reality, they found the car poorer to drive than both its rivals and even poorer to own. A massive recall due to engine fire didn't help its reputation, too. As a result, sales dropped dramatically from the second production year and down to only 26,400 units in 1988. By then GM had no way but to pull the plug.

The biggest problem of Fiero was performance. At launch, it was powered by the poorest engine of the class, the 2.5-liter "Iron Duke" push-rod four-cylinder engine from GM's cheap sedans. It was heavy and reluctant to rev. It produced a miserable 92 horsepower at 4000 rpm, sounded noisy above 4500 rpm and needed 11 seconds to take the Fiero from 0-60 mph, partly due to the outdated 4-speed manual gearbox it paired with. This sounds two generations older than Toyota MR2, which was launched the same year in Japan. The little Toyota employed a twin-cam 16-valve 1.6 engine to produce 112 hp in Federalized form and push the lighter car from rest to 60 mph in merely 8.4 seconds (according to R&T's test). As for top speed, R&T measured only 103 mph for the Fiero, versus 121 mph for MR2. How could people satisfy with it ?

Perhaps more telling is Motor Trend's comparison test with Bertone X1/9 in 1984. In that review, the normally patriotic magazine criticized the handling of Fiero for being imprecise and difficult to drive. "Ultimately, driving the Fiero quickly, at least at full chat on a race course (let alone some unknown roads full of decreasing radii and capricious cambers), is a tiring and frustrating experience. Tiring because you have to work so hard at it, and frustrating because you know that with the proper tweaks from Pontiac in the form of aggressive suspension pieces and more power in the engine box, the Fiero should be able to fly. But as it stands now, we have a 12-year-old car (X1/9) outshining a thoroughly new entry in this area of handling feel and precision." So hurt !

Admittedly, since then Fiero improved year by year, especially the last 1988 model with new suspensions. However, that was too late to save its reputation. Frankly speaking, GM was wise to terminate the Fiero, because another great creation - even more so than MR2 - was just around the corner. That car would be known as the spiritual successor to the original Lotus Elan. It came from Mazda and was called MX-5 or Miata.

Now looking back, Pontiac Fiero cannot be described as a great car. However, it was the first American mid-engined production car and still the only one until today. This unique status earned it a place in our memory.

[dgs49]

1989 Pontiac Fiero


The never-built 1989 Fiero. This car has been seen at a few major shows, sparking much interest. With it's newly designed body breaking away from the earlier ones, it would have been a major hit. A lot of design influence is found in the Fourth generation Camaro/Firebird. Other engine packages were proposed, right up to a factory installed V8 that is rumored to have been seen at a test track. This particular model came equipped with a turbocharged V6 engine making 205HP. It would have been faster, quicker, better handling, and cheaper than the "flagship" Corvette. This is probably a large reason why the line was killed off (some of this has been confirmed by people talking to Hulki at the 20th anniversary reunion meet).

[Rick]

Yer defence of the Fiero is just obstinacy now, the reputation of the Fiero helped seal it's fate. It was a half hearted attempt that was outclassed at it inception.

But defend it if you must...

[Jarlaxle]

Actually, there WERE design mules with serious power...even one circa 1986 with a turbo V6, 5-speed transaxle, much-improved rear suspension, and larger brakes with ABS. (Think: Acura NSX level of performance.) It was ready for production; indeed, all the parts needed were already used in production models. The guys in Bowling Green found out & had a conniption...it was axed immediately & the test car was crushed.

AND the V8 Fiero was no rumor...they built at least two (one red, one blue) for testing.

[Rick]

Won't they be worth a couple bucks...

[Jarlaxle]

I saw pictures...but sadly, I think both were crushed. Neither went to GM's test mule auction a few years ago...though lots of cool stuff did! Saw a picture of the turbo V6 car at the GMPG museum...according to one of the guys there, on the high-speed loop, it was still pulling at 160MPH and ran a high-13-second 1/4 mile.

[dgs49]

Ode to a car I actually owned:

The Cadillac Cimarron was a good idea with good potential that GM simply fucked up. Though based on the lowly Cavalier, there is nothing unusual about a car company having sports or luxury cars in the showroom that are based on the same platform as a rather mundane model. Upgrade the trim, ,suspension, drivetrain, change some of the trim bits, and you go from a C220 to an AMG C32.

In any event, GM had a very capable 2.8L V6 in the parts bin, and could easily have utilized a Getrag 5-speed. With handling that was (for the day) a fair compromise between luxury and sport, it would have been at least in the same ballpark as the 4-cylinder 3-Series Beemers in the mid-80's. In fact the GM 2.8 was a very nice engine that propelled Camaro's around fairly well, and the Pontiac 6000STE.


But GM put some bullshit South American-built 1.8L 4 in it, and sold it (in practice) as a car for Doctors' wives. If you wanted a stick shift, they had some primitive 4-speed taken from a Chevette or something It was a crime. The popular joke about the Cim was that the only difference between the CImarron and a Cavalier was about $5,000.

I bought a used '87 with the 2.8 and a 4-speed auto. It was comfortable, handled well, had all the Cadillac goodies, and I bought it from a Pontiac dealer for just a couple thousand dollars even though it was in perfect shape. I kept it for several years and had only one problem - an intermittent (6 month) transaxle problem that was cured by a recall.

It bothers me that the car is remembered with such scorn. It was a decent car when optioned properly, and by the time they quit making it, it was as good as it should have been from the start. Corporate stupidity is all it was that killed it.

[dales]

[Econoline]

the only difference between the CImarron and a Cavalier was about $5,000.

Completely true. Actually, the Cavalier was also a decent car when properly optioned, and if all you wanted was a (just barely) decent car, either would do. On the used market, eventually the prices of the Cavalier, Firenza, Skyhawk, Sunbird and Cimarron all converged.

[Jarlaxle]

The Cavy and all its J-body siblings was dreadful. It did nothing well, and was a deathtrap to boot!