The Pontiac Fiero was a mid-engine sports car produced by General Motors from 1984-1988.

A Brief History

The Fiero was designed by Hulki Aldikacti as a fuel-efficient commuter car. The public, however, had other ideas for the only mid-engined car ever mass produced in North America. The Fiero was also the only two seater Pontiac ever made. The Fiero was modified slightly, borrowing many parts, into a performance vehicle. The sports car potential of this car was greatly reduced due to cost-cutting, however, and came under fire from critics—its publicity did not match its initial performance. By the end of production, the Fiero had received updated suspension and body styling, but kept a limited offering of engines—the use of turbochargers or the newer DOHC straight-4 engines never made it to production. Officially, production ended due to insufficient profits.

The budget constraint on Pontiac forced them to borrow parts from other product lines. The suspension was taken from the Chevrolet Chevette, for instance. GM technicians blame these borrowed parts on the engine fires that resulted from a number of mechanical design flaws. Rapid market saturation combined with a commuter car unequipped with electronic steering as well as the sudden onslaught of foreign competitors like Toyota's MR2 and Mazda's Miata quickly doomed the Fiero.

The Fiero has a strong following of owners and customizers today. Due to an abundance of replacement parts available from other General Motors vehicles, there are many upgrades that can be done to improve performance and reliability of the cars. Additionally, a multitude of different General Motors engines have been installed by enthusiasts, from the Quad-4 engine to the Chevrolet small-block V8.

The Fiero 2M4 was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1984.

A large following of owners still exists with many web pages, groups, and clubs devoted to the car. The most notable web page would be Pennocks Fiero Forum at www.fiero.nl based in the Netherlands. It has over 10,000 members world wide. Some service shops are even open, dedicated to the one car!

Transmissions

Automatics

All automatic-equipped Fieros were equipped with the TH125 three-speed with torque converter lockup.

Automatic Transmission Final Drive Ratios:

• L4
  • 1984-1986: 3.18
  • 1987-1988: 2.84
• V6
  • 1984-1986: 3.06
  • 1987-1988: 3.33

4 Speeds

All 4 speed transmission were built at the Muncie, Indiana Allison plant. The 1984 production line saw two transmissions, a performance 4 speed with a final drive ratio of 4.10 and an economy 4 speed with a final drive ratio of 3.32. The V6 on the 1985 and part of the 1986 production year came with a 4 speed with a final drive ratio of 3.65.

5 Speeds

Both the Isuzu and the Getrag 5 speed transmissions were available, depending on model and equipment. The Getrag is generally accepted to be the stronger one, but both are used without failure on high torque V8 engine swaps.

Manual Transmission Gear Ratios

Production Years

1984

1984 was the first production year for the Pontiac Fiero. The year was also critically condemned for producing underpowered commuter cars. In an effort to sell the car as being economically sensible, GM equipped and sold the Fiero as a commuter car but the marketing build up leading to initial release indicated anything but a regular commuter car. The car also proved uncomfortable for some drivers due to the lack of power steering, a fact Toyota picked up on and quickly retrofitted its MR2 line to have.

The 1984 was the only year in which the Limited "Indy 500" edition was released. Approximately 2000 models were produced and sold. (Pictured in table above). The coupe, Sports coupe and Special Edition (the Indy edition was an even more special edition Special Edition.)

1985

In 1985 the problem with insufficient power was first addressed, much to the satisfaction of the general public. A Chevy V6 2.8 L 140 hp (104 kW) engine was put into the car, satisfying most critics of the base power plant. Initially it was paired with a modified Muncie 4 speed transmission. The 4-cylinder engine was still paired with the 4 speed Muncie that came stock with the 84 but that transmission would be swapped with an Isuzu 5 speed (also produced at the Muncie, Indiana plant).

Further, the exterior design of the Indy Fiero would be incorporated into the production line as the new GT.

1986

1986 was the first year the fastback was offered. Also offered, late in the production year, was the 5-speed Getrag transmission.

1987

1987 had minor modifications to the front fascia. The 4-cylinder increased to 98 hp (73 kW) with some major modifications. The car was offered in Blue but was otherwise unchanged from the preceding three models.

1988

The 1988 Fiero brought a new suspension design, thought by many to strikingly resemble the soon to be acquired Lotus Corp's. The 4-cylinder and slightly more economical 6cyl were standard fare and the car largely escaped recall issues. 1988 was the final model year for the Fiero.

External links

• Fiero Owner's Club of America (http://www.fiero.org)