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| Pontiac engineer at the time of Fiero comments (Page 2/2) |
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TXGOOD
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NOV 13, 12:16 PM
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wgpierce
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NOV 13, 07:44 PM
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I never bought the corvette killer thing either, but then again I'm not sure GM execs actually drove the cars they sold??  I have both an 87 Fiero and an 88 Corvette. Even if they put the corvette spec L98 in a Fiero, they are night and day driving experiences. I don't think anyone who could have afforded a Corvette would have driven one, walked over to Pontiac driven a Fiero and then went "Hey this is just as great at half the price, I'll buy a Fiero"
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fierosound
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NOV 14, 07:36 PM
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hyperv6
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NOV 15, 05:49 PM
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I have spoken to enough GM people to know the Corvette killer fear was true and real.
Here is the deal. GM makes the Corvette do a business case just as any other car at GM. It also has to make a profit like any other car at GM.
The Corvette in the 80’s started strong but as time went on with the C4 sales tapered much as it was flawed and did not age well. The money was tight at GM even then as they were go8ng bankrupt long before the time the got the bail out.
In fact even after the Fiero was canceled the Corvette C5 program was canceled. The man in charge of the. Or Vette at that time ignored GM and finished the C5 and it got a reprieve. He paid for it with his future at GM. Today those in the Vette circles see him as a hero.
The fear of a cheaper V6 Fiero with more power was a real fear. With sales dropping it could have taken enough sales to make the Corvette a liability.
On the other hand while GM failed to support the Fiero Pontiac did it no favores.
Pontiac too the risk of building the Fiero at a plant much too large for Fieto only production. They took the chance the coming GM 80 fwd Body would fill out production. But no one at GM wanted a FWD F body but managment. The program was canceled and there was not model to fill the void.
Pontiac also over sold the Fiero in the first few years. Just about everyone who wanted one had one. Sales would have been difficult for the second gen Fiero no matter how good it was.
There is much more to all this too. Pontiac needed to do as Mazda and limit sales and go global with the Fiero. Sell them globally to keep volume up but keep each market wanting more than you deliver yearly. This is how the Miata has survived.
Two seat cars are a limited market and mostly a play car or third car in a family. Most two seat cars live 10 years or less. The Corvette and Miata are two that have broke the trend.
The MR2 died twice. The RX 7 died. The Datsun Z car died, the many English and Italian sports models lived short life’s and died.
The true reality is the Fieto if the second gen Likely not made more than another 4-5 years at best.
There still is more details but this alone is what happened and was enough to kill it.
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FTF Engineering
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NOV 15, 09:29 PM
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| quote | | Originally posted by hyperv6: The Datsun Z car died |
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It's not dead. Approaching fifty years in fact.
1970:
to the present:
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hyperv6
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NOV 16, 10:30 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by FTF Engineering:
It's not dead. Approaching fifty years in fact.
1970:
to the present:
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It has died comeback, died comeback more than Lazarus.
It will soon again die as it is not selling well or evolving.
RX7 died, RX8 died,
Few sports cars last long term. Two seater sports car live even shorter lives.
Solstics and Sky both would have died soon if the brands had not died first. Production numbers could not support a replacment.
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David Hambleton
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NOV 17, 10:01 PM
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The divisional conflicts, drama and conversations notwithstanding, the CFO typically has a lot of influence.
It would be a tough sell to keep the Fiero considering the production numbers in the chart below.
If the Fiero followed the Camaro & Firebird decline, by 1990 it might have sold less than 9,000.
The narrative from the car guys is entertaining; meanwhile the financial guys pull the plug based on sales.
Corvette buyers don't appear to be materially affected by the other three options below, which aren't likely 'options' anyway.
 [This message has been edited by David Hambleton (edited 11-17-2018).]
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