I just bought a book from amazon.com called "Fiero Performance Portfolio", basicly it's a compilation of drive tests, consumer reviews, and other Fiero related articles that were published when each of the particular models were new. It was interesting to me that there was such an extreme difference in opinion on the 85 Fiero GT. Quote from Road & Track Fiero GT drive test, "Lets make it official. The debate is over. The Fiero isn't just a nice 2-seater commuter car anymore. It's a world-class sports car". Quote from another road test (unknown publisher), "...it's still a commuter car, not yet a true sports car." I say sports car. Simply because I believe it performed well at the standards for "sports car" at the time, and even today. So whats your opinion of the bone stock 85 Fiero GT? Commuter or Sorts Car?
The v6 models I would say were 80's sports car and as the 90 prototype showed if they keep making them they would have gotten faster with the rest of the cars. The duke though is 100% commuter.
IP: Logged
01:43 AM
Mr.PBody Member
Posts: 3172 From: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Registered: Oct 2006
I say sports car. Simply because I believe it performed well at the standards for "sports car" at the time, and even today. So whats your opinion of the bone stock 85 Fiero GT? Commuter or Sorts Car?
It did perform well in its day, but there's no way any stock Fiero is even close to standard today. As for the question, depends on the situation and preference. I like to go with commuter economy car to downplay it just like I call my CTS-V a grandma car.
Historically the GM executives bought into the Fiero thinking that it was a commuter car. The buying public on the other hand saw a small, mid-engine, two seater, and bought what they thought was a sports car. From my perspective, a stock Fiero is a sporty looking communter car. However, a Fiero with 200+Hp. is a sports car. (At least in my mind.) Whether it is a commuter car or a sports car, I don't really care. My Fiero allows me to enjoy my commute to and from work every day and it never fails to put a smile on my face.
------------------ "Its nice to be important. Its more important to be nice."
Many sports cars especially the early European, MG, Triumph, Opel GT, etc, were more about small, nimble, and fun to drive -not horsepower. So, in my opinion the 4cyl/6cyl engine issue doesn't really influence which catagory the Fiero falls in. The design of the Fiero fell victim to GM's schizophrenic nature and competing priorities of the time, case in point the initial suspension choices. I think the physical stance of the car, seating position, and drivetrain placement put the car squarely into the sports car (not muscle car, not super car) catagory. We can debate what GM called it or what spin was placed on it's description for marketing and EPA reasons, but if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck...well you know.
If you were going to build a true commuter car, which the auto industry already had in the original Mustang, the Vega, Monza, Pinto, Chevette, etc, I don't think you would consider placing the seating as low as the Fiero's. The seating of any legitimate commuter car would be much higher off the pavement and open to minimize the difficulty of entering and exiting the car. Getting in an out of the car in business attire, especially for the women buyers is really not what I would consider practical for strictly commuter designed car.
------------------ RickN White 88GT 5spd White 85GT Auto White 99 F250SD 7.3PSD 6spd 1956 Ford 860 w/ Freeman Loader
[This message has been edited by RickN (edited 01-06-2008).]
IP: Logged
04:07 PM
PerKr Member
Posts: 641 From: Mariestad, Sweden Registered: Nov 2006
the design says sports-car. the only thing that would make it a commuter is the 2.5 being just slightly underpowered (and the automatic transmission. sports-cars do NOT, traditionally, use automatic transmissions). mid-engined car with independent suspension and disc brakes (using aluminium calipers!!!) all around? commuter? and the fuel-tank just happened to place itself so that the effect of it being full or empty wouldn't matter that much for cornering ability? Were the Fiat X1/9 and Toyota MR2 commuters or sports-cars?
[This message has been edited by PerKr (edited 01-06-2008).]
My neighbor has an X1/9 and there's a kid at my school who owns two MR2s. In my opinion the 86 MR2 just looks like a doorstop (no offense to MR2 owners), however the way it handles and the decent performance I feel redeems it. So I'd say Sports car.
The Fiat looks alot like a 2M4 Fiero, and the interior is pretty cool if not just a little cramped. It's handling is nice as well, but it lacks in the power requirement for sports car in my opinion. So I'd say it's a fun European commuter. My neighbor really likes and wants my 85 Fiero GT and I can't say I blame him.
Hey Tinkrr! I agree with you, and nice car mine looks exactly the same!
IP: Logged
07:03 PM
GKDINC Member
Posts: 1813 From: East Tawas MI Registered: Dec 2001
2 seats, manual trans, rear drive, sporty body ..need I say more???
Actually it is both to me since I drive mine on almost a daily basis although I don't need to "commute" to a job as it were..I always look forward to getting into my Fiero and driving it like it was meant to be driven, IMO, like I stole it. I just love the thrill it gives me with a high rpm engine and at least 300 hp and the sound which is very sports car like ... cool sound ------------------ Soon to be Ferrari powered
[This message has been edited by Erik (edited 01-07-2008).]
IP: Logged
03:26 AM
darkhorizon Member
Posts: 12279 From: Flint Michigan Registered: Jan 2006
I am glad the insurance company says its a commuter car, if they would call it a sports car, my insurance would be expensive.
When I insured mine I got a letter in the mail about how sports cars usually have higher horse power and get into more frequent accidents and all that. Purely a "stock" letter. My other car has more power and is faster than my Fiero ('84 Duke auto. Yeah whatta ya gonna do ).
It did perform well in its day, but there's no way any stock Fiero is even close to standard today.
Yeah your right. I guess what I was really trying to say was that the car still stands up as fun car to drive. Modern sports cars will smoke it, but I still get a kick out of drivin it!
IP: Logged
01:03 AM
PFF
System Bot
Marvin McInnis Member
Posts: 11599 From: ~ Kansas City, USA Registered: Apr 2002
I think the '84 through '87 Fieros are best described as "personal cars" ... which may just be a more polite term than "commuter cars." The '88 GT and Formula might be able to qualify as entry level "sports cars." But there is still no comparison between a stock 1988 Fiero GT or Formula and a stock 1969 Porsche 911E or 911S, for example, when it comes to earning the designation "sports car."
quote
Originally posted by Formula88:
It's drafty, rides rough, and leaks oil. Of COURSE it's a sports car!
Good point! You can add to that the difficulty of finding a mechanic who isn't afraid to work on a Fiero. The only two flaws in the analogy are: 1) Fieros aren't rare enough, and 2) wear parts are generally still available and reasonably priced.
[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 01-08-2008).]
IP: Logged
01:35 AM
Tinkrr Member
Posts: 412 From: Whitby,ON, Canada Registered: Aug 2004
Marvin There is no comparrison between a 911 Porsche and a 24HP MG TC but they are both Sports Cars The Bristol AC was a sports car before Carrol Shelby put a 269 cu in engine in it
I would like to paraphrase my Dad who used to say "there are no bad beers some just taste better than others"
There are no bad sports cars some are just faster than others
You can quote me on that
IP: Logged
01:59 PM
Philphine Member
Posts: 6136 From: louisville,ky. usa Registered: Feb 2000
GM built it as a commuter car, hence the crappy choice of motor, suspension components etc initially but seem to have marketed it as a sporty (rather than sports) car.
By the time they got it's identity figured out and got it right, the public was confused, sales had died and so did production.
i think maybe the 87-88 fiero could have been called a "sports car" in the 1980s; but comparing it to the present-day cars, it has WAY to little horsepower and the stock brakes are too weak to be a sports car. Fun-to-drive commuter ? - yep, definitely easy to maneuver and easy to park, relatively cheap to maintain.
IP: Logged
04:08 AM
Francis T Member
Posts: 6620 From: spotsylvania va. usa Registered: Oct 2003
A sportscar should not run out of power above 4.5K like the stock 2.8 does. Even the ole Fait X/19 and it's tiny engine could out rev the 2.8. You should not have to up-shift a sportscar at such low rpm. Had that not been the case with the Fieor GTs they would have recieved much better reviews and this thread would not be here. In my opion a true sportscar should have/be 4 things: small and light, handle great, look cool (at least to some of us) and have a good engine that revs (not a low rpm truck-like engine). Sadly the stock Fiero GTs had only 3 of those things, but happily we can corre ct the last wihtout much fuss!
Pontiac wanted a sports car, and took advantage of GM corporate's desire for it's divisions to come up with a high mileage commuter to sneak this car under their noses. So I think in spirit it is a sports car as it was originally intended and designed. Since it had to be sold to GM brass as a commuter, the label sort of stuck.
I'd say it is a sports car. Or it is as much as a Miata was and is (and there seems little doubt about that car). Fiero wasn't a convertable, but neither is half the Corvettes on the road either. It may not have been the best affordable sports car made, as far as suspension or engine choices go, but that doesn't deny the design intent.
So I consider it a sports car. Whether anyone else does or not doesn't really matter to me. I would like people to recognize it as such, but I would also like people to stop asking me if I am afraid of having an engine fire. The reputation of it as a commuter, and fire prone are fairly well set in stone and are not going to change. I like it anyway.
IP: Logged
09:12 AM
Francis T Member
Posts: 6620 From: spotsylvania va. usa Registered: Oct 2003
Quote: So I consider it a sports car. Whether anyone else does or not doesn't really matter to me. I would like people to recognize it as such, but I would also like people to stop asking me if I am afraid of having an engine fire. The reputation of it as a commuter, and fire prone are fairly well set in stone and are not going to change. I like it anyway.
But on the + side, that false rep helps to keep the prices down, so you own more than one!
