So, I know I haven't been on in a while, but I need to educate some people and I want the exact info before I do! So, I'm out last night and I start talking about the formula a friend says "fieros are great, but you can't fit in one. Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, but the designer was over 6 ft. tall and designed them so that they could be enjoyed by people who were taller. Hell, Bobby had to modify the formula so I could drive it correctly. This guy needs some solid proof. I'm almost 99.9% positive it was designed that way. Please help and I'll post a link to him.

I can't stand that people think they're small or that they all catch on fire...I hate getting into debates about my car!

I cannot confirm your facts, but I find the Fiero to have some of the most legroom of any car I have ever owned, including ones considerably larger. I am 6 foot tall and have to drive with the seat all the way back in most cars. If I put my Fiero's seat all the way back, I cannot even depress the clutch enough to disenguage it.

Exactly! Bobby is 6'2" and has tons of room. I just wanted to prove my point. hahaha! No woman wants to be wrong!

I'm 6-1, somewhere around 240 and own a Formula and a 87GT. I wouldn't call them roomy by any stretch but it's not that bad. Getting in and out is tight (don't hit the dash!) but again, not that bad.
Edit to say that it being so low is more of an issue getting in and out than interior room...i'm not a kid anymore.

[This message has been edited by DLCLK87GT (edited 12-03-2010).]

I think you're confusing the Fiero with the DeLorean, John DeLorean was 6'4" and they did design the car so he could fit comfortably in it. Actually anyone know how tall Hulki is?

quote Originally posted by RWDPLZ: I think you're confusing the Fiero with the DeLorean, John DeLorean was 6'4" and they did design the car so he could fit comfortably in it. Actually anyone know how tall Hulki is?

maybe...and hulki is about 5'9" I'm estimating from when I met him.

OOPS was referring to hulkiumybff....i need sleep apologies. lol

[This message has been edited by fierogal123 (edited 12-03-2010).]

I am 6 ft and sit comfortably. Somewhere I remember hearingthat there is more room in them than a same year Vette had in it (Not Chevette either).

I think Hulki Aldicakti was actually not that tall. However, one of the reasons why the Fiero has the leg room it does for being such a small car is primarily attributed to the design and the dash make up, but also in a large part to the position of the seats. If you notice, they are on very small seat rails that leave very little room from the bottom of the seat to the floor board. Most "normal" coupes and sedans do not have seats this low, so when someone sits in the car they have to position themselves where their legs and knees are bent further. Whereas in a Fiero, this bending of the legs is not as noticeable. When you have the seat bottom positioned as far back as it will go and the back is fully reclined, there is actually A LOT of room all things considered.

quote Originally posted by fierogal123: maybe...and hulki is about 5'9" I'm estimating from when I met him.

Not the screen name Hulki U. myBFF, but the actual designer Hulki Aldikacti, and not sure how tall he is... Unless you actually met him, then please ignore my post.

quote Originally posted by fierogal123: I can't stand that people think they're small or that they all catch on fire...I hate getting into debates about my car!

Best thing you can do is say 'That's interesting" and keep on walking.

I got hit with all of the "Fiero Death" questions before. Rather than just try and defend the car, I have told a guy that the Fiero requires "special" insurance due to it's random fires, bad brakes, and the such.

6', 190lbs. I fit perfectly in my GT. I too need to scoot the seat up a couple of notches to depress my clutch properly. Plenty of room.

I had an 84 about 20 years ago. The car traveled all around the US with me. My buddy at the time was pushing 6' 2", 240, and he loved the room of the Fiero. We spent several weeks touring America @ 18, and never once thought about being cramped. Really was a great, comfortable trip.

The rumor that is generally told is that the seating was designed for a person that was 6'-4" and that the trunk was designed for a set of golf clubs to lay on the side. This design ploy was to get the bean-counters to buy into the car since the head bean-counter at the time was 6'-4".

I've heard this story many times at shows and talking to other Fiero owners. Now, is it true? Who knows but it makes for great story telling either way.

P.S. I am 6'-4" and have no problem at all with leg or head room. Now, width wise let's just say my Fiero has shrunk over the years.

[This message has been edited by IwannaIRM (edited 12-03-2010).]

Why not just let the doubter sit in the car, and then ask them where the shortage is?

I'm 6'2" tall, and I have an '84 Fiero. I can't adjust my seat, because I hit my head. My seating position is like a slouch, and I can only take it for a few hours before I want to un-recline, and slide the base back. Now, my legs are not particularly short, I wear a very average 32" inseam jeans.
But that brace at the rear of the roof, it needs to be notched. Seems unsafe, but I can't find any easier way to get the seats lower, yet retain the slide feature.

quote Originally posted by weaselbeak: Why not just let the doubter sit in the car, and then ask them where the shortage is?

X2

quote Originally posted by fierogal123: Exactly! Bobby is 6'2" and has tons of room. I just wanted to prove my point. hahaha! No woman wants to be wrong!

I'm the same, I fit fine.

I suppose the height of the designer wouldn't really prove it anyway.

I'm tall and I fit... but I have had a fiero fire, too. (It was electrical, not the dreaded oil on manifold pop) So one out of two aint bad.

Yeah, yeah yeah...the stories I've heard: "It's a plastic coffin. The body panels are just stuck on with Velcro.:
"You have to be short and thin to fit in one of those."
"I know like...6 people that have been killed in those."
"That's soooo 80's!"
"Do you carry a good fire extinguisher?"
"If you get hit in the rear end, the engine will hit the gas tank and the whole thing will blow up."
"Didn't Ralph Nader outlaw rear-engine cars." (gag me!)
...The list goes on, but I chalk them up to ignorance, and in many cases, 'sour-grapes' - style envy.
The designer is Hungarian. He is retired, but as far as I know, still alive. As of about 4 years ago he was made aware of the existence of Pennock's Fiero Forum, and (I understand) was flattered that so many people are loyal to his creation. I have no idea how tall he is. He also brought us the (then) unusual design of the Chevy APV, Pontiac Trans Sport and Olds Sillouette minivans. People ridiculed those as well, saying that they looked like DustBusters without handles. Those that have owned them really liked them. I still own a '96 Trans Sport. They share a space-frame design with the Fiero and bolt-on plastic panels (not Velcro).
I am 6'6" tall, 200 to 210 (probably on the higher side after Thanksgiving). My two sons are about the same stature, although my youngest is slightly taller than me, and we all drive Fieros for fun and for our daily drivers. If the weather is hot, I usually wear a hat because the mop is getting thin on top and I hate a sunburned head.
So at 6'6", with cowboy hat, I fit into a GT, a Mera or a 2M4 comfortably with a little room to spare. 700+ mile trips from Northern MN to the Detroit metro area are no problem for me or my oldest son who makes the trip frequently.
Jeff, my youngest son, was rear-ended by an SUV traveling at a fairly high rate of speed about a year ago. After the accident, the SUV was not drivable. The trunk bucket on the white '86 gt was crushed, and Jeff hit his head on the back window, but he's ok and the car was still drivable. We had to extract our license plate out of the radiator of the SUV. I'm convinced they are about as safe as a small car can be.

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Gold '87 GT, Black '87 GT, Black '88 Mera, 64 Stingray coupe, '01 Corvette coupe, '03 Corvette coupe & caretaker of son's Yellow '87 GT, & Other son's Red '86 GT,
General tinkerer and doer of mechanical deeds

The ignorance is funny.

Just the other day, I was wearing my NIFE fleece sweatshirt with the Fiero logo on it, and a guy saw it and said "Fieros! I hate those things!". I was already in a bad mood, so I asked him why. "Oh, they're really hard to work on". I corrected him, and said they're really no more difficult than most other GM cars from the 80s. He countered with "Yeah, but the engine's in the back!". I reminded that the engine's location doesn't really change things, its still reached by opening the hood like any FWD car. He finally admitted that he's just going by what he's heard.

I am 6'3" at 200 pounds.

I have MORE legroom in my Pontiac Fiero, than I do in my 2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX with the seat all the way back.

quote Originally posted by css9450: The ignorance is funny. Just the other day, I was wearing my NIFE fleece sweatshirt with the Fiero logo on it, and a guy saw it and said "Fieros! I hate those things!". I was already in a bad mood, so I asked him why. "Oh, they're really hard to work on". I corrected him, and said they're really no more difficult than most other GM cars from the 80s. He countered with "Yeah, but the engine's in the back!". I reminded that the engine's location doesn't really change things, its still reached by opening the hood like any FWD car. He finally admitted that he's just going by what he's heard.

I heard a guy once tell me that if my Fiero goes over 85 miles an hour, they flip over because there's no weight in the front. The air will catch the nose and flip it on it's end. I told the guy that he must be mixing up part of Back to the Future with something else. As you said, he told me that's just what he had heard.

Well... I heard that Fieros can go 300 miles an hour...


------------------
Todd,
2008 Jeep Patriot Limited 4x2
2002 Ford Explorer Sport 2dr 4x2
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter

[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 12-03-2010).]

people are just dumb, end of story...

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I would just take the car out, but there's snow/ice on the ground and I don't trust idiots on the road not to hit it! I think I might freak out juuuuusstttt a bit if someone did.

There is a picture of Blake trying to get in my ex Fiero {Warning it is not for the weak}. I will try to find it and post the thread link.

Hulki designed it so that the chief engineer Bob Dorn would fit. An excerpt taken from Gary Witzenburg's book Fiero: Pontiac's Potent Mid-Engine Sports Car page 39:

"One amusing problem that Dorn ran into was fit: his own. "When Hulki sat me down in his first prototype one day down at the Arizona proving ground, I didn't fit. I said, "Hulki, you've committed one of the cardinal sins; the car doesn't fit the chief engineer". My head was touching the ceiling and my knees were on those pods on either side of the instrument cluster. This didn't manke sense to me, because we had the same head room by design as the Firebird, and I never had any trouble with the Firebird. Hulki was, of course, very embarrassed. He told me: "But I laid it out so you would fit! This car is supposed to fit you." I answered, "That's nice Hulki, but it doesn't." Bob Dorn, incidentally stands 6'-6".

"It turned out that the prototype seat was mounted very high and too far forward. "After that," continues Dorn, "I think Hulki reduced the steering wheel offset, moved the seat back as far as he could, and even had to thin up the seat, which put him into a seat redesign program he hadn't anticipated.""

quote Originally posted by Bloozberry: Hulki designed it so that the chief engineer Bob Dorn would fit. An excerpt taken from Gary Witzenburg's book Fiero: Pontiac's Potent Mid-Engine Sports Car page 39:

Nice! Posts exactly what the OP was looking for and accurate/interesting information. I can't believe that I didn't already give you a plus!

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-Aaron

quote Originally posted by pontiackid86: I could have been an 85 SE V6.. never know

quote Originally posted by fierogal123: So, I know I haven't been on in a while, but I need to educate some people and I want the exact info before I do! So, I'm out last night and I start talking about the formula a friend says "fieros are great, but you can't fit in one. Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, but the designer was over 6 ft. tall and designed them so that they could be enjoyed by people who were taller. Hell, Bobby had to modify the formula so I could drive it correctly. This guy needs some solid proof. I'm almost 99.9% positive it was designed that way. Please help and I'll post a link to him.

Your friends just jealous I'm 6'3 and I fit in my car perfectly, with the seat at 75 degree angle (approx.)

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I'm actually 5' 6" tall.

[This message has been edited by Hulki U. My-BFF (edited 12-03-2010).]

I'm 6'2" and fit great!!

Hahaha! I guess that makes me the tallest one to post thus far. I'm 6'5"!!! Though I weigh in at a mere 160 LBS. (I'm 19 for those whom are scratching their heads reading this.) I fit with the utmost comfort in my Fiero. The only issue with my height is occasionally my knee will bump the turn signal stalk, which sets off my retarded windshield wipers and startles my passenger. Lol! Lemme see if I have any pics of me with my GT.


Edit for pic:

Not what I was looking for, but funny nonetheless. Me changing my plugs:



Bonus points if someone can spot my little helper!
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"He took my stapler. I could burn this building down."

[This message has been edited by TheRealShadowX (edited 12-03-2010).]

Iguana? on the top of the car?

I have officially registered my guess.........


Jeff

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quote Originally posted by Dogcreek: Iguana? on the top of the car? I have officially registered my guess......... Jeff

Close... But you do know Iguanas are green, right? Lol! Just messin with ya! That's my girlfriend's Bearded Dragon enjoying my warm sunroof. His name is Taco.

Good eye!

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"He took my stapler. I could burn this building down."

Now the real question is..... can he tell the difference between metric and standard and can he carry cold beer!! LOL

quote Originally posted by Bloozberry: Hulki designed it so that the chief engineer Bob Dorn would fit. An excerpt taken from Gary Witzenburg's book Fiero: Pontiac's Potent Mid-Engine Sports Car page 39: "One amusing problem that Dorn ran into was fit: his own. "When Hulki sat me down in his first prototype one day down at the Arizona proving ground, I didn't fit. I said, "Hulki, you've committed one of the cardinal sins; the car doesn't fit the chief engineer". My head was touching the ceiling and my knees were on those pods on either side of the instrument cluster. This didn't manke sense to me, because we had the same head room by design as the Firebird, and I never had any trouble with the Firebird. Hulki was, of course, very embarrassed. He told me: "But I laid it out so you would fit! This car is supposed to fit you." I answered, "That's nice Hulki, but it doesn't." Bob Dorn, incidentally stands 6'-6". "It turned out that the prototype seat was mounted very high and too far forward. "After that," continues Dorn, "I think Hulki reduced the steering wheel offset, moved the seat back as far as he could, and even had to thin up the seat, which put him into a seat redesign program he hadn't anticipated.""

Even with the seat differences, I fit my '84 Trans Am T-top, and my '82 Camaro hardtop, better than my Fiero.
Also, I can't help but notice that all the guys taller than me have sunroofs. My Fiero doesn't. Still, that shouldn't change the rear bracing?

[This message has been edited by Isolde (edited 12-03-2010).]

im 6' 4" tall, and i i can stretch right out.. I have racing bucket seats now, which sits me alot lower than the stock seats did, but even with the stock seats, i never had any problems with head or leg room..

Just agree with the morons and go your own way.

I am just about 6' 3" and weigh about 225lbs.

Once in, I fit fine, there is plenty of room.

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Chuck
86 Fiero SE

I'm 6'1 and 250 and have plenty of room in my '86.

quote Originally posted by TheRealShadowX: Bonus points if someone can spot my little helper!

I'd be a little worried about him sitting up there, if he starts to fall, he's got nothing to get his claws into to keep him from going straight to the pavement... :/ I lost mine to a poisonous bug he got a hold of because I wasn't paying enough attention to what he was snapping at, I'd hate to see something similar happen to your G/F's.

You can't play pool or ping pong in the passenger compartment but who whats to drive a car with that much extra room anyway. Of all the vehicles that I've ridden and driven in (excluding my F250), in recent years, the Fiero has more room once inside, of any of them. Entering and exiting the car, especially in a crowded parking space can be a challenge.

6'-1"
275# +/-

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RickN
White 88GT 5spd (<10K miles)
White 85GT (SC3800 Series II w/ AOD)
White 99 F250SD 7.3PSD 6spd
1956 Ford 860 Tractor w/ Freeman Loader
20Ft H&H Tilt Bed Trailer

quote Originally posted by TheRealShadowX: Hahaha! I guess that makes me the tallest one to post thus far. I'm 6'5"!!! Though I weigh in at a mere 160 LBS. (I'm 19 for those whom are scratching their heads reading this.) I fit with the utmost comfort in my Fiero. The only issue with my height is occasionally my knee will bump the turn signal stalk, which sets off my retarded windshield wipers and startles my passenger. Lol! Lemme see if I have any pics of me with my GT.

Not anymore! I'm the tallest at a little over 6'5", and at 150lbs. 18. I fit in Fiero's with no problems.
Actually I got a ride in fierogal123's t-top Fiero, and hey, that was an awesome ride! Bobby was driving though.

[This message has been edited by mattwa (edited 12-04-2010).]