Hagerty Fiero Video (Page 1/2)
str8maxn NOV 17, 12:06 PM
Just came across this video about the Fiero history. Enjoy


Video
zkhennings NOV 17, 02:46 PM
Was just about to post this!
TheDigitalAlchemist NOV 17, 04:44 PM
Wow, this is cool

Thanks for sharing
Patrick NOV 17, 05:33 PM

quote
Originally posted by str8maxn:

Just came across this video about the Fiero history. Enjoy

Video



Instead of a link that starts at the 5:32 mark ... here's the whole video!
cvxjet NOV 17, 07:24 PM
Still the myth of "One in Five Fieros caught fire"....There were (approx') 100,000 Fieros built/sold in 1984.....That would mean that TWENTY THOUSAND Fieros supposedly caught fire.....And then you have the truth; Back in 1984 a total of 260 Fieros caught fire due to the poor engineering.

But of course, if you can BOMB on an American car, you should.....Most people do not know about the early Camary head-gasket failures- because no-one will talk about that!

And then the "Poor performance" myth; The Fiero V6 had equal (Or better) performance to the MR2, the RX7(Non Turbo) and the 300ZX (non turbo)...On a tight course, I would take on one of those cars in Turbo version and kick his butt. I have the 3.4 conversion and 88 rear suspension and brakes all around...

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 02-17-2023).]

David Hambleton NOV 23, 12:11 PM
I was pleased to see support for my contention that the Fiero was discontinued because of sales volume despite the widely promoted white noise regarding potential poaching of Corvette sales.
All the peripheral issues are secondary to the corporate accounting reviews and finance department decisions.
When people at car shows ask why the Fiero was discontinued I show them the little chart below that's on my display board.
The steep decline doesn't need any further explanation.
Valkrie9 NOV 24, 12:36 AM
Similar, but different, what could have been, a sportscar.
hyperv6 NOV 24, 09:55 AM

quote
Originally posted by David Hambleton:

I was pleased to see support for my contention that the Fiero was discontinued because of sales volume despite the widely promoted white noise regarding potential poaching of Corvette sales.
All the peripheral issues are secondary to the corporate accounting reviews and finance department decisions.
When people at car shows ask why the Fiero was discontinued I show them the little chart below that's on my display board.
The steep decline doesn't need any further explanation.




David the real reason for the death of the Fiero was the Corvette people. We have finally talked to the Fiero people involved at the time and even some of the Corvette people have spoken and the volume was not the issue.

To build the car Pontiac had to go to the Baldwin plant that could easily build 200k cars a year. Their plan was to mass produce the car the first 3 years and then production would be joined by the GM80 F body replacement on the same line.

By then volumes for a 2 seat car would be stabilizing to expected levels and the ne Pontiac and Chevy would fill the plants capacity.

The GM 80 was canceled because it was FWD based and intended to fight the Ford FWD Mustang that became the Probe. Ford stuck with the Fox platform and made GM to create the 4th Gen F body with RWD. But it would come too late for the Fiero plant.

Chevy had major concerns about the C5 as sales dropped and money became tight.

What many fail to understand is even after the Fiero was canceled the C5 was canceled. Chevy hid the program and competed the car. The abetted manager paid with his future at GM. But since it was done they approved the business case and saved the car.

Most 2 seat cars sell less than 20k units per year. There are only so many people who can lice with a 2 seat limited use car. Miata has limited sale here to keep demand up. It sells less than 15k average units a year.

Only the Corvette has sold in great numbers and even then there were sone tough years just clearing 10k units.

The Fiero team #1 was not worried about volume of the car just the plant, The Corvette and Chevybteam did voice opposition to the plant losing money. GM then killed the car. Even then most at Pontiac had not expected the Fiero to live on more than one more gen.

If you look at most sports cars outside tbe Vette and Mista few live past 10 years. The RX7. MRS, 24 and 280z etc all lived short lives


John Schinella spelled it out at a Fiero event and clearly stated that Chevy sells more cars so Chevy gets more say with GM. He was the designer and greatest advocate of the Fiero at GM. He clearly told this story and it has been backed up buy other GM people.

The volume bring a problem was not the direct cause as it was the volume at the plant that was the fuel to give Chevy a reason to kill the car for their own selfish preservation of the Corvette.
hyperv6 NOV 24, 10:04 AM

quote
Originally posted by cvxjet:

Still the myth of "One in Five Fieros caught fire"....There were (approx') 100,000 Fieros built/sold in 1984.....That would mean that TWENTY THOUSAND Fieros supposedly caught fire.....And then you have the truth; Back in 1984 a total of 260 Fieros caught fire due to the poor engineering.

But of course, if you can BOMB on an American car, you should.....Most people do not know about the early Camary head-gasket failures- because no-one will talk about that!

And then the "Poor performance" myth; The Fiero V6 had equal (Or better) performance to the MR2, the RX7(Non Turbo) and the 300ZX (non turbo)...On a tight course, I would take on one of those cars in Turbo version and kick his butt. I have the 3.4 conversion and 88 rear suspension and brakes all around.



The performance isdues were more than numbers.

GM had a history of big numbers but cars that were not easy to drive fast on anything but smooth tracks. They have since have learned how to better tune the cars to drive better in the real world.

The Stock Fiero under steer and bump steer has always been an issue. It can be fixed but GM never did till 88. Yes it is still fun to drive but you really have to work at it.

As for the other numbers most cars sucked in this era. My wife’s Acadia will do a 1/4 in 14 and 0-60 in 5 seconds.

When I had my HHR SS it made my Fiero feel like something was wrong as the power and suspension even in FWD were better tuned.

The Fiero was not as bad as some claim but it was not as great stock as you think. Honesty here is the best action as Illegitimate claims are not a way to represent a car.

I used to think like you till I finally got to drive sone great cars and there is a difference. A good car can make a bad driver great. A Fiero driver needs to be a hood driver to extract all it can do.

cvxjet NOV 24, 12:43 PM
Hyper, you are right on almost everything you have said....The main reason the Fiero was cancelled was corporate politics...But the Fire-myth and the C&D "All American cars are crap" rhetoric added to the inevitable....

As far as GM's numbers vs feel thing you are correct, but; One thing that GM did right but most enthusiasts would disagree with is handling- The MR2 had that wonderful knife-edge handling, which is great if you know what you are doing...Sadly, most Americans haven't a clue how to deal with a neutral-handling car. If GM had 'knife-edged" the Fiero handling and then sold 370,000 Fieros, there would be at least 50-60,000 people dead from crashes.

Some of the things I have done to my Fiero have greatly improved the handling FEEL; Much more neutral- Actually less DTO and far better turn-in....

Some of "Crappy-handling" cars I have driven include a Porsche Boxster, a number of Vettes (C3, 4, 5), a number of BMWs, a Miata, and a friend's racing Mustang.

In some ways, I think new cars have become to "Isolationist" because it is like you are driving a video game...

Is the Fiero perfect? Hell no- but it is a lot better than Car&Drivel's anti-American bashing would lead some to believe.....Just as proof of the BS out there; How many Fieros have YOU seen on fire?

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 11-24-2022).]