I thought this was an old story. Apparently they found another one to make an example of. Although it's not really a good copy. Jeez... Next they'll be crushing anything that looks like a Fiat.
It is a old story and also and old thread. One thing about the so called news is it doesnt have to be believable to be considered news. When news writers want to make up a bs story the article will never have a real journalists name to it. The article will be user contributed or house writers of another publication. For every serious news paper or web site there is an association with a not so news worthy sister site which headlines ufo sightings etc. These bs publications are used to mask the source of a bs story perhaps much like this story. Yes every micro car looks like a bambino so crush all kias what usu
I don't know... but as soon as I have time and some spare cash from my obligations... I'm going to build this:
It's nothing special. I just made that in paint when I had 15 minutes of time in my lunch break. It would basically be a Ford Explorer Sport Trac, and then you remove the back seat, and extend the bed... hahah...
So it's basically a sporty looking Ford Ranger.
I have no idea what the point would be, but I think it would be cool just in the fact that it would LOOK like a totally OEM vehicle of which there are many on the road in the form of 01-03 Explorer Sports and 01-05 Explorer Sport Tracs, but only a few gear heads would spot it and say... "Holy crap? I've never seen that before..."
Same here! I wanted to build a Ferrari on a Fiero chassis - until I saw a Fastback GT bodystyle! Looked great as is - no rebody needed! I bought my 87 GT shortly afterward (1990).
Only later did I find out about the Mera - I'd have likely tried to get one of those instead.
yesterday, there was a yellow Mera (#8140) on e bay. No bid starting at $5000. buy it now $10000. The car is all Ferrari'ed out, even with a headlight cover change out with F-car grill between said lights. if your lookin for a 308 replica, there it is. 2.8 V6. been in an accident tho. I picked this car up in the Spring time and love it. needs to be faster. i'll fix that this summer. after i put on the Mera Badge, people started talking/ asking questions. with the Ferrari emblems no one said jack??? I love telling the Mera story...
as far as badging goes, My Mera is and will always be badged Mera. a homemade one. out of a Grand Am SE emblem. Later Daniel
Been a car nut for 45 yrs. Always wanted to do something different-no disrespect to anyone who has done any of the cars already posted-to each their own. Many of the fiero owners in South Carolina Fiero Club have really cool cars(lots of $$ invested), many mods or custom ideas-some are restored(to my untrained eye) & a couple of replica projects underway. I simply plan to replace the stock fiero top, doors & front & rear glass with parts from 93-02 Camaros/Firebirds, adding the now familiar 4.9/automatic. I have very rough drawings of what I hope the body will look like. I just hope I can pay respects to the likes of Archie, MadCurl & many others who have been fooling with design & development of their respective creations for many yrs. I agree the kit car industry has lost its' main focus-the reader, the back yard builder(read as-trying to keep project from being an eye-sore to the wife)-the everyday guy/gal who wants something to be "a little of their own". The fiero to me is not sacred-the only one in my collection I want to keep stock is my Indy. The rest are fair game for sale or mods-mild or wild. Rick
where in the USA can you have either a Right hand drive car or a left hand drive car? the red kit fiero is a RHD and the guy asking is in a LHD
quote
Originally posted by madcurl: Due replicas over-all design, badging or non badging... it's a catch -22. The terms and conditions are dictated and are set by the general public. The comments can range from the uninformed punk kid with a Honda rice kit wanting to challenge you at a light or from the well informed- the examples will very.
I really do not get that video.... is it a fiero kit or a real mondial? Whatever it is that fellow is an ass regardless..... what I saw was a couple jerks in a boring car calling down a guy enjoying a ride in his nice red convertible whatever it is.... peace
As far as the kit car scene, my father has always wanted to build a kit car, I REALLy would love to own a cobra kit with modern updates that make it perform better than the original car yet look like the classic. To be honest I think that the real exotic cars while some are really beautiful and well done replicas and I marvel at the skills these guys have I think my wife said it best.... I don't care what it looks like, it is NOT a Murceilago!!! I think she is right about this.... Altho while I will NEVER be able to afford a lambo and I would enjoy the build I am sure I do not think I could get around the comments that Oh it is just a fiero..... To me the Fiero is a beautiful car, stock or otherwise and is all the cool you need.... peace
This is not the end of kit cars, it is the evaluation of the industry. The truth is that 90% of kit cars are Cobras. If you were going to write a magazine about kit cars the first thing you would do is find your demographic and who your advertisers are. This would lead you to write a magazine only about Cobras. Like writing a magazine about PCs and not covering BSD. Yes there are a lot of BSD users out there, but they make up less than 8% of the market. The downside to this thinking is that you have sold out and it will become hard to write new or exciting articles. Then came Kit Car Builder. They focused on the building and owning of all kit cars and have created a magazine that I look forward to reading. Yes, Kit Car Builder still has Cobra coverage, but they also cover other kits even old school 70s kits.
Now that I have seen many real Lamborginis and Ferraris in person, I have changed my mind about them. Before 2004, both brands did not make good cars. Let's look at a 308 vs a Mera. They both are about the same in performance and appearance. The build quality and materials of the Mera is decades ahead of the 308. I still do not think that plastic technology has reached Italy. Even compare a 348 vs a 3800SC Fiero. We can all guess which one is faster. I love old cars, but would cringe at driving a real Cobra, or 300SL Gullwing on the road. It is hard enough to trust the public with my Fiero, let along a non replaceable classic. Let alone, that the old cars were not that great to drive.
I also find it funny that I get more "crap" from the public about driving my stock Fiero vs my Sterling kit car.
Originally posted by Brastic: Now that I have seen many real Lamborginis and Ferraris in person, I have changed my mind about them. Before 2004, both brands did not make good cars. Let's look at a 308 vs a Mera. They both are about the same in performance and appearance. The build quality and materials of the Mera is decades ahead of the 308. I still do not think that plastic technology has reached Italy. Even compare a 348 vs a 3800SC Fiero. We can all guess which one is faster. I love old cars, but would cringe at driving a real Cobra, or 300SL Gullwing on the road. It is hard enough to trust the public with my Fiero, let along a non replaceable classic. Let alone, that the old cars were not that great to drive.
I also find it funny that I get more "crap" from the public about driving my stock Fiero vs my Sterling kit car.
TRUE THAT. i have a Mera and can tell you it does cross my mind alot.
"wish i had a real F-308"...till i re-read the F-308 maintainance cost sheet i have.. and like you said "the cringe" of other drivers....but now with a real Mera its starting to feel the same, kinda. with the low number of Meras left intact....and the Pontiac dissolve thing.... someone here says the 1986 Proto-type Mera at Autorama Detriot, was bought for $30,000. interesting.... Dan
[This message has been edited by batousai666 (edited 03-09-2010).]
I have commented on the subject of real and replica before and my feeling is still that 1/2 or better of the general public that sees a replica will look for a badge and if it says Ferrari or Lamborghini they are not going to know it`s a Fiero underneath. I have heard quite a few instances where people think the Fiero is a Ferrari. But then again I would venture to say that if people even have knowledge that Lambo and Ferraris replicas do exist, that with the rare instance of seeing a "real" supercar they would still probably think it was a replica. My hope is to eventually build a Countach replica despite my oldest son`s criticism that it`s not real. I tell him "yes it`s not real" but even if it`s fake it will look bada**. Mike
yulp! put a fat engine swap in and it will be way more reliable....and in my case, with the real 308's being weak..FASTER! drop in a 3800 II or Ls something or other... its funny at a Autozone i was forced to show the motor to the employee to prove it was a Fiero. he said no way that it was a Fiero! i had just bought it and it DID have Ferrari badges on it at the time....but.... anyway....cool thread. Later Dan
[This message has been edited by batousai666 (edited 03-09-2010).]
Originally posted by TXGOOD: My hope is to eventually build a Countach replica despite my oldest son`s criticism that it`s not real. I tell him "yes it`s not real" but even if it`s fake it will look bada**. Mike
just tell him it's your car and he doesn't need to bother himself about it 'cause if you build it, you're not going to let him drive it anyway
funny though how it's always the people who can't have neither the real deal nor the replica who complain the most. Those and the guys who buy their cars just to show it off Posers.
Personally, I'd love to do a countach replica or put a 308-style body on my Fiero.
Geese, a lambo engine cover. Yeah, that's going to fool the natives.
Say what you will... I've got to give him props for a clean install! Cleverly hidden wires ant the cost of engine temp, or a clever show car to roll around without a motor?. lol You would think the lines would have been painted better.
I love both these cars. In fact I love the one on the left so much that I almost wanted to cry. Whoever owns these cars are some lucky people. They are absolutely beautiful and they are truly dream cars. I'm astonished and so wowed right now.
I have seen some really, really nice replicas that look as good or better than the original, but more often than not they end up being embarrasments as the mounting costs force too many corners to be cut.
I think the dead give away for fiero based kits is the fiero windscreen as most kits are wider the windscreen doesn't ever get wider so this is the first part i notice no matter how good it looks.
Geese, a lambo engine cover. Yeah, that's going to fool the natives.
Gees that is a shocker i personally would never use one but if i had too i would spend the time and try make it look remotely functional. All this says is the car is fake and he thinks everyone that looks at it is an idiot too.
Well as an owner of a lambo replica, fiero based of course I tend to think that there is room for everyone to build what they like. I had never built a replica before and looked at it as a "challenge" We can say why spend so much on a fiero based replica?? There are some VERY nice replicas and there are some super crappy ones.
I would ask (and this is not directed at anyone) why spend 40K on a regular fiero?? You would never get your investment back Right?? Are there guys that have spent that much?? I think so! Either way they end up being a bad investment if you are looking to make money doing it.
I say there will always be kit cars if thats what you want to call them, but I bet you one thing! You'll never find any instructions to follow, all of these cars are hand built so to me the term kit does not fit. (Hey that sounds like a Johnny term LOL, LOL, LOL)
Anyway I say it's your money spend it however you want and build something that you'll be proud of regardless of what people say. I learned this one saying from a former pastor "people will talk about you if you do good, people will talk about you if you do bad and people will talk about you if you do nothing at all" So the moral of the story is to forget about what someone may or may not say about your lambo replica, fiero or whatever it is that you choose to drive. You only live ONCE in this life! Be HAPPY!
Same here! I wanted to build a Ferrari on a Fiero chassis - until I saw a Fastback GT bodystyle! Looked great as is - no rebody needed! I bought my 87 GT shortly afterward (1990).
My feelings exactly. You could not pay me to own a Ferrari, real or replica.
With my Fiero I can work on it myself (unlike a Ferrari that requires special tools and manuals that are unavailable), I can afford the parts, and people are less prone to try and steal it.
Besides, where I live there are more Ferraris around than Fieros, making my car more unique.
------------------ Jim Martin White '86 GT California
On a Fiero based Ferrari kit you may retain the windshield, I`m not sure, but on a Lambo replica the entire top gets cut off. The dead giveaway on the non-stretch Countach is the flat windshield, plus the top looks too squat.
Gees that is a shocker i personally would never use one but if i had too i would spend the time and try make it look remotely functional. All this says is the car is fake and he thinks everyone that looks at it is an idiot too.
I guess he thinks it will fool the women and get him some.
However, most women are smarter than that. They see what he did and realize that he is easily fooled and will be easy to suck money out of.
------------------ Jim Martin White '86 GT California
I notice the start date of the thread and at that time I would have agreed but not so much now. After doing mine, the intent was to have a ‘different’ car and have all the modern conveniences as well as the flash and dash. Things change so quickly and there is always something new to add or modify even with an appraisal approaching $50,000. My preferred Fiero is my stock 87 GT.
Lately, I’ve joined groups to build the “newer” type kits. In a time where antilock brakes, traction control, stability control, servo-electric steering and full drive by wire is becoming the norm, the driver is becoming more removed from the driving. There is quite a movement developing for ‘simple’ cars that allows a driver to have the maximum control; no computer controls (or even creature comforts) what so ever.
Outside US and Canada, there has been a real insurgence of cars like Caterhams, Birkins, Lotus 7s, old classic sports cars and some classic replica race cars. These are all based on a custom chassis. I think you will see these types of ‘kits’ becoming popular here as they are unique, have great performance, modern reliable engines, sophisticated suspensions and give a real driving experience. I can’t wait until I finish my ‘back to the basics’ real performance sports car and really feel like I’m in control of the car. I won’t mind one little bit if it looks ‘old’. That way it can always look ‘old’; no updating required!
I'm just a car guy. I have fiero addictions turbo n*, a fiero roadster, a fiero based n* 355, and my current favorite a fiero based murcielago with a turbo boosted ls4. I hang with fiero guys and we accept each other. I appreciate mads cars. They're great examples of what you can do and still stay fiero styled. From his comments I think he has a little bit of tunnel vision regarding replicas. Like rundlc has posted, the term kit car is a missnomer and I believe a bit of a put down. They are hand built and require a lot of skill, time and money to complete. My Murci has a 20,000 mile drivetrain, held suspension and brakes and we're looking for 640hp+ when we get it tuned. It is 300 lbs lighter wet than a Murci dry, and not geared for 205 mph. Can you imagine what that ticket would cost, or where you would run it at that speed except bonnevile. Anyway my fondest hope is to find a real Murci to run against, take him and then explain to him that he just got beat by a Pontiac in sheeps clothing, and that I don't have to spend $15,000 for a tune up, and I can find a low mileage replacement motor in the junk yard for $1000 if I blow this one. It is bone stock with the exception of the turbo. It's looking pretty good now but like you guys, I'll be upgrading for years and having a ball doing it. The odds of me finding a real Murci to run against are pretty slim. They only made 4009 of them and most owners put about 1000 miles a year on them. In a lot of ways I regard the Fiero as the modern version of a 32 Ford. Look how many different engine options they both have for a light weight car. I actually saw a mid engined 32 ford for sale at the Sandpoint "lost in the fifties celebration" two weeks ago. We can do anything we want with any of our cars and get respect from other car guys if we do it right. My Minnie van is stock except for a 42" LCD tv, activsion tracking low profile satellite receiver and tempurpedic mattress in place of the rear seats. Wherever I go there I am. With my bedroom on wheels. OK, I admit it. Iramble on a bit. Peace out!
Anyone who talks down on "kit cars" hasn't built one. They don't snap together, you will use every skill you have and the time investment is substantional. There's a reason most people don't finish their kit, and the ones that have completed a kit know exactly what I'm talking about. Like everyone on this forum that has performed a major undertaking (chop top, lambo doors, widebody, engine swaps) the ownership principal is the key. When I hear comments like "it's a kit" or "it's just a Fiero" there usually from a young kid that doesn't have the first clue what fabrication really means. But my Honda has a triple wing and a performance muffler tip. Yea, you don't have a clue, I think your moms calling you. I walk by my countach every day, no it's not finished, however when I pull open that garage door and people's eyes roll back in their head, and their at a loss for words - I know why I keep plugging away. And if I've offended any Honda owners, so what.
The best looking replica ever made IMHO. Makes all other replicas look stupid. Notice the details, the frame, the body, the windows, and last if not least the engine.
I think he missed the mark on the hood vents, but you're thrown off by the build., but seriously, if you're trying to fool somebody at least get the exterior right and never leave the 2.8 in the back.
Makes all other replicas look stupid? That remark makes you look stupid! It's a very nice car. Very very nice! I like turboed ls engines and the twin turbo thing makes great show, but you don't need two turbos now a days. Turbo tech has advanced a lot and turbo lag no longer needs to be adressed by adding turbos. Anyway I'm not putting down his engine. It looks like a great car.
Wow. There are many shades of grey Madcurl. You have beautiful cars that have borrowed design elements from many cars. How is that so different than the guy with a beautiful car that borrows the design elements from a single car?
As a Fiero parts vendor it's not hard for me to see why so few people are willing to risk $$$ thousand to create and market a new Fiero based kit. The market is just too small to insure to any degree that you'll even get what you invest in it back, much less turn a profit. All lot those crying for new kits, simply don't have the money to spend on one, especially a well made quality kit. We almost made a custom rear available.but the numbers just would not add up.
How is that so different than the guy with a beautiful car that borrows the design elements from a single car?
Well that's easy. One is enhancing the design elements that are already there whereas the other isn't.
Nobody is running around saying that the IMSA Fiero is a Lamborghini. The IMSA is based upon a Fiero that enhances what is already there by over exaggerating, enhancing, widened, and hardened the original body lines of a Fiero, but in a more aggressive form. The MadArch follows the same principle and at the end of the day you have a enhanced Fiero. Thus it is what it is-a Fiero.
However, replica kits do not follow this rule. In fact it is the opposite. The goal of all replicas is to create a build that closely follows the original. Depending upon how closely the kit is followed will determine how good the kit is or how stupid the end product may look.
I have a lot of respect for people that build really nice kit cars themselves.
Lacking both the time, and talent to do so, I took the easy way out and purchased a one owner 5-speed 88 Mera. Having always liked the 308 look, this car fills the bill nicely. Plus, I can drive it daily, (try that in a 308 without high maintenance cost). My car also has all the Mera emblems intact, and I have a lot of fun explaining how these cars had to be purchased new thru a Pontiac dealership.
My favorite body kit for the Fiero was the 355 Berlinetta. I have seen some very nice examples on this forum.
Madcurl, I like your cars and your choice of engines. Two of my cars are N* powered. I have listened to your put downs of replicas for a long time. Now you've said that my car is stupid. I no longer have any respect for you. There is no need for you to put down other cars in order to get respect for your cars. They can stand on their own. You however have a problem. This from a long time fiero lover.
