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(04-17-2024 01:40 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  

(04-17-2024 09:31 AM)RuckleSt Wrote:  They thought they were getting a Ferrari and ended up getting a Fiero

Dude, that little car was dope in high school.

I've actually never driven one, but they do look like fun. I was referring to the fact that they are/were commonly used to make kit/replica Ferrari's, so they look like a Ferrari, but they certainly don't perform like one.

Enormous POS mechanically. One out of every 500 sold in 1984 caught fire. lol

Due to the CAfE mileage requirements most had little undersized 4 cylinder engines. Had about the same power and driving experience of a Toyota Tercel. They are mildly collectible as a curiosity now due to the fact that most died a miserable and premature mechanical death due to a conflagration of bad engineering and no reliability.

Books are written on the dysfunctional Pontiac development team. My all time favorite engineering weenie quote from their internal audit on why Fieros were combusting on test drives by consumers and why it wasn't really their fault..."60 percent to 90 percent of the connecting rods produced do not exhibit defects." With 4-6 piston con rods per vehicle it was a cute way of saying statistically nearly all the cars had a defect without admitting a defect.

Re: The Fiero

I had a buddy who had one that let me drive it. The stereo speakers were in the headrest. It was AAF to have music blaring into the back of your head while driving.

And yes, I do believe his caught fire later on.

I remember reading something in Car and Driver or some other gear head magazine back then that, after trashing the design, sluggish engine and 4 speed manual that had you lugging in 3 gears unless you shifted from redline summarized it as something like:

"The Fiero is the car for divorced 40-year-old guys buried in alimony and child support who feel they still deserve something nice in their lives, but alas, it only causes more depression and misery."

I like this thread. lol

Damn, that might be the harshest car review I've ever read, ha.