Who remembers the Pontiac Fiero?

Pontiac Fiero
Fiero88.JPG
1988 Fiero Formula
Overview
Manufacturer Pontiac (General Motors)
Production August 1983 – August 1988
Model years 1984–1988
Assembly United States: 900 Baldwin Avenue, Pontiac, Michigan (Pontiac Assembly)
Designer Hulki Aldikacti & George Milidrag
Body and chassis
Class Sports car
Body style
2-door fastback
2-door notchback
Layout Transverse mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Platform P-body
Powertrain
Engine
2.5 L (153 cu in) LR8 I4 (gasoline)
2.8 L (171 cu in) L44 V6 (gasoline)
Transmission
3-speed THM-125 automatic
4-speed Muncie manual
5-speed Getrag 282 manual
5-speed Isuzu manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,373 mm (93.4 in)
Length 1984–1986: 4,072 mm (160.3 in)
1987–1988: 4,144 mm (163.1 in)
1987–1988 GT: 4,193 mm (165.1 in)
Width 1984–1986: 1,750 mm (68.9 in)
1987–1988: 1,753 mm (69.0 in)
Height 1,191 mm (46.9 in)
Curb weight 1,116 to 1,265 kg (2,460 to 2,789 lb)

Base model (four-cylinder) metric (Canadian) Fiero gauge cluster

1986 Fiero SE 2M6
The Pontiac Fiero is a mid-engined sports car that was built by General Motors from 1983 to 1988 for the 1984 to 1988 model years. The Fiero was designed by George Milidrag and Hulki Aldikacti as a sports car. The Fiero was the first two-seater Pontiac since the 1926 to 1938 coupes, and also the first mass-produced mid-engine sports car by a U.S. manufacturer. Many technologies incorporated in the Fiero design such as plastic body panels were radical for their time. Other features included hidden headlamps and, initially, integrated stereo speakers within the driver and passenger headrests.

A total of 370,168 Fieros were produced over the relatively short production run of five years; by comparison, 163,000 Toyota MR2s were sold in their first five years.[1] At the time, its reputation suffered from criticisms over performance, reliability and safety issues.

The word fiero means "very proud" in Italian, and "wild", "fierce", or "ferocious" in Spanish. Alternative names considered for the car were Sprint (which ended up on a Chevrolet car instead), P3000, Pegasus, Fiamma, Sunfire (a name which would later be applied to another car), and Firebird XP.[2] The Fiero 2M4 (two-seat, mid-engine, four-cylinder) was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1984. The 1984 Fiero was the Official Pace Car of the Indianapolis 500 for 1984, beating out the new 1984 Chevrolet Corvette for the honor.

History

The Fiero was conceived as a small, two-seat sports car with all new suspension and V6 engine. While General Motors management and accountants were opposed to investing in a second two-seater sports car that might compete with the Corvette, they perceived the oil crisis as a market opportunity for a fuel-efficient sporty commuter car. To this end, the Fiero was redesigned to use a fuel efficient version of GM's 2.5 L (150 cu in) four-cylinder "Iron Duke" engine capable of 31 mpg‑US (7.6 L/100 km; 37 mpg‑imp) in the city and 50 mpg‑US (4.7 L/100 km; 60 mpg‑imp) on the highway with the economy-ratio transmission option. These figures are U.S. Environmental Protection Agency test-circuit results, published by Pontiac, and confirmed from multiple sources.[3] It was impressive mileage for a 2.5 L engine of the period, and still good by today's standards, but the three-speed automatic reduced highway mileage to only 32 mpg‑US (7.4 L/100 km; 38 mpg‑imp). With respect to fuel economy, the Fiero was intended to appeal to a market niche for which the Corvette with its V8 engine was unsuitable.

A mid-engine layout was originally chosen as a way to reduce both aerodynamic drag and vehicle weight to improve fuel efficiency, and also for its handling, traction, and braking benefits. However, the sports car potential of the mid-engine layout was not realized when the Fiero debuted. As a cost-saving measure commonly employed at GM, the tires, brakes, and suspension components were carried over from other GM economy cars (like the X and T platforms). As a result, the handling and cornering abilities of the initial Fiero were merely on par with other contemporary sporty coupes (Road & Track 1985). Additionally, the Iron Duke I4 motor, which was designed for optimal running at low RPM, was unsuited to drivers who purchased the Fiero expecting a quick, high-revving motor more in keeping with the design of the car. As drivers attempted to frequently run the engine at greater RPM than it was designed for, the engines experienced a number of reliability problems and breakdowns were frequent.

The public had high expectations for the Fiero with its mid-engine layout and aggressive styling, which resembled exotic mid-engine sports cars like the Ferrari 308GTB. While initially garnering good reviews for its handling (Motor Trend 1984), the Fiero soon received negative reviews from other automotive critics who expected higher performance from a mid-engine two-seater. Despite the critical press, the Fiero sold well and although Pontiac operated three shifts at the factory during 1984, they could not keep up with initial demand.[4]

The sharing of suspension and other components with other GM cars meant the rear suspension and powertrain was virtually identical to that of the Citation and Pontiac Phoenix; the Fiero even included rear tie rod ends attached to a "steering knuckle", although these were hard-mounted to the engine cradle and only used for maintaining the rear tire alignment. The front suspension was derived from the Chevette, and Chevette enthusiasts found that they could upgrade their undersized front brakes and rotors using Fiero parts.

By 1985, the oil crisis was long past and demand developed for a Fiero having more engine power and better sports car performance. Pontiac responded by introducing the GT model which included upgraded suspension tuning, wider tires, and a V6 engine having 43 hp (32 kW) more than the base four-cylinder.[5]

Finally, in 1988, numerous changes were made to the Fiero to bring it in line with its original design. The most significant was a completely redesigned suspension (and parts of the space frame) to realize the potential of the mid-engine layout. The unique suspension included new two-piece brake calipers and upgraded brake rotors. These had been part of Fiero's initial design, but cost-cutting kept them from being implemented sooner.[6] The available I4 and V6 engines benefited from evolutionary improvements, but the planned availability of turbochargers and newer DOHC engines did not happen before production stopped.

In spite of the much-improved car which finally had realized its potential after years of mismanagement, GM ended production after the 1988 model year due to declining sales figures. Bad press and consumer sentiment frequently cited heavy media coverage of Fiero engine fires, as well as the poor reliability and performance of the 1984–1987 models.

Design
The Fiero turned out to be an unusual design for GM, one which stood out from the rest of their product lines. The company had rejected development of a sporty, two-seater Pontiac since the late 1960s, as they believed it would steal sales from the Corvette. However, young Pontiac engineers in 1978 were able to sell the Fiero concept to the corporation as a fuel-efficient four-cylinder "commuter car" that just happened to have two seats, rather than a muscle car. When the engineers brought back a running prototype in less than six months, corporate bought it.[7] However, the budget for the car, from design to building the machines for making the parts, was 400 million dollars, just a fraction of what GM generally spent on bringing a typical prototype car into production. Pontiac assigned oversight of the Fiero to Hulki Aldikacti, a Turkish immigrant with a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Michigan State University along with nearly 22 years of experience.[2]

Aldikacti’s initial challenge was with GM's corporate structure, which split its engineers into two categories: the car engineers who would create blueprints for the car, and manufacturing engineers who would work out the fabrication and assembly issues. Fiero blueprints traveled back and forth between the two engineering branches, using up time and money. Aldikacti was forced to sit the two teams of engineers down next to one another, allowing for no excuses to why there was “no build” after his design was done. Many modifications in the Fiero’s production needed to be made; for instance, despite his long-standing interest in manufacturing body panels from plastic, Aldikacti consented to metal body pieces, the dies for which were much less costly.[2]

As the prototypes took shape, the exterior lines resembled more of a Ferrari or Porsche than a typical GM car, but the tight budget was taking its toll on the design, particularly on Aldikacti's dream of a high performance, aluminum-block V6; the cost of developing a new engine would be more than the production of the whole car itself. Instead, Aldikacti was forced to settle for the already manufactured four-cylinder engine GM produced for the Pontiac, the “Iron Duke,” nicknamed for its heavy iron block.[8] This engine was too blocky to fit into the tiny car so it was equipped with a smaller oil pan, causing the engine to always run a quart low.

Aldikacti’s unorthodox design methods and personal manner made him unpopular to most of GM’s bureaucracy. Three times he was told by counterparts at other GM divisions that his project had been cancelled by corporate management. However, the Fiero project was kept alive at the wishes of certain high-ranked defenders, chief among them William Hoglund, who took over Pontiac in 1980. Hoglund took the reins as the division was suffering from the loss of their hot rods in the late 1970s; Pontiac’s cars were said to be bland, outdated, and what customers of the past would buy. In 1983 Hoglund told his top three dozen staffers that Pontiac would rebuild itself with cars that were “exciting” and “different.” These terms only described one of Pontiac’s cars in their current lineup, Aldikacti’s "commuter car." In order to build the 100,000 cars a year Hoglund’s marketing team committed to sell, Hoglund negotiated a deal to reopen a plant once shut down in the heart of Pontiac, Michigan. He and his staff wanted to prove that cooperation between management and labor could be solved without the use of robots on the assembly line, which GM’s top executives wanted to use. Hoglund allowed hourly workers to name Aldikacti's car; "Fiero" was their choice.[