Mazda Miata article. T Top to boot.

quote This was also the year Toyota and Pontiac shocked automobile enthusiasts by producing mid-engine sports cars. The thing to bear in mind is that these cars were also marketed as sporty economy .

quote To construct the Pontiac Fiero, designers hatched an ingenious design where composite body panels were attached to a space frame holding the car’s mechanical components. This allowed quick and economical ...

quote Pontiac was forced to use off-the-shelf suspension components to cut costs while Toyota was able to craft a more proper suspension with the technical help of Lotus.

Lotus suspension ? Where have I heard that before ?.

I guess if Fieros could not use Lotus parts then the rumor carries over to Toytota. If the truth be known the only time foreign engineering and/or parts were used on the Fiero were with the Getrag and Isuzu transmissions,

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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
"THE COLUSSUS"
87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

Interestingly, the '84-87 Fiero front suspension came from the Chevette, which is (basically) a German Opel...And the first Lotus Esprit used Opel front suspension. Now, a lot can be changed/tuned by mounting the suspension properly, but the big complaint by numerous Auto-mags against the Fiero was "Heavy steering and lots of kick-back"...the main cause of that is "Scrub-radius" which is Exactly the same between the Fieros and the 1st-Gen Espirts...of course, it is OK for >>EXPENSIVE<< cars to have faults....

Instead of designing the whole-new front suspension for the '88 Fiero, I would have done the "Shelby-mod" to the Chevette-based early suspension; Lowered the inner mounting point of the upper A-arm to get more camber gain.

Also, I would have simply moved the front tires in approx' 1/2"; I bought 16 x 7 wheels with 38 mm offset vs the original 30 mm...I rarely notice any kick-back, and steering effort is lower.

Yeah, I often tease the guy who does "SOUP Classic Motoring" that his Lotus has the same front A-arms as on my Fiero.
He finally admitted that it was a GM (Vauxhall) thing !

http://www.youtube.com/@soupclassicmotoring

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"Turbo Slug" - '87 Fiero GT. 3800 turbo. - The fastest Fiero in France! @turboslugfiero
https://youtu.be/hUzOAeyWLfM

Whenever I hear or read comments about Fiero using other cars' parts I wonder:
What percentage of the first Fieros are uniquely Fiero?
What percentage of the first Mustangs are uniquely Mustang?

Seems to me Fieros are mostly Fiero; early Mustangs are sporty shaped Falcons.
I don't recall ever hearing that as a "complaint" about Mustangs...

I'm just thankful that the '84-'87 Fiero does use generic mass produced parts. Parts that were on many different plateforms/cars, and can be relatively easily sourced for reasonable prices.
I would hate to be the '88 Fiero owner who drives his car like me and needs ball joints, wheel bearings, etc... to continue driving😉

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"Turbo Slug" - '87 Fiero GT. 3800 turbo. - The fastest Fiero in France! @turboslugfiero
https://youtu.be/hUzOAeyWLfM

Critical thing for 88 owners (But all of us need to be thinking about this, also) Buy Spare parts before they stop making them.

I recently bought all of the engine sensors for my engine- I was troubleshooting an idle problem...But I ended up with a box of spares....The IAC was the problem- after proving that was what had gone bad, I then ordered another one so I have spares of everything.

(Note; If you replace the IAC, first do the adjustment (Like the included directions state) then short the test plug to put the system in diagnostic and turn the key on to run...allow this to go for 5-10 minutes, then you shut it off and remove the short...then test drive it)

I replaced all my sensors last year. Even low mileage cars it is a good thing. IAC can freeze up even at low miles.

I only have 48k miles but I was shocked how degraded the performance became.

The only sensor or injector that you can’t find new is the cold start injector.

As things go the Fiero is cheap and easy to maintain mechanically. The real trouble is the plastic bits on the car and interior.

The 88 will have issues as a one year model. Some already are an issue.