If you like affordable, mid-engine two-seater cars, the 1980s are your decade. Fiat (and, a little later, Bertone) offer X1 / 9, Toyota sold MR2and even Synthetic engine Join the action by creating Fiero. Available from model years 1984 to 1988, Pontiac Fiero showed a lot of promise but in the end most were disappointedin a way repeats the career of Chevy Corvair of the previous few decades. Of today Junkyard Gems is someone who was once 1986 Fiero GTfound in a self-service yard near Denver, Colorado.
After a long and painful growing period stretch all the way back John DeLorean’s XP-833 Banshee (which eventually became a big influence behind Original Opel GT), Fiero finally debuted in 1983 as a model year 1984. The flagship GT arrives next year.
Fiero was built as a rabbit-ear coupe and as a fast car, with all GTs being second class.
I can’t open the engine cover, but this car will leave Assembly line (in Pontiac, Michigan) with a 140-horsepower 2.8-liter V6.
This car has a five-speed manual transmission, making it a reliable competitor for Toyota’s MR2.
The 1986 MR2 is less powerful than the Fiero GT (112 hp versus 140), but also significantly lighter (2,459 pounds versus the Pontiac’s 2,780 pounds). The MR2 is also lower, priced at $11,298 while the Fiero GT costs $12,875 (about $30,540 and $34,805, respectively, in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars).
Meanwhile, $6,998 Honda Civic CRX two seats Attracted many potential Fiero buyers despite being a front-engine/front-wheel drive car and $7,186 Ford EXP/Mercury LN7 also reduced Fiero’s sales. I couldn’t find a price for the 1986 Bertone X1/9, but it cost an unbelievable $13,990 in 1984.
GM The mid-1980s still used a five-digit odometer, but this Fiero had a six-digit unit and so we can see that it was close to hitting 150,000 miles over the course of his driving career. me.
The 1984-1987 Fiero had a parts-bin suspension design, with the front suspension borrowed from Chevrolet Chevette and the entire rear axle/suspension assembly is raised from the front end of the Chevrolet Citation. Because model year 1988, GM ended up spending the money to design an improved suspension specifically for the Fiero… and then quickly halted production. Highly publicized fires and quality control problems on 1984-1987 cars caused damage, and just over 25,000 of those better handling Fieros were sold.
I used to see a lot of these cars on my scrap yard trips, but now my personal dumpster Fiero sightings down a few per year.
However, I still see Fieros on the tracks, so news about Fiero is not all of bad!
Here’s an in-car video of one of the Salty Thunder Racing Fieros on High plain race track follow.
Just like a hovering plane.
It looks like a billion francs.
When hitchhiking home from college, always wait for Fiero that are not yes the Iron Duke four-cylinder.
