40 YEARS OF… PRIDE?

THE BRIEF, IN 1978, WAS FOR A TWOpassenger sports car offering outstanding handling, with a high importance placed on fuel economy, to be built at minimum cost.

Pontiac’s products were by this point seen as both staid and predictable. The 1973-on fuel crisis had scythed sales and changed thinking, leaving the marque’s traditional models out of fashion as smaller, lighter, more economical cars from Europe and Asia began to take a hold of the US market.

There had been suggestions for a Pontiac two-seater for years, but they’d always been rejected as a potential threat to Corvette sales at General Motors stablemate Chevrolet. So, when Pontiac’s lighter, more economical ‘P-Car’ was finally given the go-ahead, it seemed to signal a new era of thinking at the historic automotive brand.

Hulki Aldikacti, a Turkish emigre who had graduated with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Michigan State University,

WORDS DAVID LILLYWHITE PHOTOGRAPHY GM ARCHIVES

was made project manager. With designer George Milidrag, he pushed hard to create something groundbreaking that would cleave through the sometimes-restrictive traditions of Pontiac’s working practices.

By April 1980, a full-size mahogany model of the car had been presented to the board and approved for further development. A fullsize clay would become the first vehicle to be tested in Pontiac’s brand-new wind tunnel, while the design went against everything the brand had previously stood for.

The Fiero, as it would later be named, was going to be not only Pontiac’s first two-seater since the 1930s, but also the first massproduced mid-engined car ever made by an American manufacturer. It looked exotic, and the plan was for it to be powered by a new aluminum V6 engine to give it the performance that the styling promised. Fiero translates into ‘pride’ in Italian, and many were indeed suitably proud of the new project.

Not everyone at Pontiac was convinced, though. The $400 million budget was a fraction of the cost of typical new-model development even back then. Several times the project went to the brink of cancellation, only to be rescued at the 11th hour, championed by the forthright and sometimes downright abrasive Aldikacti.

It survived only by keeping costs firmly in check. The aluminum V6 was downgraded to the existing, heavy, long-stroke, low-revving 2.5-liter ‘Iron Duke’ four-cylinder. Suspension and brake components were taken from the parts bins of existing economy models. The all-plastic body envisaged by Aldikacti was replaced by a selection of glassfiber-reinforced composite and steel panels, along with urethane bumpers, all mounted on a steel sub-structure.

Meanwhile, the plan for robots to be installed for the assembly of the Fiero was scrapped; instead, the workers who had been laid off while the old Pontiac Grand Prix model factory was gutted were invited back with their families to celebrate the opening of the refitted assembly plant.

Production of the much-compromised Fiero began in August 1983. It was initially met with enthusiasm by the press, with Car and Driver naming the new model in its Ten Best of 1984. Reviews soon became more scathing, however, as the cars were road tested; its performance and handling just didn’t come close to matching the promise of the looks. Sales were strong nonetheless, with Pontiac struggling to keep up with demand early on.

Worse was to come… Several engine fires were reported, at first claimed to be caused by coolant leaks, but soon found to be far more serious. The ponderous long-stroke powerplants were being revved hard, as sports car motors should be, and what turned out to be weak connecting rods were failing and smashing through the cylinder blocks. The resultant oil spurting from the wrecked engines was then catching alight.

Pontiac initially tried to suggest that the problems were caused by owners failing to change oil regularly, but it was soon found that a high proportion of connecting rods installed were defective. Only the 1984 modelyear Fieros were affected, but the reputational damage was already done.

Over the following years, the Fiero was gradually and belatedly improved. A V6 powerplant was introduced in 1985, as was a five-speed transmission for the four-cylinder models; the V6 gained a five-ratio gearbox in 1986. Finally, for 1988, the suspension and braking set-ups were completely redesigned and upgraded. At last the Fiero had the ability to perform exactly as everyone had hoped it would. And that very same year, it was dropped… It had sold 380,000 units in its five years of production, which was more than double the number of Toyota MR2s sold in that car’s own first half decade.

Now, four further decades of development by specialists and owners alike has resulted in parts and modifications available to overcome most of the original design problems. After all these years, the Fiero has finally become a bona fide cult classic.

The Fiero’s 40th birthday celebrations will take place on July 12-16. See https://fiero40th.com/show.

1984

BELOW With its mid-mounted powerplant and two-seat layout, the brand-new Pontiac could genuinely claim to be “one of the most innovative American cars ever”.

1984

ABOVE The Fiero did indeed “burst on the scene to rave reviews” –until conrod qualitycontrol issues saw its engines also start bursting...

1984

BELOW Fiero translates into ‘pride’ in Italian, and many of those involved with its development were suitably proud of their new project.

1984

ABOVE The Fiero’s role as the Indy 500’s Official Pace Car spawned a limited-edition production model complete with aero body cladding plus new front and rear facias. Around 2000 were sold.

ABOVE IMSA GTU road racing was important. Here we see STP and Entech Fieros with Valvoline Firebird. Clay Young was the main driver, with John Oates the occasional guest.

BELOW ‘What price glory?’ asks the ad? There’s not much to choose between Fiero at $8495 and Firebird at $8849 starting prices. Both feature the 2.5-liter injected four-cylinder.

1985

LEFT GM’s sports car line-up in 1985, from front: Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Fiero, Chevrolet Corvette and Pontiac Firebird. The Fiero was the least conventional of the range.

1988

BELOW A revised suspension and braking set-up gave the Fiero the handling it should have had all along, but it came too late. August 16, 1988, saw the last model roll off the Pontiac production line.

ABOVE A fastback bodystyle had been proposed early on, but it wasn’t until 1986 that this was finally offered. Suddenly the Fiero was looking less quirky – helped by the GT’s bodykit.