Originally posted by Rodney: I am the third owner of my 88 Mera. The second owner changed the badging and did some modifications. Irregardless of the level of the modifications to this 88 Mera it is still an 88 Mera.
After Rodney's English 101 class, I'm shocked no one picked up on his misuse of the word regardless and irrespective. There is no such word as "Irregardless".
...hmmm....where's the icon for "adding fuel to the fire?"......
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06:58 PM
Rodney Member
Posts: 4715 From: Caledonia, WI USA Registered: Feb 2000
After Rodney's English 101 class, I'm shocked no one picked up on his misuse of the word regardless and irrespective. There is no such word as "Irregardless".
...hmmm....where's the icon for "adding fuel to the fire?"......
Let's argue on some calculus questions.
Oh wait. I hated and barely passed calculus.
Who knows what all that silly crap means anyway?????
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07:49 PM
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
Correct if the price was to stay reasonable it could become the 1st LS1 powered Mera.
Archie
Archie that woudl be the Shitz if you did that to that car... I always thought it would of looked really good with a chop too Think you can figure that one out??? Take care and thanks for being a friend....
Harold
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08:49 PM
Jan 27th, 2005
RTNmsds Member
Posts: 1104 From: Woodruff, SC Registered: Oct 2003
I do sell reproduction Mera badging. They are available only to "real" Mera owners.
Rodney, Mera 7014 wants to wear the correct badges again. How much for nose badge, rear deck lid lettering, and back panel emblems (i.e.. all the external emblems)?
Also, still would like to know.... why are the original Mera VIN numbers not placed out the public domain?
[This message has been edited by RTNmsds (edited 01-27-2005).]
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12:31 AM
FriendGregory Member
Posts: 4833 From: Palo Alto, CA, USA Registered: Jan 2004
"I will always stand by my decision to maintain the integrity and preserve the history of the 247 Pontiac Mera's. Rodney Dickman Mera Registry"
Ok, you have done that, now I have to forget how you have behaved here. Dang, I refer to you as one of the Fiero superheros. Keep doing what you do Rodney, be nice about it please. I will check in with you if I get a chance to buy a Mera!
------------------ I love this place, cars and ideas.
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01:06 AM
DjDraggin Member
Posts: 2854 From: St Louis, MO. USA Registered: Feb 2003
Sooo.. Umm when the day comes to let go of mine.. lets see how am I going to word it.. Ohh thats right. buy this @#$%% ^$^&#$$% &*#^*)(&* $@%^ #$% $%&$%&%% Ferrari replica Mera clone of a clone of a clone on top of a fiero clone.
Ok I'm saving this post so I keep all the politically correct, and religious party's happy..
SOOO! To change up the discussion.. HAROLD!!!! Is it true? did I read that guys massage correctly? YOU TRADED IT FOR A MUSTANG??? WHAAAAAT? Ok I'm going to go beat my head on the wall till the letters go blurry.. say its not so!
------------------ Ferrari 308 GTB rebody on a modified 86SE chasis Soon to have a highly hooped up 3800SC..Ohh yeah baby!! Contacts _ AIM / Zildjianfx _ Yahoo / djdraggin Remember, always brush your milk, drink your teeth, dont do sleep and get eight hours of drugs.
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03:17 AM
PFF
System Bot
Rodney Member
Posts: 4715 From: Caledonia, WI USA Registered: Feb 2000
Rodney I noticed your rating bar is going down is dogging another forum member about a car they use to own and making an A%@ out of yourself worth it? There are very few people that give a crap about the Mera KIT CAR. You are plastering this and trying to force-feed your beliefs down our throats on this forum and other forums. I for one have made the decision to make sure I never buy anything from you again. I ask you to not let your passion be your downfall.
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08:49 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
Rodney says "I am the third owner of my 88 Mera. The second owner changed the badging and did some modifications. Irregardless of the level of the modifications to this 88 Mera it is still an 88 Mera."
I say "Actually regardless of the level of modifications and who performed them it's still an 88 Fiero."
I think another Rodney once said "Can't we all just get along."
This whole discussion has been an entertaining read but gee..............
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09:53 AM
286GTS Member
Posts: 23 From: Orange County, California, USA Registered: Oct 2004
SOOO! To change up the discussion.. HAROLD!!!! Is it true? did I read that guys massage correctly? YOU TRADED IT FOR A MUSTANG??? WHAAAAAT? Ok I'm going to go beat my head on the wall till the letters go blurry.. say its not so!
Sorry Eric, but it is so..... Hope your head gets better But to make you feel better, I got rid of the Mustang yesterday, and bought a Explorer Sport Trac. That Mustang attracted Cops(with radar guns) to easy I am looking at purchasing a new "Sports Car" next year... Take some Tylenol and call me in the morning
Harold
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10:59 AM
mcaanda Member
Posts: 3652 From: Grand Junction Colorado Registered: Mar 2003
Originally posted by Wholf: I got rid of the Mustang yesterday, and bought a Explorer Sport Trac. Harold
Harold: Being that this thread has absolutely no more redeeming qualities, other than being a gigantic pissing contest on who has what and when it was built, all of which matters nothing to about 99.637834% of the population, can you post up some pics of that SPORT TRAC?
I love those little trucks, but I can’t find any of them anywhere here locally. Heck, I’m not even sure if they came in the 5 speeds, ( which is what I’d LOVE to have ) but I did hear that the 4.oL V6 was installed in a number...any truth to that?
What 'cha got there? Care to share?
--Allen
------------------
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11:31 AM
FastIndyFiero Member
Posts: 2546 From: Wichita, KS Registered: Aug 2002
Allen when I get home I will put some pictures up here of the Sport Trak... Hopefully no one will shoot me for it . Oh, and by the way mine is a 5 Speed....
On another note.....................
quote
Originally posted by RTNmsds:
Rodney, Mera 7014 wants to wear the correct badges again. How much for nose badge, rear deck lid lettering, and back panel emblems (i.e.. all the external emblems)?
Also, still would like to know.... why are the original Mera VIN numbers not placed out the public domain?
Whats the deal with this Rodney.... Is MERA 7014 going to be sporting the original badging you sell??? The Forum wants to know!!
FastIndy thanks for the compliment, I enjoyed the heck out of WheatStock, and everyone I met...
Harold
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04:26 PM
Wholf Member
Posts: 379 From: Cleburne, Texas Registered: Mar 2003
After Rodney's English 101 class, I'm shocked no one picked up on his misuse of the word regardless and irrespective. There is no such word as "Irregardless".
...hmmm....where's the icon for "adding fuel to the fire?"......
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06:40 PM
Rodney Member
Posts: 4715 From: Caledonia, WI USA Registered: Feb 2000
Whats the deal with this Rodney.... Is MERA 7014 going to be sporting the original badging you sell??? The Forum wants to know!!
Harold
No problem. Give me a call at 262-835-9575.
Harold;
Just to make things right here I will create a file in the Mera Registry archives and label it: "Authentic Mera Replicas". I'll file all the info on this kit car in there so this kit car will always have a place in the history of the Mera's like it truly deserves.
Rodney Dickman Mera Registry
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08:23 PM
Wholf Member
Posts: 379 From: Cleburne, Texas Registered: Mar 2003
Rodney, Mera 7014 wants to wear the correct badges again. How much for nose badge, rear deck lid lettering, and back panel emblems (i.e.. all the external emblems)?
Also, still would like to know.... why are the original Mera VIN numbers not placed out the public domain?
quote
Originally posted by Rodney:
No problem. Give me a call at 262-835-9575.
Rodney Dickman Mera Registry
There you go RTNmsds, call him and get those badges ordered.... Your Mera 7014 will now be honored with proper badging.
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08:57 PM
RTNmsds Member
Posts: 1104 From: Woodruff, SC Registered: Oct 2003
There you go RTNmsds, call him and get those badges ordered.... Your Mera 7014 will now be honored with proper badging.
Wow !! Thanks for the nudge Harold. I was beginning to feel like David Bowie there for a minute. (For those of you not old enough to get it... ah nevermind - it's a 70's thing.) Oh, and the vent is going to work out perfect !! If you don't get the check by tomorrow, l've got no problem in sending out another one. You're as honest as they come. Just rip up the duplicate when it comes.
quote
Originally posted by Rodney:
No problem. Give me a call at 262-835-9575.
Will do Rodney. Thanks for making these available. Now my MERA can be a MERA again, and my kit can become... well something else (and no - I don't think the F-ing emblems are going to be transferred over to the kit either - I've working up some other plans for it), but that's another story. I'll be posting a new build thread dealing with that in the very near future.
For the record, I've know Harold for about as long as I've owned my Mera. Never has he tried to infer his car was one of the original kits sold thru the Pontiac dealerships, and he has always gvien credit to CC for the Mera's development and for essentially starting the entire Fiero kitcar industry. Never will I believe that his desire or expectation was to get more $$ because of the use of the Mera word, but rather to relay the history of his car (which obviously includes the story of the Mera - whether it's a Mera or not). The 308 kitcar industry has essentially run it's course nowadays. If you leave off the Ferrari badging, I'd even venture to say that most of the under 30 crowd now adays may not even be able to identify what these cars are. Why not refer these cars as MERA replicas? In fact, Harold's car was splashed from a Mera - therefore it's more accurate to call it a Mera replica vs a Ferrari replica anyway. And it keeps the Ferrari police at bay .
This whole Mera thing gets overblown at points. Personally, I think Meras are more valuable as Meras vs Ferrari replicas - thus my desire for the original emblems. Also, I get really tired of telling the story of the "potentially fake Ferrari". As a Mera owner, I'd love to see another 5000 Mera replicas running around out thereb. Instead of lowering the value of my car, I think my car's value would be raised because of increased awareness and notarity - and you'd reinvent a brand new industry. That's also why I'd like to see the Mera VIN list published. I hope you've got the entire 247 car sequence, but if not - at least publish what's in the Mera registry. This really should be public information, and should be made available under the federal "right-to-know" laws.
Anyway, thanks to all - and to all a good night. Talk to you soon.
Later, Bob
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11:17 PM
Jan 28th, 2005
mcaanda Member
Posts: 3652 From: Grand Junction Colorado Registered: Mar 2003
Bob, Not a problem, I will always try to help someone out if I can... I just hope Rodney comes thru for you and your Mera( I know how long you have been working this)...
Allen, Thanks for the compliments, my wife and I really love it, and it is such a pleasure to drive... If you ever want some help in finding a good clean used one for you and your wife let me know. I could look around for you and find something to your liking, you finance it, and I could pick you up at DFW and take you to it. Just let me know.....
Harold
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08:37 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
Originally posted by RTNmsds: This really should be public information, and should be made available under the federal "right-to-know" laws.
You've got to be kidding, right?
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), enacted in 1966, generally provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information. Federal agencies are required to disclose records upon receiving a written request for them, except for those records that are protected from disclosure by any of the nine exemptions or three exclusions of the FOIA. This right of access is enforceable in court.
Does this mean Rodney Dickman is a federal agency?
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10:40 AM
RTNmsds Member
Posts: 1104 From: Woodruff, SC Registered: Oct 2003
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), enacted in 1966, generally provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information. Federal agencies are required to disclose records upon receiving a written request for them, except for those records that are protected from disclosure by any of the nine exemptions or three exclusions of the FOIA. This right of access is enforceable in court.
Does this mean Rodney Dickman is a federal agency?
Yes - it is a "tounge-in-cheek" comment. That's why I put it in quotes (so as to infer that one cannot take the statement literally.) Probably should have minimized the reference to simply "right to know" or expanded the bredth of the quotes. Just typing off the top of my head and it flowed out that way. Didn't mean to waste your time and send you out searching the net for detail.
The concept of "right to know" extends well beyond the the FOIA and the US government. My intent is to state that for products available for puchase in the public domain, pertinent information that does not adversely affect a trade/business, person, or country - should be made public. Simple as that.
Rodney, Been in meetings all day, heading now to take the son back over again for knee rehab. I'll try to give you a ring while I'm on the road.
Bob
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01:59 PM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
That's cool. The way the flames have been flying all over this thread, I wasn't sure. Besides, it only took about 3 minutes on Google, so it's not like I wasted an afternoon.
quote
Originally posted by RTNmsds: The concept of "right to know" extends well beyond the the FOIA and the US government. My intent is to state that for products available for puchase in the public domain, pertinent information that does not adversely affect a trade/business, person, or country - should be made public. Simple as that.
Concepts are good, but what "should" be made public and what is "required" to be made public is frequently different, as you obviously know. I think the Mera VINs should readily available so a potential buyer can easily verify originality. I wonder if Pontiac Historic Service shows the Mera coversions on the car's original documentation?
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02:07 PM
Rodney Member
Posts: 4715 From: Caledonia, WI USA Registered: Feb 2000
I think the Mera VINs should readily available so a potential buyer can easily verify originality. I wonder if Pontiac Historic Service shows the Mera coversions on the car's original documentation?
Won't get it from me. I give up on this Mera Registry stuff.
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03:52 PM
PFF
System Bot
RTNmsds Member
Posts: 1104 From: Woodruff, SC Registered: Oct 2003
I think the Mera VINs should readily available so a potential buyer can easily verify originality. I wonder if Pontiac Historic Service shows the Mera coversions on the car's original documentation?
Excellent question, but looking at the PHS site it appears to be a home based / hobby business (could easily be wrong). To pull this one off, someone would probably need access to a database filled with the Fiero VINS crossed referenced with factory sales / shipment locations. Perhaps PHS does have this kind of access. Kind of a "long shot" I would guess, but possibly worth pursuing.
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07:24 PM
RTNmsds Member
Posts: 1104 From: Woodruff, SC Registered: Oct 2003
Good to speak with you today. I'm sure some on this forum are curious what's up, so I hope you don't mind if I post a simple follow up....
1) Rodney is a man of his word and is following up by supplying the emblems for my Mera.
2) Rodney interprets some of the details of this ad quite differently that I because he has had past experiences identifying kits attempting to be marketed as Meras (i.e. identification of fakes). He & I agree to disagree about this paticular Ebay ad and even what might be best to help preserve the Mera's place in history.
My personal opinion (yeah I know, everybody's got one ) is that whether you want to call it a kitcar or whatever, the Mera has quite a unique heritage and Rodney deserves a lot of credit for documenting it for posterity. Sometimes he just gets a bit overzealous in defending it. The large majority of the people here believe the Fiero is a great car and/or platform on which to build a car or we wouldn’t be messing around with 20 yr old vehicles.
quote
Originally posted by Formula88:
I think the Mera VINs should readily available so a potential buyer can easily verify originality.
quote
Originally posted by Rodney:
Won't get it from me. I give up on this Mera Registry stuff.
I hope you rethink this position, but it's totally up to you.
quote
Originally posted by RTNmsds:
....heading now to take the son back over again for knee rehab.
Not good news . For those of you who know my sons' and my passion for soccer, I'll give you a quick update. My 15 yr old son is in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) for the state of South Carolina, and played in a tournament this past weekend down in Georgia. He re-aggravated a knee injury, and looks like he's now destined to go under the knife next week. While never good, for an ODP player this comes at a horrible time in the year, and naturally he is quite concerned with his future. Please keep him in your prayers.
[This message has been edited by RTNmsds (edited 01-28-2005).]
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08:44 PM
avengador1 Member
Posts: 35468 From: Orlando, Florida Registered: Oct 2001
If any of you are watching the Barrett- Jackson auction right now, you will know what the difference is between a replica and a original. What makes the Mera unique is that you could buy it from a dealership. It was proffesionally built and sold as a turn-key vehicle only. We all know that Ferrari shut them down rather quickly so the number of vehicles made was low, thus making them rare. Of course there were other replicas made and some even had the molds splashed from a Mera body. This would make them a second generation car, not as accurate as the original. These also were sold as unfinished and incomplete kits, for the hobbyist to build by themself or to have a proffesional to put together for them. The quality of these kits and their builds would tend to vary because of this. This could actually make these kits more valuable than a Mera or less valuable, all depending on how well they were built or optioned. One could try and call these a Mera, even if they were built exactly like a Mera, they would not be a Mera for the simple fact that there wouldn't be any documentation to authenticate them as such, because no such documentation would exist.
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10:19 PM
Wholf Member
Posts: 379 From: Cleburne, Texas Registered: Mar 2003
Just to make things right here I will create a file in the Mera Registry archives and label it: "Authentic Mera Replicas". I'll file all the info on this kit car in there so this kit car will always have a place in the history of the Mera's like it truly deserves.
Rodney Dickman Mera Registry
Rodney, I don't know if the above quote is sincere or not, but if it is thank you! If not, it really doesn't matter, I built it and got rid of it, it is not mine anymore. I never thought this thing would have gone this far.... I figured after a few posts you would of backed off like out on ARI's, especially after finding out it was no longer my vehicle. I took this way to personal...... You do a good service for the Fiero/Mera community, and I would hate to see you stop doing what you do just because of some heated thread. I can't believe it took over 100 posts to get this far, but I hope you relize by now that I never advertised the car I built as a Mera, or gave anyone any information to make them think it was a "rare Mera". Anyway I hope you stop and think hard before doing anything irrational.... Take care, and as far as I am concerned this is over for me.
RTNmsds(Bob) your son is in our prayers, and I hope everything works out.
Harold
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10:53 PM
Jan 29th, 2005
Rodney Member
Posts: 4715 From: Caledonia, WI USA Registered: Feb 2000
If any of you are watching the Barrett- Jackson auction right now, you will know what the difference is between a replica and a original. What makes the Mera unique is that you could buy it from a dealership. It was proffesionally built and sold as a turn-key vehicle only. We all know that Ferrari shut them down rather quickly so the number of vehicles made was low, thus making them rare. Of course there were other replicas made and some even had the molds splashed from a Mera body. This would make them a second generation car, not as accurate as the original. These also were sold as unfinished and incomplete kits, for the hobbyist to build by themself or to have a proffesional to put together for them. The quality of these kits and their builds would tend to vary because of this. This could actually make these kits more valuable than a Mera or less valuable, all depending on how well they were built or optioned. One could try and call these a Mera, even if they were built exactly like a Mera, they would not be a Mera for the simple fact that there wouldn't be any documentation to authenticate them as such, because no such documentation would exist.
All 308 and 328 kits are copies of Mera's. When some kit car manufacturers made molds they made some changes thinking Corporate Concepts would sue them for copying the Mera. Some made their molds exact. No matter what you do the secondary molds are never as good as the original molds. There is no control over these copied Mera kit car kits. In some cases copies of copies of copies have been made and the quality of the molds deteriorated quite a bit. I have seen some kits where the quality is very very good and I have seen some that were absolutely terrible. Now take the ones that are absolutely terrible and put fake Mera badges on them. I have been asked several times in the past years if I would sell Mera emblems to people so they could put them on their kit cars. Take those poor quality fake Mera's to car shows and have people say "I remember when these were sold as new cars. I can't believe they were such poor quality". This is the difference between making a fake Judge and making a fake Mera.
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08:47 AM
Rodney Member
Posts: 4715 From: Caledonia, WI USA Registered: Feb 2000
The Mera was an idea of Bob Bracey who owned Corporate Concepts in Capac, MI. Corporate Concepts did much work on many things like the fronts of RV's for RV manufacturers so they had a lot of experience making things of this nature. Bob Bracey started with line drawings to see how the 308 design would fit the Fiero chassis. They bought an early Fiero to use as a buck to make the Mera. They set it up in a jig the same way a new car is created at GM. Gragg Stalmach who does clay work for new cars at GM came in part time and did all the clay work for the Mera. I have actual pictures of this Fiero with the clay work completed. The only original part is the roof and front windshield. They did have two 308's in there but only for a short period as there was little to gain from them as the body on a 308 is way too different to fit on a Fiero directly. They could only use the look of the 308 as a model. After the clay model was finished the clay model was sprayed with shellac and a master mold was pulled. After this master mold was pulled they had to go back and start on all the inner areas like the sides of the doors etc. This in it's self was a long hard job. Two sets of molds were then made to make the Mera's body panels. They did this because to have a high quality fiberglass shell they used a slow set fiberglass system that was more stable once cured. Bob Bracey wanted to make a very good quality car. Once the Mera body panels and everything else was ready they began to have tractor trailers drop off batches of brand new Fieros right from GM to be converted into Mera's. Once finished and painted they went on to be sold at Pontiac dealers. Once they left Corporate Concepts no other modifications were made by any GM dealer. They were sold as is and were completely finished. Most were sold in Florida and California. No used Fieros were converted and no body kits were ever sold. All Mera's have a V-6. The molds were destroyed in the presence of Ferrari lawyers sometime around 1989 to settle the lawsuits.
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10:15 AM
FastFieros Member
Posts: 2698 From: Dallas Texas USA Registered: Nov 2000
The Mera was an idea of Bob Bracey who owned Corporate Concepts in Capac, MI. Corporate Concepts did much work on many things like the fronts of RV's for RV manufacturers so they had a lot of experience making things of this nature. Bob Bracey started with line drawings to see how the 308 design would fit the Fiero chassis. They bought an early Fiero to use as a buck to make the Mera. They set it up in a jig the same way a new car is created at GM. Gragg Stalmach who does clay work for new cars at GM came in part time and did all the clay work for the Mera. I have actual pictures of this Fiero with the clay work completed. The only original part is the roof and front windshield. They did have two 308's in there but only for a short period as there was little to gain from them as the body on a 308 is way too different to fit on a Fiero directly. They could only use the look of the 308 as a model. After the clay model was finished the clay model was sprayed with shellac and a master mold was pulled. After this master mold was pulled they had to go back and start on all the inner areas like the sides of the doors etc. This in it's self was a long hard job. Two sets of molds were then made to make the Mera's body panels. They did this because to have a high quality fiberglass shell they used a slow set fiberglass system that was more stable once cured. Bob Bracey wanted to make a very good quality car. Once the Mera body panels and everything else was ready they began to have tractor trailers drop off batches of brand new Fieros right from GM to be converted into Mera's. Once finished and painted they went on to be sold at Pontiac dealers. Once they left Corporate Concepts no other modifications were made by any GM dealer. They were sold as is and were completely finished. Most were sold in Florida and California. No used Fieros were converted and no body kits were ever sold. All Mera's have a V-6. The molds were destroyed in the presence of Ferrari lawyers sometime around 1989 to settle the lawsuits.
Well, if nothing else good comes out of this thread, at least I know the MERA history now. I never really had researched it much do to lack of interest in installing kitcar body panels to Fieros.
Loyde
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10:40 AM
Jan 30th, 2005
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
Rodney, I spent some time this past summer with Jerry Schavillie who owns a company called Designs 2 (Industrial/Automotive Design Development, Tooling, Production) out of Allenton, MI next to Capac. He had pictures of the Mera in its development stages thru completion and claimed he was the one who had the idea of taking a cad of the 308 and appling to the Fiero which in turn led to the Mera, is this true and do you know him?
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GREAT! 
