A recent treasure hunter was spotted in a barn, photographing this Pontiac Fiero 2M4 from 1984 at a scrap car recycling station in Massachusetts, USA. This car was very controversial at the beginning, in addition to responding to the oil crisis, but also to better compete with those mid-engined sports cars produced in Europe!
The Pontiac Fiero was the first mid-engined sports car in American history, and its appearance was eye-catching compared to the muscle cars of the time, which were designed by George W. Bush. Milidrag and Hulki Aldikacti was completed by both designers. The Fiero's compact body, wedge shape, and flip-top headlights were in line with the young people's aesthetic of sports cars at the time. At the beginning of mass production, the Fiero's body color scheme was red and white, and later black and light gray were added.
This car even replaced the Chevrolet Corvette in 1984 as the guide car for the Indy 500 race! The historical status at that time can be seen.
As far as the technology of that era was concerned, the fast and fuel-efficient American car basically did not exist, so the car left the market after only five years of production from 1984 to 1988, and instead Pontiac introduced a new GT version of the model for fiero, but because of word-of-mouth problems, it was finally completely discontinued in 1988!
The car in the photo has many iconic features, such as the first application of the LR8 code-named mid-four-cylinder engine, displacement of 2471cc, such displacement is the lowest level of the American car at that time, the maximum power is only 94 horsepower.
At the time, GM also touted the engine as an alternative to the Chevrolet Vega and Monza aluminum engines. Pontiac and General Motors vigorously promoted the advantages of iron, and finally the public thought that the aluminum engine was quite unreliable. The tires were 185/80R13 and the driving experience was pretty bad.
The exterior of the Pontiac Fiero body is made of a lot of plastic and lightweight materials, so that it does not rust much over time. Unfortunately, other metal components, especially the iron four-cylinder engine, are easily oxidized when exposed to moisture.
The car also features 14-inch aluminum wheels, which, while protected from rust, doesn't look eye-catching, and at the time it started at $7,999, about four times lower than the chevrolet Corvette's list price in the 80s, which makes the car look completely cheap!
It is worth noting that the reputation of this car is extremely poor, and some people have counted that one in every 500 Fiero will spontaneously combust and burn down completely. Spontaneous combustion is caused by many factors, such as lateral placement of the engine, the oil pan material, and the relatively weak connecting rod.
At first, GM engineers thought that the improper installation of the hose caused the antifreeze leak, but after meeting with the manager of the Saginaw foundry who made the engine linkage, it was learned that the defect rate of the engine connecting rod was 10%-40%, which meant that 1-4 out of every ten connecting rods had problems, which forced GM to issue multiple recalls on the grounds of the risk of engine fire, which greatly reduced Fiero's reputation.
If you suddenly notice a sharp drop in oil while driving the Pontiac Fiero, be careful, because the oil leaks and falls on the exhaust manifold connected to the engine cylinder block, and then the heat inside the engine ignites the leaking liquid. There are also pundits who claim that the Fiero fire was caused by molten wires.
Before the Pontiac Fiero officially entered the market, Pontiac's rival Chevrolet did not take the car seriously, because in Chevrolet's eyes, the car was completely out of the threat to the Corvette series.
Actually, yes! After all, a small engine with less than 100 horsepower is unlikely to crash a classic American muscle car into the air. However, there are also some Pontiac Fiero owners who will purchase the official turbocharger kit to increase the power to 145 horsepower, but the turbocharger will have some impact on the stability of the vehicle.
Because GM Group can provide a large number of replacement parts, car owners can make a lot of upgrades to the Fiero to improve steam performance and reliability.
In addition, fiero owners have modified a variety of different general-purpose car engines, and some have even stuffed the 505 hp LS7 engine in the Corvette Z06 into the engine compartment of the Pontiac Fiero.
Although this car often catches fire, we also think it is a good car! Because it's small and affordable, initially the car uses a suspension system from Chevrolet and doesn't have much driving pleasure at all. But on the 1988 GT model, in addition to the upgrade of the powertrain, the 5-speed manual transmission also became the standard for the entire series, and the new suspension system was replaced! The driving pleasure has been greatly improved.
The Pontiac Fiero is full of new technologies and a host of innovative features, such as lightweight body panels made of composite materials made of advanced technology, speakers on the headrests of the sculpted sports seats, and of course, the hidden headlights, which were unique and unheard of at the time.
GM reportedly suffered a huge loss of about $2,000 for every Fiero it built, thanks to their young designers, because the later recalls and compensation cost GM a lot of money!
Pontiac Fiero has produced a total of 370,168 units in its production cycle, and now these cars are collectible and not too low,000 dollars on average in the classic market, and this car has a large following in many places.
It's worth noting that at the December 2020 auction, the last Fiero that rolled off the production line on August 16, 1988 sold for $90,000! In addition, Pontiac Solstice in 2006 is considered by many to be Fiero's successor.