Pontiac engineer at the time of Fiero comments (Page 1/2)
formulaWA NOV 11, 08:05 PM
Interesting

I have been posting a few comments about the FIero in the Corvette C8 comments section. I got a private message asking me how I seem to know a lot about the Fiero. When I replied to him he sent me back the following reply that I thought some folks here would be interested in

Thank you for the nice note. I was working at Pontiac Engineering at the time the Fiero was designed and produced. I remember how difficult it was to get this car approved by GM Marketing. Chevrolet kept blocking it, because they thought it would compete with the Corvette. That's why it was sold to GM Marketing as a low priced commuter car with a 4 cylinder engine. It indeed was designed to fit a small block Chevy, although that "feature" was kept pretty hush-hush from GM Marketing. I never saw a prototype of one with the V8, but heard there was a buck (non-running chassis in white) with one in it. Pontiac also built a prototype turbo V6 Fiero, and it ran the quarter mile in 13.3, which was very fast at the time, and much faster than the Corvette. I really wished they had produced that.

The Fiero was a car with so much potential, but in typical GM fashion, they starved the car of the resources needed to keep it updated, and the car died.
Skull_Bandit NOV 11, 08:36 PM
I love reading the stories of the guys who used to work there. I would love to have a day to sit down and talk with them.
fierosound NOV 12, 10:40 AM
It only took Chev 30 years after the demise of the Fiero to build a V8 Fiero !!!

Everything else that makes the mid-engine Corvette good is a natural progression of technologies
(seen on Lexus, Infiniti etc.) that even the Fiero would have with 30 years of development behind it.



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[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 11-12-2018).]

cvxjet NOV 12, 12:05 PM
I never could understand the "Threat to the Vette" concept......The Corvette was a $30,000 semi-supercar, and the Fiero was a whole rung lower in the market. People shopping the 1st and 2nd gen Z/ZX and RX-7 were not looking at Corvettes because they were out of their price range. To me, it would be like Cadillac squawking about Chevy putting out the Monte Carlo (Too luxurious! It will take sales away from our Cads!!!!)

As for the new Vette......Back in the 70s, I was crazy for the Aerovette and still think it was a stunning concept car...But since the Vette has matured and become a great performer, I really don't like that it is going Mid-engine.....And, styling the back end of the C7 like a Japanese car has just ruined the car for me, anyway...Plus, it's now up to 3600+ lbs......Will the new one finally make it over the 4000 lb mark....? (Maybe they could include a kitchen sink!!!)

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 11-12-2018).]

Dennis LaGrua NOV 12, 05:50 PM
So the logic by GM was, don't build the Fiero as a full featured little sports car. It will be too fast and people won't buy Corvettes. This is pretty stupid as the people who were buying Pontiac Fiero's liked the styling and did so because they were affordable and half the price of the Corvette. This segment of the market couldn't afford to spend more. Even if the Fiero was made to be as fast as the Corvette, they were sold in two very distinct markets - luxury high end and economy.

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TXGOOD NOV 12, 06:12 PM

quote
Originally posted by Skull_Bandit:

I love reading the stories of the guys who used to work there. I would love to have a day to sit down and talk with them.



Should have been at the 35th.
There were like 5-6 engineers, at a presentation, that worked on the Fiero.
They all told little stories about different things that they went through.
It was fascinating and they answered questions at the end of it.
An attendee at the 35th had let a couple of them drive his car on one of the cruises.
All the guys were quite taken back at the dedication and loyalty that was, after all of these years, presented by the Fiero owners
and enthuisiasts that were there.

[This message has been edited by TXGOOD (edited 11-12-2018).]

Indyellowgt NOV 13, 07:44 AM
I think what it boils down to, isn't that the Fiero would sell more, or take away Corvette sales.. It's the smug pride of the Corvette guys knowing a "bottom shelf" Pontiac could actually keep up or in some cases outpace a Vette.
That's where the real rub is...
Indyellowgt NOV 13, 07:50 AM

quote
Originally posted by fierosound:





Damn, the 89/90 Fiero is so gorgeous.. It is a true shame that we never had the chance.. Even the 4cyl coupes(that proto was ugly, IMHO) got a healthy engine upgrade away from the Duke..

It always blows my mind that you could have gotten *SEVEN* engine choices on the Grand Am, but only (one to start!) two engine choices for the Fiero..

People that remember the Fiero as a 'lousy car' only see the penny-pinching part of the Fiero process..

I'll always love the Fiero, but can also acknowledge that it was poor in design and execution because it had to be.. It's a wonder we ever had the Fiero at all...
fierosound NOV 13, 09:20 AM

quote
Originally posted by Indyellowgt:

I think what it boils down to, isn't that the Fiero would sell more, or take away Corvette sales..
It's the smug pride of the Corvette guys knowing a "bottom shelf" Pontiac could actually keep up or in some cases outpace a Vette.
That's where the real rub is...



The Vette people went crying to GM when the Buick Grand National/GNX were blowing them away at the tracks.
GM didn't want a repeat of that...


longjonsilver NOV 13, 10:31 AM

quote
Originally posted by TXGOOD:


Should have been at the 35th.
There were like 5-6 engineers, at a presentation, that worked on the Fiero.
They all told little stories about different things that they went through.
It was fascinating and they answered questions at the end of it.
An attendee at the 35th had let a couple of them drive his car on one of the cruises.
All the guys were quite taken back at the dedication and loyalty that was, after all of these years, presented by the Fiero owners
and enthuisiasts that were there.




Are there any video or audio recordings of this?
jon

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