The Production Story and History behind the Pontiac Fiero (and beyond)


1964 Fiero???

The Pontiac Fiero is a car that almost never came into existence. The original concept for an affordable yet high performing two-seater Pontiac sports car (a would-be Fiero) dates back to the 1950's!!! One early prototype vehicle was given the name "Firebird Fiero". Later, in the early 60's, a (V-8 powered at that time) two-seater sports car concept was developed by John DeLorean, who while head of design at Pontiac is also credited with creating the GTO - putting Pontiac on the map in terms of performance! The ready-for-production car was aimed at true driving enthusiasts and had radical new styling, however GM decided it would threaten sales and the image of their "flagship" Corvette. DeLorean's original all new two-seater sports car design (for which he pushed a different name - the Banshee) was stillborn. GM insisted on a four seater "pony car" from Pontiac to compete with the Ford Mustang and demanded that DeLorean build the car on the newly developed F Platform (on which the Camaro would also be built)! This new car became the Firebird and debuted as a 1967 model. This resulted in additional development of two seater concepts, but GM would never let DeLorean build them. (Interestingly, the 1962 "Banshee" prototype clearly had tremendous design influence on the (later developed) 1968 and up model year Stingrays - GM said no you cant build it, and then handed the design over to Chevrolet and made it the next-generation Corvette!) Somewhat disgruntled, DeLorean ultimately left GM a shortly thereafter to establish his own nameplate, DeLorean Motor Cars.

1964 Banshee concept car above left, 1969 Corvette, above right.

Below, left: Fiero GT Pictured alongside a '63 Vette. Was the early Corvette a design influence on the Fiero?

Above, right: Fiero GT pictured alongside a C5 Vette. Design influence works both ways!

The Fiero's design reached far into the past and far into the future. Despite appearing to share some basic exterior design elements, the modern C5/C6 Corvette has been said to have a chassis with construction that is remarkably similar to the Fiero's.

A new beginning

The two-seater Pontiac project was finially resurected in 1975 while GM was being impacted by the fuel crisis of 1973-1974, and Bob Stempel (who went on to be appointed as the General Manager of Pontiac in 1978) saw an opportunity to push the little two seater as a fuel efficient alternative to larger commuter cars. Several early attempts to turn the Fiero concept into a highly efficent fuel economy "commuter car" had previously been scrapped (including a concept vehicle which appears to have had a design influence on GM's electric car of the mid 90's) before a new General Manager by the name of William E. Hoglund came to Pontiac in 1980, and was directed to resume the project. This led to a radical new design said to be ahead of its time which incorporated a space age chassis and frame with integrated side impact beams and fully composite body panels that promised to be a "fun" commuter car. The project was green-lighted, and the Fiero was born - hitting showroom floors in Sept. 1983 as a 1984 model.

Pontiac's own supercar?

The inside story seems to be that, with the gas crisis behind them, the design team at Pontiac secretly wanted to turn the little "commuter car" project into a world class sports car (similar to the Ferrari 308 which influenced the design and two of which were purchased by Pontiac during the Fiero's development). But that would mean developing a car that could also become a "Corvette killer" and GM executives would not approve of Pontiac offering a car that promised even anything near Corvette like performance at around one-third the price tag, especially with the Camaro, Firebird and Trans Am already providing a lower-cost alternative to higher priced sports cars, including GM's flagship Corvette, and never back such a project. The Chevrolet division also has a history of "lobbying" against the production of sports cars from other GM Divisions. (What happened to the waiting list only, faster than a 'Vette Buick Grand National by the way?) But Pontiac (with the GTO and Firebird) and even Buick (with the Grand National) have a history of rebelling against the authority and dictatorship of their parent company once in a while like out of control teenagers. They dont like to always do as they are told (often breeding contempt and causing backlash rather than gaining respect for taking initiative)! Did they get carried away with the Fiero? More than the public knew.....

The Fiero flying pegasus badge which graced the front of the car - sort of a combination of Ferrari's rearing horse badge (on the left) combined with the Firebird's insignia of a winged bird. My opinion is that the 308 (pictured below) was likely the primary design influence for the Fiero. Pontiac had several 308's in its possession during the development of the Fiero. Ferrari is known to have later sued Pontiac after re-bodied Fieros were sold at Pontiac dealers which were near exact replicas of the Ferrari 308GTB/308GTS (1987-1988). These Fieros are known as Meras and are the most valuable dealer-sold Fieros today, selling for up to around $30,000.


Above: The Ferrari 308 (left) and '84 Fiero (right)

Below: A 1988 Pontiac Mera "100% original as it came from the factory" pictured with other Fieros in the background.

The battle with GM

Hulki Aldikacti, who was the project manager at the time of the Fiero's early development, is rumored to have battled with GM executives during the development of the car, possibly because Pontiac had such a radically different vision for the car than GM Execs, but little is known about what really transpired. GM insisted that off the shelf parts be used for the drivetrain and suspension (to the highest possible extent) in order to keep production costs down, and didn't give Pontiac the budget necessary to do anything but make compromises in certain areas. GM also insisted on a 4cyl "commuter car" engine, but Pontiac did have 'an ace up their sleeve'; they designed and built the car so that a 6cyl (which was approved by GM to be offered as an option starting in 1985) and even 8cyl engines could be easily introduced. Pontiac actually ran a number of small block 350 V-8 powered cars at GM's proving grounds in 1985-1987, which reportedly "ran circles" around even the new Corvettes under development at the time.

Here is a prototype of the 1984 Fiero pictured with the senior design team.

1984 - The Fiero hits the street

(Total Production 136,840 Units)

When the car debuted as a 1984 model, with production starting in August 1983, people snapped them up faster than the factory could deliver them. The cars were in such high demand that there was a four to five week waiting period from purchase to delivery. This resulted in cars being unavailable for even a test drive! Buyers were attracted by the exotic looks and anticipated true sports car performance - the Fiero was one of the most highly anticipated cars in automotive history. So highly anticipated, in fact, that General Motor's employees were doing their best to purchase the car before it was offered to the mass public, this had never before been a problem with a GM product.

A 1984 print ad for the Fiero.

As part of the original justification for the Fiero, Stempel and Hoglund had estimated that Pontiac would sell between 50,000 and 60,000 units a year. This was considered wildly over-optimistic by many in the hierarchy of General Motors - especially as the long-established Corvette was only averaging around 40,000 annual sales and that no other two-seater had achieved anywhere near Pontiac's projected sales volume. But it turned out that everyone was wrong. At the end of its first year the Fiero production total was an incredible 136,840.

Here are some actual comments from 1984 buyers:

[From Popular Mechanics, May 1984]

"Would have been willing to pay an additional $4,000 for it."

"Classier than the 280ZX and RX7."

"Call it love at first sight, but back in August '82 up in the Rockies, I happened to come across a Fiero being tested during Pontiac's engineering shakedowns. I ordered my car right after that without knowing what the price would be."

"It's the sportiest inexpensive car around. It cost less than a Camaro, Trans Am or Mustang. On top of that, it's loaded with new technology, gets good gas mileage and is made in America."

"It's what the 1984 Corvette should have been. The Fiero's styling makes a more powerful statement than anything else on the road. My friends at GM say the Fiero has outrageous potential, part of which will become evident in 1985."

"I've followed the Fiero's development in the car magazines for about two years and had pretty much made up my mind to buy one. As a former owner of 10 Corvettes, I feel the Fiero is what the new Corvette should have been in terms of size. If it came with an aluminum V6, 200hp and a European name, it would cost $35,000 and be a steal at that!"

Also from the Poplular Mechanics article:

'Fiero drivers were generally impressed with the way their cars handled. A mail carrier form Michigan said, "This has to be the best handling car I've ever had the pleasure of driving."

A New York electrical technician said, "This car handles great. I've owned Jags, MGs and Corvettes, but they didn't handle like this Fiero. The interior design has a way of making you feel snug, secure, in complete control, but there's still that air of roominess in the cockpit."

"The seats feel like they're built around you," said a California manager, "and the car handles like it's running on rails."

Most owners gave Pontiac great credit for a job will done. A Wisconsin foundation assistant wrote: "The Fiero has renewed my faith in the American automobile. It's my first Detroit product in 15 years, and it's excellent in every way. I look forward to driving it. Many people ask me about the car, and other look over their shoulders to grab a peek."

"The potential of this basic design is limitless. It'll be interesting to see what Pontiac does in the future. If the Fiero had 150-plus horses and a larger fuel tank, it could compete with cars costing twice as much, notably Corvette, Porsche, 300ZX, and Alfa Romeo. As it is, the Fiero is an exceptional value for the price."'

Pontiac Races Custom Widebody Fieros - and builds the Fastest Pace Car ever!

Pontiac raced custom modified wide-body stock car versions of the Fiero with great success during the cars five year production run, and they were top performers on the track.

In 1984, the Pontiac Fiero was the official pacecar of the Indy 500 and is among the most unique cars ever to pace the Indy 500. It is the only mid-engine car ever to pace the 500, as well as the shortest car to ever hold the honor. It is also one of very few 4-cylinder cars to pace at Indy. However, the engine in the Fiero pace car was far different from the 92-horsepower version found in the production model Fiero. This bored out 2.7L engine produced 232 horses and turned a lap at better than 136 MPH - a performance which made it the fastest Indy 500 Pace car to date! The car even featured an forced air intake located above the roofline of the car.

Above: Official Indy 500 Pacecars

A production version of the pace car was offered, loaded with every option and was the first Fiero to have the "aero" nose. Production was limited to 2,000 units. These are among the rarest Fieros in existence today.

1985 - A GT model debuts, the V-6 cometh!

(Total Production 76,371 units)

A 1985 Fiero GT as it came from the factory

The 1984 Fiero proved popular with the sport car enthusiast despite shortcomings in performance. However polls showed that only 16% of people said that they purchased a Fiero based on its fuel economy (The fuel crisis responsible for making the executive decision that the Fiero would be a "commuter car" was over before the car ever went into development). Pontiac responded in 1985 with a special "GT" edition, which debuted mid-year offering a standard 140hp, 170 ft. lb. V-6, a re-designed "aero" nose and rear wing. Pontiac dealers also began offering aftermarket kits and accessories which could reportedly boost horsepower of the 2.5L 4cyl to as high as 250!

1986 - The GT is given a sleek, fastback design!

(Total Production 83,974 units)


A 1986 Fiero GT with the new fastback styling.

For 1986, the former GT model was redesignated as the 'SE', with the V-6 engine becoming optional. A new GT model, with a fastback-style body made its debut. This car had a full "aero" body and the standard V-6 was carried over from the 1985 GT. The rear wing remained only as an option, although virtually all GT's were ordered with the wing. It is rumored that at a press conference - when the new fastback GT was unveiled - it was mistaken by members of the press as a new Corvette!

1987

(Total Production 46,581 units)

Few changes are made for the 1987 model year. Base coupes recieved a minor styling update to the frong facia. Exhaust manifolds on the V-6 optioned base, SE, and GT models received a re-design. A potential problem that had been identified with the pop up headlight assemblies on earlier cars was also corrected with a design improvement.

Problems begin to arise

Two problems resulting in engine fires on the 4 cylinder powered cars had been occurring fairly commonly by 1987. One problem involved coolant leaking and or coming into contact with the exhaust in some cases resulting in a fire - I believe this particular problem only occurred on a small number of 1984 models, had been identified and corrected early.

The other, more common problem arose from manufacturing defects in connecting rods supplied by GM's Saginaw foundry division. Pontiac engineers fought an 18-month battle to get Saginaw to stop supplying batches of defective iron connecting rods for the 2.5L 4cyl engines. The bottom line is that GM probably rushed the car into production a little prematurely - utilizing an old, outdated engine design that couldn't keep up with the performance image of the car, and secondly, was forced to rush production (in 1984 the factory ran continuously around the clock with first, second, and third shifts) to keep up with the unanticipated demand for the car its first year and sadly the story goes that at GM's Saginaw foundry division bonuses were paid based on how many tons of iron were produced and shipped per day! This led to inferior workmanship and inadequate inspection of the connecting rods coming from this plant, with disasterous results.

Secondly, Fiero owners increasingly drove their cars hard and pushed the performance capability of the motors. You don't drive a car that looks and handles like a miniature Ferrari as if it were a station wagon! And a connecting rod that breaks apart at high speed is said to be like a shrapnel grenade detonating inside the motor, capable of violently ripping through the engine block and causing oil to spray out onto hot exhaust manifolds, usually resulting in a fire. Since the "iron duke" engine in Fieros ran a quart low on oil to begin with because of a shallow oil pan, it was essential for owners to check oil levels frequently and avoid oil consumption, and many owners failed to do so. If you drive any engine hard, especially one with an inadequate amount of oil, you are going to blow even a non-defective rod!

To recall or not to recall, that is the question

GM decided to largely ignore the problems and privately settle insurance claims (similarly to how Ford and Firestone handled the serious rollover problem of early Explorers). I believe an immediate recall would have been good "damage control", although it wasn't until 1987 that any official recalls were made, by which time the Fiero had developed a huge reputation for engine fires, although driving habits (high revving) and poor maintenance (failure to check and add oil as needed) were mostly to blame for engine fires and only 1984 models along with some of the first cars produced in 1985 were affected due to later redesigns. In November of 1987 GM recalled all of the remaining 136,940 1984 Fieros to make repairs aimed at reducing the fire hazard. One was retrofitting with an oil pan and filter which increased the engine capacity to a full four quarts of oil. Another, however, was a sticker that Fiero owners were instructed to place on the little door that hid the cap to the gas tank. "Check engine oil at every fuel fill," the sticker read. The press viewed the recall campaign as "too little, too late". A feeding frenzy of bad press for GM ensued.

The Fiero's untimely demise

It was this problem, which only ever affected 1984 models, that was the ultimately the Fiero's downfall. The Fiero plant union leaders fought to save the car. In early 1988, a few weeks after the recall, a delegation from the Pontiac local tracked then Pontiac General Manager and VP J. Michael Losh down in a room at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. For more than half an hour, the union men begged Losh to save the Fiero. They talked up plans to build a hot-looking Fiero convertible, for which a prototype already existed. [In fact, several prototypes were built of convertibles, Fieros with light weight aluminium space frames (200 lbs) had also been built and several other body styles, including a 4-door was in early development. GTs with prototype 2.9L V6 turbo'd aluminium engines had also been built and tested.] Losh promised to think about it. In reality, there was only one thing left to say. Shortly after that, Donald Ephlin, the UAW's top negotiator at GM, walked into a lunch meeting with the labor relations staff at the Chevrolet-Pontiac-Canada Group headquarters in Warren, Mich. Sitting beside the labor staffers were Robert Schultz, the vice president in charge of the group, and David Campbell, the group's manufacturing boss. The two men hadn't been expected. Their presence spelled trouble. Just hours before, Ephlin had been warned that the Fiero was in jeopardy. Now, Schultz and Campbell delivered the blow: The Fiero would die at the end of the model year in the fall, after just five years of production. "Boy," Ephlin snapped. "It went downhill fast. It was sick this morning, and now it's dead."

That wasn't the last word on the Fiero, however. Not by a long shot. In December 1989, GM made yet another recall, this one affecting every one of the 244,000 four-cylinder Fieros it had built to fix any other problems that could conceivably result in fires. Four months later, GM recalled every single Fiero six cylinder and four cylinder to make additional modifications. All 1985-86 model year V-6 powered vehicles had new exhaust manifolds installed to bring them up to 1987-88 specifications. Heat sheilding and other engine compartment details also recieved slight modifications in the name of safety. (GM obviously wanted to eliminate or minimize the chance of recieving any negative media attention in the future related to the Fiero)

Inside GM, the Fiero had been a bright symbol of GM's new wave. Aldikacti's product team and the people at the Fiero factory had, indeed, been years ahead of their time.

In the end, it seems that the Fiero sufferred because GM wouldn't let Pontiac engineers build the all-new car they wanted to build, it was in GM's infinate wisdom that they dictated the use of the 2.5L "Iron Duke", an out of date ill-suited powerplant considering the revolutionary design and technology (and superb execution) throughout the rest of the car, even with the other design compromises demanded by GM.

A total of 370,167 Fieros were produced. Total GT production topped out at 63,010. The sales figures alone show that Pontiac indeed had a winner, it out sold it's only major competitor, Toyota's MR2, in every year of its production.

1988 - Production ends

(Total Production 26,402 units)

At the start of the 1988 model year, it had not been anticipated that 1988 might be the final year of production. For 1988, the suspension had been completely re-worked, reportedly with design influence from Lotus (which was under GM ownership at the time) at a cost of over $30 million, the brakes, chassis and electrical system had all been improved upon, and the car finially had performance that lived up to its "exotic-like sports car" image. T-tops are introduced as an option along with a new power adjustable lumbar seat option. A new "Formula" model was introduced, which combined the performance and some of the allure of the GT with a non-fastback body adorned with a rear spoiler as standard equipment, which remained a cost option on all other models. After the official announcement was made on March 1, 1988 that production would cease with the 1988 model year, GT and Formula cars became fodder for would-be collectors including (once again), but not limited to, a number of GM employees. Some examples of Fieros are known to exist today with as few as 16 / SIXTEEN ORIGINAL MILES (at the time of this write up - Nov. 2006), with window stickers and original factory wrappings still attached.

The 1989/90 Fiero that was never built

Two 1989/90 Prototypes are known to have survived, and have made several appearances at various events. The 1990 prototype was called the 'Fiero GTA' or 'Fiero "Gran Turismo Americano" Trans Am'. This was perhaps a last ditch effort by Pontiac to keep the Fiero from an early grave. The cars look conspicuously like two-seater 1993 to 2002 (4th generation) Camaros. The same roofline and similar overall design cues are present. Is it just a family resemblance or did this Fiero concept give birth to the 4th Generation Camaro/Firebird? The Fiero was an innovative car from its debut, with the first use of composite panels by a domestic automaker, as well as a number of other production "firsts" that paved the way for modern cars and influenced other GM designs, including the modern Corvette and the Fiero GTA concept appears to have at least been developed alongside (if not inspired) the 4th Gen Camaro/Firebird. Quite an intersting story. So, does the story end here? NO!

Pictures of the 1989/90 Prototype(s):

The badge appearing on the 1990 Fiero GTA prototype - it carried a "Trans Am GTA" badge!

GM "re-invents the Fiero"?, Meet the 1990 Saturn!



What GM took away from Pontiac, it gave to Saturn. The Saturn Division debuted in 1990 and built exactly what GM had wanted from Pontiac, a fun to drive (but lets not get carried away with ourselves!), inexpensive, innovative (composite body panels, etc) commuter car. Despite manufacturing problems the first year resulting in only 4,245 Saturns being built in 1990 - quality control was high and the Saturns delivered to buyers were never plagued by any significant problems and although it some took time before Saturn became profitable to GM the division has been overall successful up until recent years. Later Pontiac would go on to build the compact sunbird/sunfire coupes on shared platforms with Chevrolet and most recently offer the Solstice roadster, its first 2 seater since the Fiero's demise on a platform shared with the Saturn Sky.

A future Fiero????

This year, automobile trade magazines began reporting that GM had re-registered the "Fiero" trademark late in June 2006. Interesting, does the future hold a revival for this cult classic?????? In the automotive world, anything is possible...

An artists rendering of the Fiero modernized (by a Fiero enthusiast)



Pg 1 My 1988 Fiero GT

Pg 2 What I've done to my Fiero

Pg 3 Where my Fiero has been

Pg 4 The Production Story of the Pontiac Fiero (and beyond)

Pg 5 The Fiero Today

Pg 6 Fiero Facts

Pg 7 Your car might be a Fiero if...