Car Lust Classic--Pontiac Fiero

Originally posted by Chris Hafner on Jan. 23, 2008.

When GM announced in the early 1980s that it would be introducing a two-seat, mid-engined sports car under the Pontiac nameplate, the automotive world rejoiced. Trim two-seat, mid-engined cars have superior weight distribution for the best possible handling; a mid-engined layout is the configuration used in most serious race cars and supercars.

The consensus was that GM was going to build a younger brother for the Corvette; in fact, possibly a Corvette updated for the 1980s - light, trim, agile, and efficient. The name--Fiero--also implied a car with some of the performance pedigree of Pontiac's Firebird.

Danger signs first began to appear when GM insisted on calling the upcoming Fiero a "commuter car"--a laughable designation for a two-seat, mid-engined sports car. Red flags also popped up when GM revealed the Fiero would be based on an economy car front-wheel-drive chassis and would be initially available only with GM's antiquated, wheezing Iron Duke four-cylinder engine--a heavy hunk of low-horsepower boredom.

The Fiero debuted in 1984 to initial gasps of delight at the sexy, daring styling and comfortable interior, only for that delight to lapse into sobs of disappointment. The Fiero offered all the space, comfort, and practicality of a dedicated high-performance sports car--with the fun-to-drive quotient of a clunky Citation.

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