I understand these are very reliable cars, and that's Consumer Reports opinion in the 1980s/1990s! That's quite the endorsement considering how CR generally loathes anything American. So glad to know how much you love your Fiero! Enjoy it!!!!!
@@christineayres7094 a 3800sc fiero will change your mind, the supercharged buixk 3.8 is the "LS swap" for the fiero, its basically a grand national engine in a small 2 seater mid engine car bur with a supercharger instead of a turbo
@@raz_nick4048 That's good but a modern Civic Type R will go much faster for probably the same cost , 5.8 to 60mph and 170mph top speed ,who would have thought a Civic would be that fast years ago lol
Chris Ayres It wouldn’t be much faster. In fact it would be about even. The 3.8 SC in the 1100 lb heavier Grand Prix body does 0-60 in the mid to upper 6 sec range. 100 additional lbs adds 1/10 second. 1100 lbs less means subtract 1.1 secs (an eternity) from the 0-60 time. Methinks that with all that low end torque (something the Civic Type R lacks) the SC 3800 Fiero would be even quicker than that. With the mid-engine design, it would hook and go.
My stepdad bought me a slightly used 2000 mile Fiero in Like New condition in 1985. I was BLOWN AWAY by his generosity and love!!! I drove that car on countless Grateful Dead tours and it lasted for years. I finally totalled it in 92 with almost 200K on the clock. To this day it is still my favorite car ever.
Yeah, damn all that safety nonsense, it just makes the car heavy and the fuel mileage awful. If you don't want to die in a fender bender, then don't get in a fender bender, that's what I say.
@@isaakwelch3451 It actually is that easy. Cars are dramatically heavier than they were in the past - and because of that mileage goes down. The vast majority of all additional weight gains are related to safety standards.
@@davidp8627 Of course the Quad 4 would have been a much better choice than the Iron Duke, but the 2.8L HO V6 in the GT models satisfied most consumers that liked the Fiero but wanted more performance.
I remember reading about the rise and fall of the Fiero in a car magazine. GM accountants wanted a high gas mileage 2 seater commuter car, but customers wanted a miniature Corvette for a cheap price. So the early years were a constant compromise between what customers and engineers wanted, and what management and accountants would allow. They got it right the final year of production. Imagine if the engineers were allowed to build the car they wanted, with the Buick V6 and stiffer suspension.
I believe that certainly! It's actually amazing that something like this saw the light of day under Roger Smith's "leadership". I am so glad that John Davis had nothing but positive things to say about this car! I had an '87 Civic with no power steering, and it never bothered me. I just chose my parking spots more carefully.
GM accountants had nothing to do with it. It was Corvette team who whined & complained to GM management about threats coming from Fiero. So, GM use "accountants" to blame for shutting down Fiero. Accountants had nothing to do with GM's decision. Fiero's profit were excellent from 84 to 88. Fiero beat Corvette & MR2's sales by double. It was all a LIE to cover it up.
the fiero was never intended to be a high performance sports car or a sporty car, it was intended from the beginning to be an inexpensive 2-seat commuter that got good gas mileage and would fit in a small parking space, but the original concept became perverted and promoted as a sports car.... and the people who bought them beat them up just like they would beat up a sports car, except that the car wasn't designed to take that kind of abuse. the body structure which was a unibody covered with molded plastic body panels was designed for very fast, inexpensive mass production with the body panels covering up any flaws in the structure. chevette front suspension with citation front suspension relocated to the rear wasn't designed for good handling.. service instructions on how to properly bleed the air out of the engine's cooling system were not clear and as a result, lots of the 4-cylinder cars burned to the ground due to overheating.
B Brunson this with a turbo v6 like a 2.8 or 3.1 but it would have destroyed Corvette Chevy flagship sports car. Not going to ever happen no Chevy vehicle from factory will ever be as fast as a Corvette from factory never has never will be. Of course there have been a few cars produced that would run close to the vette from factory.
@@jdubskiwright2380 yea but they were destroyed pretty quickly by GM 🤷. Corvettes were designed for circuit tracks and top speed. But soon as these fast Buick grand national and those little S10 came out Corvette sales went down. Most people want to go fast for cheaply as possible and don't buy Corvettes to take on a circuit but a drag strip. That is why the new rear engine Corvette only came with 400ish hp they are trying to get Corvette sales and buyers to get geared for circuit driving which is what they were originally design for not drag strip.
The Fiero was really intriguing when it came out. There were a bunch around SoCal. It was part Fiat X1/9, part VW/Porsche 914, part Honda CRX. I never drove or rode in one. It was quite ambitious, but the CRX front drive and big hatchback just had better packaging and practicality for a sporty commuter car. The Fiero is appreciated much more now. 🏁
Unfortunately they left out the X1/9 luggage space (pretty strange if you think GM forced Pontiac to make it a "two seats commuter"). The Fiero was forcibly a second car.
@@derekj.tejeda267 the 84 wasn’t the best statistical wise but had the nicest look and had the damn headrest speakers which were gone after 85. I have an 84 and it’s my baby.
When this car was designed, Pontiac had a 1.8 OHC engine that would have fit, even with a 5 speed manual. They had a turbocharged version of the same engine as well and would have been perfect with performance and fuel economy. So GM chose a gutless heavy pushrod engine with an old 4 speed that was a leftover driveline from the citation. This car could have been something, but GM couldn't let a lick of possible excellence out to the public, at the time they were in total self destruction mode. Consider a couple years after this car came out Toyota sold the MR2 which was a similar platform and was vastly superior in every way. A much better fiero wouldn't have lost a single sale of a corvette, in fact it would have likely improved sales overall as it would give customers a good taste of performance the corvette would offer later. The later GT model did offer a lot of improvements, but too late for the car. Sad, it could have really been something, instead of just another example of broken promises and lost opportunities.
If you're talking about the 1.8 Brazilian made OHC they put in the J-cars, that thing was a complete turd. I had one in my very first car, and the poorly designed cooling system led to a cracked head before it hit 130k. Not only that but it was completely gutless. I wanna say 80 some HP, it was slow as molasses, and about as reliable as a head gasket on a Cadillac Northstar. Worst motor I've ever owned, and that's really saying something. I'd rather have the Iron Duke.
@@ketoninja Honestly I only came across a few of those engines, and they offered a turbocharged option with them and they seemed much better, especially with a 5 speed transmission, than the leftovers of the citation driveline that was garbage and more suitable for anchoring a boat. The 1.8 powered cars i worked on didn't seem any more gutless than anything else of the mid 80's coming through the shop. Have to say though, i didn't see them around for long. Then there was the quad 4 GM spent too many years developing and it was an oil leaking noisy turd too. GM by that time was basically pushing garbage. It was most telling that the employee parking of the GM plant in my city hardly had and GM cars in it.
A pretty good effort by Pontiac. There were some issues with engines catching fire but once that was corrected you had a car that was responsive, tight handling and clean shifting. I had one and loved it. I think the lack of power steering was an advantage because it added to the tight sense of the ride.
Pontiac teamed with Hall & Oates for the Fiero's release. There was a promo cassette with their greatest hits on it which featured both Daryl & John standing next to a bright red Fiero SE, & their Big Bam Boom tour of 1984-85 was sponsored by the Fiero. Fieros were also on display at their live concerts that year.
Remember that tour,wife & I big Hall & Oates fans.Gotta hand it to GM marketing they knew this car was very popular with chicks & gays as I saw whom was @ the concert.Even though both artists were straight,their music was very popular with the gay crowd as well as women.I drove a Celica,rode as a passenger in friends 85 Fiero was suitable for shorter smaller framed people not me.
@@dr.jamesolack8504:Got this in my inbox🤔Am gay Male never been in a Celica,Fiero or to a Hall&Oates show.Can give 2 flips about crappy Fieros.But to the other Louis out there I know plenty about the music business Hall&Oates has been popular with an enormously diverse demographic so he's spot on.👍With such a narrow mind glad your no Doc of mine🧐
The Fiero is a perfect example of what is wrong with GM. It's a beautiful little car but was released only about half baked. By the time GM finally got it right they killed it. I'm sorry to say it's been a few years since I've seen one of these, and that one was on I-40... sitting on the shoulder... on fire. :(
+Jeff DeWitt The V6 was not fire-prone. But that Iron Duke 4 cyl didn't hold enough oil but leaked plenty of it. I'd like to have one to play with now.
Spot on Jeff. When GM finally got the Fiero going in the right direction they dumped it like a hot rock. It seems like a gajillion were sold in Iowa, they seemed to be everywhere, then they were gone. I dunno but GM has always seemed to find a way to crap on Pontiac and a lot of good ideas. A 4-5 year product run was way to short. I would have loved to see what Pontiac could have done with another 5 years in development. A 93 Fiero with a supercharged 6 or small 8 would have been just stupid cool.
A performance version of the Fiero would have been nice, but it wasn't what the car was designed for. GM really had their heads up their butts in the 80s churning out turds from all the divisions that were really the same car, like the Citation.
My mom got one brand new at 16 as her first car back in 84. She had it 9 years, until the engine literally caught fire on the frwy. My dad, when they were dating put his entire savings into the car to rebuild the motor himself. Its a really sweet, loving story. Unfortunately though it got stolen 2 weeks after he finished it, and to this day it remains unfound. My mom loved that car.
I had a '85 Fiero GT... I can say honestly, having owned Corvettes, a Camaro, a BMW, a Mustang, a '05 GTO, some Cadillacs, a '72 Cutlass, a '84 Monte Carlo SS and more... that 1985 Fiero GT is the most fun to drive car I've ever owned - or driven. The '85 Fiero GT had no power steering or brakes but the thing didn't weigh that much so it wasn't an issue at low speed - but at any other speed it meant the steering was heavy (in a good way) and you felt everything (which is also good). The person who had it before me took off the catalytic converter - which I only found out after they started doing emissions here - and the muffler and put baffles on it, they also lowered the car, the thing was so low you could, without leaning over, sit in the drivers seat and touch the ground - so any bump in the road, speed bumps, etc - you had to take at an angle and very slowly. However - man - you could do anything in that car. You could be driving 90mph and just turn the car hard left and the thing wouldn't roll at all, it also wouldn't spin out, it would just skip sideways until the tires caught then take off like a rocket. On the road this was great since the car would constantly overheat, so if a red light was ever close and I was turning I'd gun it and hit the turn at around 60mph and there was zero drama, the car just went wherever you wanted it to go. The V6, with the emissions stuff all gone, performed quite well. It was by no means fast by todays standards, but you were sitting so low in the car it felt like dramatically faster than it was. Basically that 1985 Fiero GT was a go-kart, just a very very very fun to drive go-kart. Also so long as you only got into head-on accidents it was really safe - safer than a Lincoln Towncar if you got hit head-on. Now if you didn't get head on, let me tell you the doors were seemingly maybe 4 inches thick, if that, also if you got hit from behind you'd probably die as well - so the best beat in that car always was to not get in an accident and to use the cars amazing agility to make sure you didn't. Also my friend who was 6' 6" used to ride in it and that always made me laugh - to get an idea of how it looked go watch the movie Pain and Gain (which is a great movie) and look how ridiculous it is to see The Rock driving around in a Fiero.
It so happens I have an '87 Fiero that's still around 100,000 miles. Yes, it has the Iron Duke, but the understanding I have is that in 84-86 the Iron Duke was being used in experiments with aluminum in the block which led to cracking. They really did fix it too late, but the one I have is honestly an excellent cruiser car. It won't set any land-speed records, but that's not the point. It's a comfortable ride since I like more lounge seating in my cars (Contrasted with the upright seat in my CR-V I'm using for the winter.), it's an automatic, and it's pretty damn economical. I'd say it fits as a good cruiser vehicle for comfort on a budget as opposed to performance.
I'm loving the comments about the Fiero here! I always liked the Fiero, and it is good to hear what owners say about their experiences with these cars. I am seeing several "most fun car I owned" or similar responses.
I always liked the Pontiac Fiero, Toyota MR2. They were released almost at the same time. I never had the chance to drive a Fiero, but I had the chance to drive the MR2 and, I loved it. Small and lightweight car, mid engine, rwd, great!
So sad to see Pontiac gone today, I would have loved to see a new Firebird and a new Fiero, I think it would have easily sold in todays "cute" car market!
Thank Obama for that happening. The president had no business going into private enterprise and telling them what to do. And unfortunately, GM let him get away with it. I can't wait until this anti American leftist is out of office.
Obama turned the US around after Bush left it in shambles. Furthermore, GM screwed themselves by producing nothing but gas guzzling SUVs for 15 years. When gas prices rose to all time highs (under Bush) consumers demanded fuel efficient cars for which GM had none. With a huge inventory of gas guzzling SUVs that no one wanted to buy, GM had to make sacrifices to stay alive. Pontiac was one of them.
When I drive my Black 1986 Fiero GT, it's a driving experience. It gets a lot of looks, and people 40 and under always ask what it is. I can appreciate becoming engaged with going through the gears of the 4 speed manual transmission while creating the crackle of the exhaust when downshifting. The way the road feels inches below you as you carve the pavement feeling the feedback through the steering wheel. It won't throw you back hard. However, it loves to be thrown around a twisty road. Anyone who owns or owns one knows exactly what I mean. That old saying "don't knock it, till you try it" rings true for the Fiero.
When these first came out everyone either loved the design or wanted one, there was no "Fieros are ugly" talk. It was a nicely styled car in it's original form, they over did the GT with the wings & 2 tone paint jobs.
I owned a 1984 2M4 in 1988 as a 17 year old driving enthusiast. I had to laugh when the host said the handling wasn't twitchy and the car was almost unspinable. I spun mine twice on dry pavement and once in the wet. It would hydroplane across any standing water, and was undriveable in the snow. The Iron Dog 2.5 has to be one of the most uninspiring engines ever. At least it was coupled to an equally balky shift linkage. And just four years from new, the headliner was falling out and the plastic surround on the dash and center console was pulling away. The slave cylinder on the clutch gave out at 70k miles taking the clutch with it. What a nightmare putting a clutch in that beast! I still remember it fondly until I take the time to actually recall what it was like to own and drive. I don't know how MotorWeek released this video with a straight face - unless the rest of the early 1980's cars were just that bad! On the plus side, it looked cool and handled better than many of 1980's cars on tighter back roads (very quick turn in).
The V6 in the GT was a nearly perfect engine. It didn't have so much power that you could really get yourself in trouble, and the extra weight, in the middle of the car, made it stick to the road that much more. I had GT that had some light mods done to the exhaust and the HP was probably up to 150hp or so, and for some reason the guy lowered it, and I'll tell you, when your head is only a couple feet (at most) off the ground, 150hp feels really really fast.
TheSupradvr fair enough - but I almost died plenty of times in that car. Mainly when the accelerator stuck coming off the freeway. I was doing 60 and hit an off ramp and the car started to speed up, even with the brakes fully hit the thing was still speeding up. I had basically no time to react and took a hard 90 degree left turn at about 70-75 or so - luckily just hitting a green light. Anyways I then turned off the ignition once and drifted into a parking lot where I proceeded to beat the hell out of the engine with a wrench. Anywho it worked! The car ran mostly perfectly after that. But point was the car was nearly perfectly balanced at whatever has been done to my V6, which included removing the catalytic converter and mufflers and only running baffles and lowering the car. The thing stuck to the ground like a vacuum and felt like a go-kart. It was fun when it wasn’t trying to kill me - and that was only one time it tried to kill me.
These days, knowing what I now know, I would love to own a 1988 V6 5-speed example of the Fiero! The Fiero always was, especially in its final years, a very good-looking car. It had the look of a European exotic, and for 1988, it had the handling to match!
I bought the first silver one I saw and told my wife about it after I bought it. She was thrilled. We both liked the car, it did well for 1984, the steering was no problem, it was not heavy to either of us, and the handling was really good. I could get it to slide in the snow, but it was pretty balanced. It's interesting how performance has changed with cars now.
Yes, it's a miracle that that GM with its 'cut all costs at all costs' policy didn't kill itself before the 2008 crisis which it survived only because it got hundreds of millions dollars from US taxpayers.
The '88 GT was a fairly expensive car, and the entire point of the Fiero was to be a cheap, easy to drive sports car. The issue with the Fiero is that the idiots at GM killed it, and literally said there was no market for a small 2-seat sports car in America... then, almost at the same time, Mazda introduced the Miata.
@LAFOLLETTER I’ve owned 2 Corvette’s and a Fiero GT and they’re not even remotely similar cars or on the same category of cars. The GT was not a real performance car - it was very very fun to drive, but was more go-kart than sports car. It’s amazing the number of doors who will say GM killed everything from the Buick GNX to the Firebird Turbo and always say it was because GM was scared for the Corvette. Here’s a hint - GM wanted people buying cars like Fiero GTs because they knew as those people got older and richer they’d want a Vette. Bingo - it works. When I got older and richer I didn’t want another Fiero GT.
@@Viper81766 Until you hit around 100mph and the GNX ran out of gears - or if you tried to turn. I love the GNX, it's a great straight line 0-60 car and quarter mile car, outside of that it's just a Monte Carlo SS, which I also owned.
I was in high school then, and my brother brought it home one day, brand new, red. He was a welder making $450 a week. I got to drive it twice, picked up my high school sweetheart to lunch the first time, and took her to Prom the second and the last time. Bro crashed it in LA area one day and I never saw it again. Although it’s not my car, but I missed it for more than 40 years!
Have a 1986 M24, bought new. Factory box stock-survivor, except for interior, does not leak, burn, use oil. Original white. Been showing "TUPPY" since 2009, doing Route 66 Rallys, driven, almost, daily. Trophy winner at most shows "best in class 1970 & newer". Love it!! Not for sale. Best offer $15K.
GM had two grand opportunities to hit one out of the ballpark with the small 2-seater four-cylinder sport coupe market: first, the Pontiac Fiero in '84, then again in 2007-2010 with the GM Kappa platform (Saturn Sky / Opel GT / Pontiac Solstice). They came close with the Kappa, but it was too little, too late. Then the 2008 crash devastated the auto industry and it was all academic.
me3333 It's funny because Simpsons did it first. Season 4 Episode 11. "Bed goes up, bed goes down, bed goes up, bed goes down, bed goes up, bed goes down, bed goes up....."
I remember like it was yesterday September 12, 1984, my first new car. I was only 17, and my parents purchased the car for me but told me I would have to pay them back. I loved the car, but it was a piece of JUNK!!!!!! It sure does bring back a lot of memories watching this :)
I remember my buddy buying one of these around 1995. He paid like a grand for it, thought he got the best deal on earth. We were driving back from the used car lot and kept smelling something. I looked behind us and there was a glowing red halo burning through the center of the rear hood. We pulled over and popped it open, the carbeurator was on fire. Burned up the top of the intake, all the rubber, everything except the block itself. He bought it 'as is' so got stuck with it. I tired to bring levity to the situation by saying "well, 'Fiero' is Italian for 'Fire', so I guess you should have seen that coming."
Marvin Harrison Smith II these cars didn't come with carburetors, they were fuel injected. If that one had a carb on it , it was seriously screwed around with. Probably really messed up and that's why it was so cheap. Too bad.
This was my first car ever. A 1985 Fiero 2m4 5 speed. I learned to drive on it and I have the most amazing memories of it! It was a very strong running, fast and sporty car. One day I would love to buy one like that again and fix it up like new again.
A friend of mine had the '96 GT version and it was so sweet. I was a big GM hater at the time and tried my best to rag on it (I had a Civic Si) but the car looked great and the 2.8 V6 made some sexy noises and had so much torque that it felt way faster than it was.
i bought a 1984 red Fiero when I graduated high school...it NEVER gave me any trouble but then in 1986 when the [2M6] arrived I had to have it...it was black with silver underneath and that one lasted until we had our first child then it was bye bye .....but both were great (if underpowered) but neither gave me ANY problems...I miss those cars and that era too
As a 10 year old kid my jaw absolutely dropped seeing one of these in red in October of 1983! Dang! It looked so friggin' cool. The later more bulbous ones didn't so much.
I had one of these. It was an all around decent little car, though the whine from the timing gears was ever-present behind your head. He was right about the heavy steering, but you got used to it very quickly. The thing that sticks with me the most, is how comfy it was on the highway. The car had tons of foot room, and I could stretch my legs.
I remember my supervisor buying a 2m6 and thought it was the coolest car ever in canary yellow! He'd never let me drive it, but he did let me drive his brothers Shadow ES Turbo. Cool cars from back in the day!
86 was a great year! My mom picked me up in her brand new red Fiero and my HS friends called it rad and gnarly! they thought it was a Ferrari as no one had seen one and there was no Internet. I also found my dad's Debbie does Dallas on Betamax! I also got the GI Joe Aircraft Carrier for Christmas! Great times!
Remember driving one. The driver's position was awkward at best. The middle console sat high and you couldn't really rest your arm on it when driving. Steering was hard. Power, well if you could call it that 😉
The only way pontiac got approval to build the fiero was by marketing it as an economical commuter car instead of a sports car as GM felt it would threaten corvettes position at the top of the performance hierarchy. When they convinced the execs they got a limited budget which only allowed parts bin engineering: T car cheap front suspension, X car wheezy transaxle etc
Seen a man get crush in one of these under back tandem wheels on semi truck. Fireman held his hand when he took last breath while they were trying to cut out. Nice coffin! Corvette not much bigger today. Thing haven't change in 30 years!
had mine since 1990. Now has 230k on original engine and trans and still gets raced at the weatherly hillclimb, got semi retired when I got a Miata. Still love driving it and always gets comments
One of the funnest cars I ever drove it was more like a go cart than a car & those speakers in the headrests in the Fiero cabin sounded better than the bose equipped corvettes!
I have had a 86 2m6 SE since 1990 I love this little car I put in a larger Holley throttle body a few other minor engine tweaks and KYB aotomatic adjustable gas strut's and shocks wider tires on the rear the cars handling and performance are actually very good I always thought GM was afraid the car could have threatened Corvette sales. Still a fun and comfortable ride.
1987 Fiero - paid $10.5k new..fun car. Had it for 6 years, had to replace the fuel pump but other than that no problems. I was visiting New York in 1990 and was rear ended on the Cross Bronx Expressway by a Sterling sedan, his front grille was badly damaged. My rear bumper had black rubber marks that buffed out, no damage. Here’s to plastic bumpers👍
I loved the 2.5 iron duke four! quick for the day, fun to drive and at least 35 mpg a total winner in my book. Blew the head gasket with a crappy T.B.I. water fitting...bummer.
My mom's first brand new car was an 86 Fiero it was a great little car she had it almost 20 years and only had to replace a clutch, that little 4 banger ran like a champ, I learned how to drive stick in that car going up and down the driveway at 12-13 good times.
My moms new car was a silver SE 84. When my parents were first dating the engine caught fire and he completely rebuilt it. The car was stolen after her owning it for 9 years. We found an exact replica in 2015 and it’s amazing. It is slow but has so much character and the handling is superb. I love it so much. I also have an Alfa Romeo stelvio and I love the fiero more. It’s my baby.
I have always wanted one of these since they first came out. They screwed up a lot of the engineering on them, so I'd have to fix that. It would end up being a 10 year project to get the car I want, but it's just so damned beautiful.
When this came out, after a two-seater drought, I was desperate for one. I went to the Pontiac store and drove it. There was some hitch in the clutch or shift that rubbed me wrong, and after the dealership tried to screw me over, I changed my mind. A little while later, the MR2 came out and I loved it and did whatever I had to to get one. Two years later, I traded for the Targa top and kept that one for twelve years.
'The Fiero is heavy' LOL... I had several of these. They were cheap, easy to get, and still a big bang for your buck. Really, everything was great except for the brakes and suspension because all the parts were rebuilt and trash. The v6 got better mileage than the 4 which was funny. The 4speed muncie shifted pretty good. I never had a Getrag. You could just about fit this car in your pocket and the difference between the GT and the SE was so profound. The SE was a fantastic snow car. The GT couldn't get out in 2 inches of snow. I miss the days when car companies took major risks making the future.
My brother bought a GT Fiero and had this cute little red 84 red stick he just gave me. Car was fantastic and I used to deliver pizzas in it. It met its end one day when a girl ran a stop light and broadsided me on the drivers side. Very sturdy car I actually drove away from the accident and her car was totaled and had to be towed. The was the last of the car because the accident destroyed the body and twisted the front end a bit.
A friend of mine had one of these in high school. I recall the car being attractive but the actual performance falling short of Pontiac’s “We Build Excitement” tag line of the time.
This is based on a modified Chevy chevette chassis. Handling was great if you understood physics. Overheating was a problem if you didn't maintain car Cooling sys, budget mini pocket rocket , but Toyota's MR2 more sucessful platform lasted better than most , mid car types in the day.
I had an '84 Fiero, with the performance gearing. It lacked headroom, then it threw the belt, overheated, cracked the block in the usual spot. I swapped in a 350 SBC V8, and broke the transaxle. I bought the 6-speed from an '06 G6 GT V6, then lost my job and sold the trans to fieroguru of fieroguruperformance, who is still driving it.
I had this car from 1984 until I sold it in the late 1990's. It didn't corner as well as they claim although it was okay, it got AWFUL mileage, weighed 2900 lbs (not 2590), had heavy steering, indifferent brakes and it took forever to get to 60 mph. I had the 4 sp. manual. LOTS of quality control issues too. But I liked the looks and parking in Chicago was easy as it was small, so I kept it until I could afford a real sports car..
I inherited an 84 Fiero from my sister after getting my first job and it was so much fun to drive. I thought I was James Bond driving 😂. It’s true though, it turned wide and hard to get out of parallel parking. Low speed steering was so heavy! But on the highway it was perfect.
Early 80's GM Brass..I can only imagine. Smoked cigars, took multiple 45 minute shits a day, ate 2.5lbs of red meat daily washed down with scotch, thought "Oriental" cars were for lightweights, most named "Roger" or "Bill"
Bought an 88 Fiero and love it!! Turns heads and younger ppl have no idea that Pontiac made a rear engine car!! Paid $1500 and worth every penny!!
I understand these are very reliable cars, and that's Consumer Reports opinion in the 1980s/1990s! That's quite the endorsement considering how CR generally loathes anything American. So glad to know how much you love your Fiero! Enjoy it!!!!!
Beautiful car just a shame GM put such a slow engine in such a nice car
@@christineayres7094 a 3800sc fiero will change your mind, the supercharged buixk 3.8 is the "LS swap" for the fiero, its basically a grand national engine in a small 2 seater mid engine car bur with a supercharger instead of a turbo
@@raz_nick4048 That's good but a modern Civic Type R will go much faster for probably the same cost , 5.8 to 60mph and 170mph top speed ,who would have thought a Civic would be that fast years ago lol
Chris Ayres It wouldn’t be much faster. In fact it would be about even. The 3.8 SC in the 1100 lb heavier Grand Prix body does 0-60 in the mid to upper 6 sec range. 100 additional lbs adds 1/10 second. 1100 lbs less means subtract 1.1 secs (an eternity) from the 0-60 time. Methinks that with all that low end torque (something the Civic Type R lacks) the SC 3800 Fiero would be even quicker than that. With the mid-engine design, it would hook and go.
My stepdad bought me a slightly used 2000 mile Fiero in Like New condition in 1985. I was BLOWN AWAY by his generosity and love!!! I drove that car on countless Grateful Dead tours and it lasted for years. I finally totalled it in 92 with almost 200K on the clock. To this day it is still my favorite car ever.
+creekhed1 Get another one man. I had 8 once, now I am down to 4. I started the FAAUSFA. Find us on FB.
creekhed1 my mom had one it was her first car
jerry calvert get the gt
200k in 7 years?? damn you drove it a lot!
creekhed1 still have mine, bought new 86 se v6 man tranny. 236000 thou.. still going
Ya gotta love the 80's when 2500lbs was considered "heavy"
+paradoxdesigns he meant in a the context that it was heavy for just that 92 bhp motor
Yeah, damn all that safety nonsense, it just makes the car heavy and the fuel mileage awful. If you don't want to die in a fender bender, then don't get in a fender bender, that's what I say.
@@rodmunch69 As if it's that easy.
@@isaakwelch3451 It actually is that easy. Cars are dramatically heavier than they were in the past - and because of that mileage goes down. The vast majority of all additional weight gains are related to safety standards.
@@rodmunch69 That's not what I meant. Very few choose to get in accidents.
One of the most under appreciated cars of all time.
It would have been more appreciated if GM used the Quad 4 instead of the POS "Iron Duke" 2.5 that should be called the Iron Dookie.
@@davidp8627 Of course the Quad 4 would have been a much better choice than the Iron Duke, but the 2.8L HO V6 in the GT models satisfied most consumers that liked the Fiero but wanted more performance.
Piece of shit cars
'84
0-60 / 11 sec ..,92hp! !!!
no doubt!!!
nigel mahabir sourpuss
I bought my 1988 Fiero GT in late 1987. I still have and I still love it as much as I did on the day I picked it up.
The 6 cyl manual was no joke I’d love to have a later model v6 Fiero
I remember reading about the rise and fall of the Fiero in a car magazine. GM accountants wanted a high gas mileage 2 seater commuter car, but customers wanted a miniature Corvette for a cheap price. So the early years were a constant compromise between what customers and engineers wanted, and what management and accountants would allow. They got it right the final year of production.
Imagine if the engineers were allowed to build the car they wanted, with the Buick V6 and stiffer suspension.
Hell, they could have just put in the 150 hp 1.8 OHC turbo from the Sunbird GT and it would have been fine.
Off the shelf production on chassis and power plant stuffing in chassis a good engineering accomplishment.
I believe that certainly! It's actually amazing that something like this saw the light of day under Roger Smith's "leadership". I am so glad that John Davis had nothing but positive things to say about this car! I had an '87 Civic with no power steering, and it never bothered me. I just chose my parking spots more carefully.
GM accountants had nothing to do with it. It was Corvette team who whined & complained to GM management about threats coming from Fiero. So, GM use "accountants" to blame for shutting down Fiero. Accountants had nothing to do with GM's decision.
Fiero's profit were excellent from 84 to 88. Fiero beat Corvette & MR2's sales by double. It was all a LIE to cover it up.
the fiero was never intended to be a high performance sports car or a sporty car, it was intended from the beginning to be an inexpensive 2-seat commuter that got good gas mileage and would fit in a small parking space, but the original concept became perverted and promoted as a sports car.... and the people who bought them beat them up just like they would beat up a sports car, except that the car wasn't designed to take that kind of abuse. the body structure which was a unibody covered with molded plastic body panels was designed for very fast, inexpensive mass production with the body panels covering up any flaws in the structure. chevette front suspension with citation front suspension relocated to the rear wasn't designed for good handling.. service instructions on how to properly bleed the air out of the engine's cooling system were not clear and as a result, lots of the 4-cylinder cars burned to the ground due to overheating.
It still looks modern today (in my view). Certainly a car in my top 10 of most beautiful cars during my lifetime.
I bet the F1 Mclaren is on your list.
I was a Pontiac representative when it was released. Dealers were selling them while still on the transport. It was a fun time for Pontiac!
B Brunson this with a turbo v6 like a 2.8 or 3.1 but it would have destroyed Corvette Chevy flagship sports car. Not going to ever happen no Chevy vehicle from factory will ever be as fast as a Corvette from factory never has never will be. Of course there have been a few cars produced that would run close to the vette from factory.
@@spankthemonkey3437 theres been a few cars that had better 0-60 times..I believe the cyclone s10 was one of them..only 0-60 tho. Not top speed
@@jdubskiwright2380 yea but they were destroyed pretty quickly by GM 🤷. Corvettes were designed for circuit tracks and top speed. But soon as these fast Buick grand national and those little S10 came out Corvette sales went down. Most people want to go fast for cheaply as possible and don't buy Corvettes to take on a circuit but a drag strip. That is why the new rear engine Corvette only came with 400ish hp they are trying to get Corvette sales and buyers to get geared for circuit driving which is what they were originally design for not drag strip.
The Fiero was really intriguing when it came out. There were a bunch around SoCal. It was part Fiat X1/9, part VW/Porsche 914, part Honda CRX. I never drove or rode in one. It was quite ambitious, but the CRX front drive and big hatchback just had better packaging and practicality for a sporty commuter car. The Fiero is appreciated much more now. 🏁
Unfortunately they left out the X1/9 luggage space (pretty strange if you think GM forced Pontiac to make it a "two seats commuter"). The Fiero was forcibly a second car.
I always liked the later GT versions.
no, the 84 was the best
@@daniels7862 nah
@@derekj.tejeda267 the 84 wasn’t the best statistical wise but had the nicest look and had the damn headrest speakers which were gone after 85. I have an 84 and it’s my baby.
I find the notchies the best body which they had up to 86’ I believe and weren’t GTs.
I love the 88 Formula. Notchback body with the better V6 and running gear.
When this car was designed, Pontiac had a 1.8 OHC engine that would have fit, even with a 5 speed manual. They had a turbocharged version of the same engine as well and would have been perfect with performance and fuel economy. So GM chose a gutless heavy pushrod engine with an old 4 speed that was a leftover driveline from the citation. This car could have been something, but GM couldn't let a lick of possible excellence out to the public, at the time they were in total self destruction mode. Consider a couple years after this car came out Toyota sold the MR2 which was a similar platform and was vastly superior in every way. A much better fiero wouldn't have lost a single sale of a corvette, in fact it would have likely improved sales overall as it would give customers a good taste of performance the corvette would offer later. The later GT model did offer a lot of improvements, but too late for the car. Sad, it could have really been something, instead of just another example of broken promises and lost opportunities.
Thankyou. God forbid if this threatened the corvette. Love my 84 and love it more than my Alfa Romeo stelvio.
nailed it!
If you're talking about the 1.8 Brazilian made OHC they put in the J-cars, that thing was a complete turd. I had one in my very first car, and the poorly designed cooling system led to a cracked head before it hit 130k. Not only that but it was completely gutless. I wanna say 80 some HP, it was slow as molasses, and about as reliable as a head gasket on a Cadillac Northstar. Worst motor I've ever owned, and that's really saying something. I'd rather have the Iron Duke.
@@ketoninja Honestly I only came across a few of those engines, and they offered a turbocharged option with them and they seemed much better, especially with a 5 speed transmission, than the leftovers of the citation driveline that was garbage and more suitable for anchoring a boat. The 1.8 powered cars i worked on didn't seem any more gutless than anything else of the mid 80's coming through the shop. Have to say though, i didn't see them around for long. Then there was the quad 4 GM spent too many years developing and it was an oil leaking noisy turd too. GM by that time was basically pushing garbage. It was most telling that the employee parking of the GM plant in my city hardly had and GM cars in it.
The Quan forward to meet a great base engine for the Fiero 150 horse up to 190 hp think on it.
A pretty good effort by Pontiac. There were some issues with engines catching fire but once that was corrected you had a car that was responsive, tight handling and clean shifting. I had one and loved it. I think the lack of power steering was an advantage because it added to the tight sense of the ride.
so you are saying other than being burned alive, there were few negatives
less than 1% of the first year production 1984 model fieros had issues with small engine fires@@dbclower
Pontiac teamed with Hall & Oates for the Fiero's release. There was a promo cassette with their greatest hits on it which featured both Daryl & John standing next to a bright red Fiero SE, & their Big Bam Boom tour of 1984-85 was sponsored by the Fiero. Fieros were also on display at their live concerts that year.
landyachtfan79 damn
Remember that tour,wife & I big Hall & Oates fans.Gotta hand it to GM marketing they knew this car was very popular with chicks & gays as I saw whom was @ the concert.Even though both artists were straight,their music was very popular with the gay crowd as well as women.I drove a Celica,rode as a passenger in friends 85 Fiero was suitable for shorter smaller framed people not me.
Louis Aloi
Hey, Louis, your homophobia is irrelevant here.
@@dr.jamesolack8504:Got this in my inbox🤔Am gay Male never been in a Celica,Fiero or to a Hall&Oates show.Can give 2 flips about crappy Fieros.But to the other Louis out there I know plenty about the music business Hall&Oates has been popular with an enormously diverse demographic so he's spot on.👍With such a narrow mind glad your no Doc of mine🧐
We had it, Roman, we HAD IT!
Was looking for this. Yes.
The Fiero is a perfect example of what is wrong with GM. It's a beautiful little car but was released only about half baked. By the time GM finally got it right they killed it.
I'm sorry to say it's been a few years since I've seen one of these, and that one was on I-40... sitting on the shoulder... on fire. :(
+Jeff DeWitt The V6 was not fire-prone. But that Iron Duke 4 cyl didn't hold enough oil but leaked plenty of it. I'd like to have one to play with now.
Spot on Jeff. When GM finally got the Fiero going in the right direction they dumped it like a hot rock. It seems like a gajillion were sold in Iowa, they seemed to be everywhere, then they were gone. I dunno but GM has always seemed to find a way to crap on Pontiac and a lot of good ideas. A 4-5 year product run was way to short. I would have loved to see what Pontiac could have done with another 5 years in development. A 93 Fiero with a supercharged 6 or small 8 would have been just stupid cool.
A performance version of the Fiero would have been nice, but it wasn't what the car was designed for. GM really had their heads up their butts in the 80s churning out turds from all the divisions that were really the same car, like the Citation.
Rob Estees Well... I think it's really what the designers had in mind, but they had to sell it to the GM bean counters as a economy commuter car.
My mom got one brand new at 16 as her first car back in 84. She had it 9 years, until the engine literally caught fire on the frwy. My dad, when they were dating put his entire savings into the car to rebuild the motor himself. Its a really sweet, loving story. Unfortunately though it got stolen 2 weeks after he finished it, and to this day it remains unfound. My mom loved that car.
I had a '85 Fiero GT... I can say honestly, having owned Corvettes, a Camaro, a BMW, a Mustang, a '05 GTO, some Cadillacs, a '72 Cutlass, a '84 Monte Carlo SS and more... that 1985 Fiero GT is the most fun to drive car I've ever owned - or driven.
The '85 Fiero GT had no power steering or brakes but the thing didn't weigh that much so it wasn't an issue at low speed - but at any other speed it meant the steering was heavy (in a good way) and you felt everything (which is also good). The person who had it before me took off the catalytic converter - which I only found out after they started doing emissions here - and the muffler and put baffles on it, they also lowered the car, the thing was so low you could, without leaning over, sit in the drivers seat and touch the ground - so any bump in the road, speed bumps, etc - you had to take at an angle and very slowly. However - man - you could do anything in that car. You could be driving 90mph and just turn the car hard left and the thing wouldn't roll at all, it also wouldn't spin out, it would just skip sideways until the tires caught then take off like a rocket. On the road this was great since the car would constantly overheat, so if a red light was ever close and I was turning I'd gun it and hit the turn at around 60mph and there was zero drama, the car just went wherever you wanted it to go. The V6, with the emissions stuff all gone, performed quite well. It was by no means fast by todays standards, but you were sitting so low in the car it felt like dramatically faster than it was.
Basically that 1985 Fiero GT was a go-kart, just a very very very fun to drive go-kart. Also so long as you only got into head-on accidents it was really safe - safer than a Lincoln Towncar if you got hit head-on. Now if you didn't get head on, let me tell you the doors were seemingly maybe 4 inches thick, if that, also if you got hit from behind you'd probably die as well - so the best beat in that car always was to not get in an accident and to use the cars amazing agility to make sure you didn't.
Also my friend who was 6' 6" used to ride in it and that always made me laugh - to get an idea of how it looked go watch the movie Pain and Gain (which is a great movie) and look how ridiculous it is to see The Rock driving around in a Fiero.
That's pretty cool, I'd defiantly enjoy owning one !
I had a brand new 85 GT as well. I loved that car, one of my favs!
It so happens I have an '87 Fiero that's still around 100,000 miles. Yes, it has the Iron Duke, but the understanding I have is that in 84-86 the Iron Duke was being used in experiments with aluminum in the block which led to cracking. They really did fix it too late, but the one I have is honestly an excellent cruiser car. It won't set any land-speed records, but that's not the point. It's a comfortable ride since I like more lounge seating in my cars (Contrasted with the upright seat in my CR-V I'm using for the winter.), it's an automatic, and it's pretty damn economical. I'd say it fits as a good cruiser vehicle for comfort on a budget as opposed to performance.
The Rock is 6'4 with lifts, A flat bare footed David Hasselhoff stands 2-3inches taller than "The Rock" in shoes.
I'm loving the comments about the Fiero here! I always liked the Fiero, and it is good to hear what owners say about their experiences with these cars. I am seeing several "most fun car I owned" or similar responses.
I love my ‘84 Fiero, bringing it back to its assembly line glory is some of the most fun I’ve ever had working on something.
I drove a friend’s V6 from PA to FL in 1994. It was the sportiest car I had ever driven. My first was an 82 Z28.
Wow look how well it sticks to the ground. I remember wanting one of these so bad in 1984.
I always liked the Pontiac Fiero, Toyota MR2. They were released almost at the same time. I never had the chance to drive a Fiero, but I had the chance to drive the MR2 and, I loved it. Small and lightweight car, mid engine, rwd, great!
So sad to see Pontiac gone today, I would have loved to see a new Firebird and a new Fiero, I think it would have easily sold in todays "cute" car market!
Thank Obama for that happening. The president had no business going into private enterprise and telling them what to do. And unfortunately, GM let him get away with it. I can't wait until this anti American leftist is out of office.
+discerningmind King Sheik Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim Communist and those who voted for this Son of a Bitch should kick their own ass.
+Jack Collins Only if you enjoy the next 8 years of PRESIDENT Trump, chump....LOL
Obama turned the US around after Bush left it in shambles. Furthermore, GM screwed themselves by producing nothing but gas guzzling SUVs for 15 years. When gas prices rose to all time highs (under Bush) consumers demanded fuel efficient cars for which GM had none. With a huge inventory of gas guzzling SUVs that no one wanted to buy, GM had to make sacrifices to stay alive. Pontiac was one of them.
What do they do with all of the cars and trucks that they don't sell? You can only fleet so many of them, what about the rest?
Aah, those pontiac memories
Still in car lover's hearts
When I drive my Black 1986 Fiero GT, it's a driving experience. It gets a lot of looks, and people 40 and under always ask what it is.
I can appreciate becoming engaged with going through the gears of the 4 speed manual transmission while creating the crackle of the exhaust when downshifting. The way the road feels inches below you as you carve the pavement feeling the feedback through the steering wheel. It won't throw you back hard. However, it loves to be thrown around a twisty road. Anyone who owns or owns one knows exactly what I mean. That old saying "don't knock it, till you try it" rings true for the Fiero.
When these first came out everyone either loved the design or wanted one, there was no "Fieros are ugly" talk. It was a nicely styled car in it's original form, they over did the GT with the wings & 2 tone paint jobs.
I owned a 1984 2M4 in 1988 as a 17 year old driving enthusiast. I had to laugh when the host said the handling wasn't twitchy and the car was almost unspinable. I spun mine twice on dry pavement and once in the wet. It would hydroplane across any standing water, and was undriveable in the snow. The Iron Dog 2.5 has to be one of the most uninspiring engines ever. At least it was coupled to an equally balky shift linkage. And just four years from new, the headliner was falling out and the plastic surround on the dash and center console was pulling away. The slave cylinder on the clutch gave out at 70k miles taking the clutch with it. What a nightmare putting a clutch in that beast! I still remember it fondly until I take the time to actually recall what it was like to own and drive. I don't know how MotorWeek released this video with a straight face - unless the rest of the early 1980's cars were just that bad!
On the plus side, it looked cool and handled better than many of 1980's cars on tighter back roads (very quick turn in).
It was a pretty car. They should have dropped the "Quad 4" motor in it.
fuck that, shoulda put the grand national gnx engine in the 88 and made it the fastest car in the world at the time.
The V6 in the GT was a nearly perfect engine. It didn't have so much power that you could really get yourself in trouble, and the extra weight, in the middle of the car, made it stick to the road that much more. I had GT that had some light mods done to the exhaust and the HP was probably up to 150hp or so, and for some reason the guy lowered it, and I'll tell you, when your head is only a couple feet (at most) off the ground, 150hp feels really really fast.
@@rodmunch69 bro whats the point if you dont almost die a few times ...lol
TheSupradvr fair enough - but I almost died plenty of times in that car. Mainly when the accelerator stuck coming off the freeway. I was doing 60 and hit an off ramp and the car started to speed up, even with the brakes fully hit the thing was still speeding up. I had basically no time to react and took a hard 90 degree left turn at about 70-75 or so - luckily just hitting a green light. Anyways I then turned off the ignition once and drifted into a parking lot where I proceeded to beat the hell out of the engine with a wrench. Anywho it worked! The car ran mostly perfectly after that. But point was the car was nearly perfectly balanced at whatever has been done to my V6, which included removing the catalytic converter and mufflers and only running baffles and lowering the car. The thing stuck to the ground like a vacuum and felt like a go-kart. It was fun when it wasn’t trying to kill me - and that was only one time it tried to kill me.
@@joeyfoureyes98 Would it fit? Fiero was smaller and midengined.
Always liked these cars...and almost bought one a few times over the years...wish I had..even just for a little while.
These days, knowing what I now know, I would love to own a 1988 V6 5-speed example of the Fiero! The Fiero always was, especially in its final years, a very good-looking car. It had the look of a European exotic, and for 1988, it had the handling to match!
Still love motor week this was my motor trend when i was a little kid i used to watch it so many times
I love Pontiac Fiero :), have a nice design and is impossible to resist to drive !!
I remember these, they were so small inside, you didn't have room to change your mind.
I bought the first silver one I saw and told my wife about it after I bought it. She was thrilled. We both liked the car, it did well for 1984, the steering was no problem, it was not heavy to either of us, and the handling was really good. I could get it to slide in the snow, but it was pretty balanced. It's interesting how performance has changed with cars now.
Good idea, bad execution. Typical of GM. The 1988 GT was the too little, too late version.
Yes, it's a miracle that that GM with its 'cut all costs at all costs' policy didn't kill itself before the 2008 crisis which it survived only because it got hundreds of millions dollars from US taxpayers.
The '88 GT was a fairly expensive car, and the entire point of the Fiero was to be a cheap, easy to drive sports car. The issue with the Fiero is that the idiots at GM killed it, and literally said there was no market for a small 2-seat sports car in America... then, almost at the same time, Mazda introduced the Miata.
@LAFOLLETTER I’ve owned 2 Corvette’s and a Fiero GT and they’re not even remotely similar cars or on the same category of cars. The GT was not a real performance car - it was very very fun to drive, but was more go-kart than sports car. It’s amazing the number of doors who will say GM killed everything from the Buick GNX to the Firebird Turbo and always say it was because GM was scared for the Corvette. Here’s a hint - GM wanted people buying cars like Fiero GTs because they knew as those people got older and richer they’d want a Vette. Bingo - it works. When I got older and richer I didn’t want another Fiero GT.
@@rodmunch69 rod muncher the GNX ate Corvettes for breakfast
@@Viper81766 Until you hit around 100mph and the GNX ran out of gears - or if you tried to turn. I love the GNX, it's a great straight line 0-60 car and quarter mile car, outside of that it's just a Monte Carlo SS, which I also owned.
I was in high school then, and my brother brought it home one day, brand new, red. He was a welder making $450 a week. I got to drive it twice, picked up my high school sweetheart to lunch the first time, and took her to Prom the second and the last time. Bro crashed it in LA area one day and I never saw it again. Although it’s not my car, but I missed it for more than 40 years!
Welders make that today, sad.
Ferris Bueller`s sisters car brought me here.
She had a white one :)
He asked for a car; he got a computer. How's that for being born under a bad sign? ;)
I love my 88 GT. I ordered it from the factory in 1987. It still runs like new and is always fun to drive.
Have a 1986 M24, bought new. Factory box stock-survivor, except for interior, does not leak, burn, use oil. Original white. Been showing "TUPPY" since 2009, doing Route 66 Rallys, driven, almost, daily. Trophy winner at most shows "best in class 1970 & newer". Love it!! Not for sale. Best offer $15K.
GM had two grand opportunities to hit one out of the ballpark with the small 2-seater four-cylinder sport coupe market: first, the Pontiac Fiero in '84, then again in 2007-2010 with the GM Kappa platform (Saturn Sky / Opel GT / Pontiac Solstice). They came close with the Kappa, but it was too little, too late. Then the 2008 crash devastated the auto industry and it was all academic.
These are so amazing. I saw two of them today and they still look good.
Headlights go up, headlights go down, headlights go up, headlights go down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down. "Mr. Regular"
me3333 Ha! Yes. (And slowly/noisy at that....).
me3333 It's funny because Simpsons did it first. Season 4 Episode 11. "Bed goes up, bed goes down, bed goes up, bed goes down, bed goes up, bed goes down, bed goes up....."
me3333 "WE HAD IT, ROMAN, WE HAD IT!"
+me3333 That squeaky clutch pedal though...
Torque Effect Im sure thats what he was parodying.
The Solstice was the only other 2 seater released by Pontiac after the Fiero
thesupra97 Ya the Solstice another under-appreciated car. They needed some promos to get more folks just to test drive them.
I remember like it was yesterday September 12, 1984, my first new car. I was only 17, and my parents purchased the car for me but told me I would have to pay them back. I loved the car, but it was a piece of JUNK!!!!!! It sure does bring back a lot of memories watching this :)
A perfect example of "could have, should have, would have"... One of my all time favorites......... to look at.
I remember my buddy buying one of these around 1995. He paid like a grand for it, thought he got the best deal on earth. We were driving back from the used car lot and kept smelling something. I looked behind us and there was a glowing red halo burning through the center of the rear hood. We pulled over and popped it open, the carbeurator was on fire. Burned up the top of the intake, all the rubber, everything except the block itself. He bought it 'as is' so got stuck with it. I tired to bring levity to the situation by saying "well, 'Fiero' is Italian for 'Fire', so I guess you should have seen that coming."
Marvin Harrison Smith II these cars didn't come with carburetors, they were fuel injected. If that one had a carb on it , it was seriously screwed around with. Probably really messed up and that's why it was so cheap. Too bad.
I see that even back in the 80’s they despised the digital gauges.....Thank you Pontiac!
"the fiero is relatively heavy, sitting at 2500 pounds" excuse me, what?
That’s pretty heavy for such a small car
The main competitor, the X1/9 weighted 2000 pounds. The Porsche 924, 2381 pounds.
When you have under 100 hp yes that’s pretty damn heavy
@@roddydykes7053 some people just dont get it.
One of the most beautiful cars ever made
I remember driving this in the late 90s. So much fun to drive. Great memories.
This was my first car ever. A 1985 Fiero 2m4 5 speed. I learned to drive on it and I have the most amazing memories of it! It was a very strong running, fast and sporty car. One day I would love to buy one like that again and fix it up like new again.
Dad worked at a dealer and got us the special luggage made to fit in the trunk. We used those things for years!
We have 2 Pontiac Fiero's transferred into track cars. One of them is still in progress to be made though, but they both look amazing!
This was the car I grew up with as a kid
had a 86 fastback Fiero and loved it!
Jamie Cox is the right one for the team
It's not 84 feet long! Haha. '84 not 84'. Thanks for uploading!
Thank you!
A friend of mine had the '96 GT version and it was so sweet. I was a big GM hater at the time and tried my best to rag on it (I had a Civic Si) but the car looked great and the 2.8 V6 made some sexy noises and had so much torque that it felt way faster than it was.
Monolith2001 your friend had the 96 VERSION YOU SAY? production ceased in 1988!!!!
My first car, loved that thing.
I had an ‘84 Fiero in high school in the 90’s. Such a fun, sporty (looking) car!
In the 80s my little sweethearts handling was on the rails and responded well to a slaphappy clutch
i bought a 1984 red Fiero when I graduated high school...it NEVER gave me any trouble but then in 1986 when the [2M6] arrived I had to have it...it was black with silver underneath and that one lasted until we had our first child then it was bye bye .....but both were great (if underpowered) but neither gave me ANY problems...I miss those cars and that era too
As a 10 year old kid my jaw absolutely dropped seeing one of these in red in October of 1983! Dang! It looked so friggin' cool. The later more bulbous ones didn't so much.
Because of this car, I got a MX5 ND2 red . Ferio was my dream car 🚗
I had one of these. It was an all around decent little car, though the whine from the timing gears was ever-present behind your head. He was right about the heavy steering, but you got used to it very quickly.
The thing that sticks with me the most, is how comfy it was on the highway. The car had tons of foot room, and I could stretch my legs.
I remember my supervisor buying a 2m6 and thought it was the coolest car ever in canary yellow! He'd never let me drive it, but he did let me drive his brothers Shadow ES Turbo. Cool cars from back in the day!
86 was a great year! My mom picked me up in her brand new red Fiero and my HS friends called it rad and gnarly! they thought it was a Ferrari as no one had seen one and there was no Internet. I also found my dad's Debbie does Dallas on Betamax! I also got the GI Joe Aircraft Carrier for Christmas! Great times!
had few fieros and my bro, love these cars especially later GT models.
Interesting comment from DoctorBohr. We have both. Two 1984 Fieros and a newer Veloster. Looking forward to driving the Fiero once rebuilt.
Likewise I have 2 fiero"s myself
Remember driving one. The driver's position was awkward at best. The middle console sat high and you couldn't really rest your arm on it when driving. Steering was hard. Power, well if you could call it that 😉
The only way pontiac got approval to build the fiero was by marketing it as an economical commuter car instead of a sports car as GM felt it would threaten corvettes position at the top of the performance hierarchy. When they convinced the execs they got a limited budget which only allowed parts bin engineering: T car cheap front suspension, X car wheezy transaxle etc
Seen a man get crush in one of these under back tandem wheels on semi truck. Fireman held his hand when he took last breath while they were trying to cut out. Nice coffin! Corvette not much bigger today. Thing haven't change in 30 years!
they were very low to the ground
So would a motorcycle so would a solice so would a Miata so would a Mr2 and so would a host of other small compact cars
0-60 is 11.5 seconds!!! Yeah, not bad, haha, the 1980s, gotta love that decade!!
Best decade ever!!
had mine since 1990. Now has 230k on original engine and trans and still gets raced at the weatherly hillclimb, got semi retired when I got a Miata. Still love driving it and always gets comments
One of the funnest cars I ever drove it was more like a go cart than a car & those speakers in the headrests in the Fiero cabin sounded better than the bose equipped corvettes!
I have had a 86 2m6 SE since 1990 I love this little car I put in a larger Holley throttle body a few other minor engine tweaks and KYB aotomatic adjustable gas strut's and shocks wider tires on the rear the cars handling and performance are actually very good I always thought GM was afraid the car could have threatened Corvette sales. Still a fun and comfortable ride.
1987 Fiero - paid $10.5k new..fun car. Had it for 6 years, had to replace the fuel pump but other than that no problems. I was visiting New York in 1990 and was rear ended on the Cross Bronx Expressway by a Sterling sedan, his front grille was badly damaged. My rear bumper had black rubber marks that buffed out, no damage. Here’s to plastic bumpers👍
I loved the 2.5 iron duke four! quick for the day, fun to drive and at least 35 mpg a total winner in my book. Blew the head gasket with a crappy T.B.I. water fitting...bummer.
My mom's first brand new car was an 86 Fiero it was a great little car she had it almost 20 years and only had to replace a clutch, that little 4 banger ran like a champ, I learned how to drive stick in that car going up and down the driveway at 12-13 good times.
My moms new car was a silver SE 84. When my parents were first dating the engine caught fire and he completely rebuilt it. The car was stolen after her owning it for 9 years. We found an exact replica in 2015 and it’s amazing. It is slow but has so much character and the handling is superb. I love it so much. I also have an Alfa Romeo stelvio and I love the fiero more. It’s my baby.
I have always wanted one of these since they first came out. They screwed up a lot of the engineering on them, so I'd have to fix that. It would end up being a 10 year project to get the car I want, but it's just so damned beautiful.
I have an 84 with level 3 sheepskin interior package. Tuns well but still a project and things to be done. Overall though, a beautiful car
When this came out, after a two-seater drought, I was desperate for one. I went to the Pontiac store and drove it. There was some hitch in the clutch or shift that rubbed me wrong, and after the dealership tried to screw me over, I changed my mind.
A little while later, the MR2 came out and I loved it and did whatever I had to to get one. Two years later, I traded for the Targa top and kept that one for twelve years.
Clean styling, remember driving a few when new. Biggest weaknesses was the "agricultural " sounds of the weak 4 banger and the rough edged ride.
'The Fiero is heavy' LOL... I had several of these. They were cheap, easy to get, and still a big bang for your buck. Really, everything was great except for the brakes and suspension because all the parts were rebuilt and trash. The v6 got better mileage than the 4 which was funny. The 4speed muncie shifted pretty good. I never had a Getrag. You could just about fit this car in your pocket and the difference between the GT and the SE was so profound. The SE was a fantastic snow car. The GT couldn't get out in 2 inches of snow. I miss the days when car companies took major risks making the future.
MotorWeek did it right! No blabbering spokesman speaking so fast he trips over his own mouth.
My brother bought a GT Fiero and had this cute little red 84 red stick he just gave me. Car was fantastic and I used to deliver pizzas in it. It met its end one day when a girl ran a stop light and broadsided me on the drivers side. Very sturdy car I actually drove away from the accident and her car was totaled and had to be towed. The was the last of the car because the accident destroyed the body and twisted the front end a bit.
We have an 85 SE V6. Pretty reliable. People think it is a 4 cylinder due to having the base body
What a car! Utterly superb!
1:40 “Sticky 14” tires”
Fierro around corner: *”srrrchrrrrchhrrrh”*
And it churps in third with 92hp!
I love these old TV reviews. Thanks for upload. But shouldn't presentation be more modern in the newer videos? Those are like the old ones too.
A friend of mine had one of these in high school. I recall the car being attractive but the actual performance falling short of Pontiac’s “We Build Excitement” tag line of the time.
This is based on a modified Chevy chevette chassis. Handling was great if you understood physics. Overheating was a problem if you didn't maintain car
Cooling sys, budget mini pocket rocket , but Toyota's MR2 more sucessful platform lasted better than most , mid car types in the day.
The first generation (RWD) Isuzu Impulse was also based off of the Chevette ("T") platform!
Car and Driver was critical of the Chevette based front suspension. It was upgraded shortly before production was ended.
I had an '84 Fiero, with the performance gearing. It lacked headroom, then it threw the belt, overheated, cracked the block in the usual spot. I swapped in a 350 SBC V8, and broke the transaxle. I bought the 6-speed from an '06 G6 GT V6, then lost my job and sold the trans to fieroguru of fieroguruperformance, who is still driving it.
I bought an se 84 for 2500. Wonderful car can't wait to get it on the road :).
I had this car from 1984 until I sold it in the late 1990's. It didn't corner as well as they claim although it was okay, it got AWFUL mileage, weighed 2900 lbs (not 2590), had heavy steering, indifferent brakes and it took forever to get to 60 mph. I had the 4 sp. manual. LOTS of quality control issues too. But I liked the looks and parking in Chicago was easy as it was small, so I kept it until I could afford a real sports car..
I absolutely love my 1984 auto trans Fiero. It’s so much fun. Except for the new coolant leak got to figure that one out. Haha
Bring it back GM bring it back!!!! Your competitors are redoing some of their older cars as should you!!
Great memories! Thanks for posting
I inherited an 84 Fiero from my sister after getting my first job and it was so much fun to drive. I thought I was James Bond driving 😂. It’s true though, it turned wide and hard to get out of parallel parking. Low speed steering was so heavy! But on the highway it was perfect.
I had the james bond decals on front and doors mat gold on my 84 white fiero. It looked great but some found it childage so I took it off!
Early 80's GM Brass..I can only imagine. Smoked cigars, took multiple 45 minute shits a day, ate 2.5lbs of red meat daily washed down with scotch, thought "Oriental" cars were for lightweights, most named "Roger" or "Bill"
In other dark colors look great,in red it looks cheap,I love this Pontiac!!
Feels like it's on rails around the bend... LOL the early 80s.
Fiero meant it reminded you of a FIrebird and was aEROdynamic for those that do not remember.