Why did GM stop making the Fiero?

[Black Lotus]

Originally Posted by fierangero

that car is so ugly...

Haha!
I tend to agree with you. And it really is a Lotus Elise also, isn't it.
Frankly, I've never liked the looks the looks of an Elise, especially compared to my Fiero or my Lotus Esprit. Looks like an overstyled goblin-mobile. Really kind of freakish.
The Fiero has elegant styling. My Esprit is intimidating looking (IMO). The Elise is just bad taste wrapped around superb and clever engineering.
At the local Lotus dealership they coerced me into a demo model after objections on my part.
When I stepped out, the Elise looked a LOT better !
Still hasn't got the simple beauty of the Fiero, but it's just bearable now.

[fierangero]

if fiero was a prototype for saturn, why isnt saturn making Midship engine cars? thaat would be much better than the junk that passes for cars nowadays...the Sky looks pretty good tho

[MrPbody]

It wasn't the car itself, GM used Fiero to prototype for Saturn, it was the manufacturing techniques and materials. FWIW Saturn is, dollar for dollar, the highest quality car on the planet. That is, frequency of repair, versus intial cost. We build the odd one now and then, for the "performance" crowd (anti-Honda guys), and see a worn out '91 or '92 once in a while, but overall, we never see the engines. A friend in the transmission business says the same. After 15 model years, they're still going... Talk about your energizer bunny...
And style aside, most of the modern cars, at least American, Japanese and German, are far better than they have ever been. I have no use for Japanese cars myself, but am not stupid about them. Toyota and Honda are excellent cars. Some of the Nissan and Mazda offerings are okay, too. I know a few happy Subaru owners, but not as many as unhappy ones. Same is true of Suzuki and Isuzu.
I've even been getting reports of modern Chrysler poroducts going over 100K without needing a transmission! Rare, but it happens! Hard to argue with GM and Ford, though. Better than ever, from a repair point of view.
Whether or not one LIKES the cars is another matter entirely. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder...

[fierangero]

saturns are. for the most part, reliable. until you get in a crash. my friend was in a fairly low speed accident, his car was totaled. thats not as bad as volkswagens tho, a friend got into a 15 mph fender bender and his front end was destroyed completely. gah.

[coop8267]

Originally Posted by Black Lotus

Haha!
I tend to agree with you. And it really is a Lotus Elise also, isn't it.
Frankly, I've never liked the looks the looks of an Elise, especially compared to my Fiero or my Lotus Esprit. Looks like an overstyled goblin-mobile. Really kind of freakish.
The Fiero has elegant styling. My Esprit is intimidating looking (IMO). The Elise is just bad taste wrapped around superb and clever engineering.
At the local Lotus dealership they coerced me into a demo model after objections on my part.
When I stepped out, the Elise looked a LOT better !
Still hasn't got the simple beauty of the Fiero, but it's just bearable now.

nah its not an elise too. lotus isnt tied to opel/vauxhall. lotus is owned by ford, while opel/vauxhall is owned by gm.

[fierangero]

holy old threads batman!

[rawr256]

From what I understand the Fiero was killed off partly because of a bad reputation. There were issues with the suspension, overheating, etc. and news spreads fast. As for the bette division trying to kill it off, wouldn't surprise me. We all know who John Delorean is and what kind of cars he designed (GTO and helped participate in making Firebird but only because he was forced). Shortly after John had created the GTO he designed another engine to put in a car similar to the GTO, he codenamed it "The Banshee". Was suppose to be a big beefed up engine but because GM wanted to competion for their Corvette they told him no go. Later after he left and the rest is history.

I have been told that if you drop a chevy 350 in a 87/88 fiero it would blow the doors off a vette the same year or even a couple after, maybe even todays. I have seen tons of Fiero's that people put 3800 SC engines in and they keep up with the new vettes with 0 - 60 and with the 1/4 mile. Pretty slick, especially for it being an old, but unique design.

I could understand sales also haveing a lot to do with it (how often do you see the fieros around as it is?). My dad just bought a 87 GT from his step brother and his brother didn't want to sell. He had it sitting underneath a tree for the past 5 years collecting gunk and mildew. When we got it spent a good day cleaning up EVERYTHING in the car, still have to rebuild the engine though from it being seized up from sitting.

None the less, they probably were fun, unique, and probably even underrated cars.

[57JagXKSS]

have you guys checked out Pontiac's new sports car?

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=377526

[fierangero]

issues with the suspension? like how? the fiero is one of if not the best handling GM products...

PS why have we resurrected this topic yet again

[Black Lotus]

Originally Posted by coop8267

nah its not an elise too. lotus isnt tied to opel/vauxhall. lotus is owned by ford, while opel/vauxhall is owned by gm.

Never heard of Opel Omega and Vauxhall Carlton?
Lotus is now owned by Proton , out of Malaysia.
GM Europe owned Lotus outright for about 10 years.
Who do you think designed the ZR-1 Corvette engine?

[coop8267]

ford was lookin into buyin lotus from proton i though they did it already.