Why did GM stop making the Fiero?

[Elk]

So what is the real reason (reasons) they stopped making them?

[EnjukuRacing240sx]

i heard from a reliable source that the real erason why gm discontinued the feiro was because the newest one (90 or 91) it was supposed to beat the hell outta the corvette, so gm shut it down

[gsxrbobby]

All car makers like to go racing, its great for car sales. The Fiero having a mid engine car didn't match up with any other cars made other than Ferrari and Lambo's. Not much of a match up.
In the later 80's most makers where looking at making all cars FWD.
The sales were somewhat down due to what happened to the 84 fire thing.
It was built to be sold as a low cost lil sports car, but to be able to sell it and have it a good running car, they started to do upgrades in 88 but the cost of the car had to go up.
They dropped it and started to look else where, the Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo went to FWD. And so did alot or should I say most of them.
The Camero and the Firebird will most likely come back FWD or AWD. But with them making the GTO RWD there is some hope to save the car!

[Jehu]

I'm kinda sad about the new GTO, but like you said It keeps rear weels turning. I think a AWD Firebird would kick if they built it right ... none of that has to do with the Fiero going out of production, but it would be fun if they brought it back as a concept in the higher end sports car range.

[gsxrbobby]

I was just showing there thinking or so I was told. It would be hard to make a FWD mid engine car, and stupid to do so!

[Jehu]

Sorry bobby. I ment that none of the first part of what I said had anything ot do with the Fiero... not that what you said about front weel drive was irrelivant. If ya read it that way I sound like an arrogent jack.

[gsxrbobby]

NO,NO, really racing is a big factor on how cars are made and what cars are made. Like the late 80's Monte Carlo when they put the bubble back window in, it was so they could use that in Nascar or the Dodge trucks big truck looking hood is so they have a more aero style hood for the truck races, and all the cars with the fake factory air scoops and vents are so they can use real ones with some of the other race series.
Thats where I was going with that.

[Indy-1]

Originally Posted by gsxrbobby

All car makers like to go racing, its great for car sales. The Fiero having a mid engine car didn't match up with any other cars made other than Ferrari and Lambo's. Not much of a match up.
In the later 80's most makers where looking at making all cars FWD.
The sales were somewhat down due to what happened to the 84 fire thing.
It was built to be sold as a low cost lil sports car, but to be able to sell it and have it a good running car, they started to do upgrades in 88 but the cost of the car had to go up.
They dropped it and started to look else where, the Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo went to FWD. And so did alot or should I say most of them.
The Camero and the Firebird will most likely come back FWD or AWD. But with them making the GTO RWD there is some hope to save the car!

Not sure where you got that info from but for the most part it is not true. The guys in the Corvette division were getting upset because the Fiero was getting better and better each year and Corvette had yet to turn a profit, so it didn't help when the upstart Fiero came along which was kinda like the poor mans vette. It also hurt sales for the Vette as it was at least half the cost of the Vette. One day Hulki (Fiero engineer) and a few of his guys took one of their Fiero prototypes out on the race strip with a new vette and secretly raced them. The Fiero blew the doors off the Vette. Sadly, they were seen doing this and it got back to the Vette devision. The pressure to kill the Fiero from the Vette division especially after that little incident was very fierce, and coincidently at the same time GM had a lot of upper management turnover and so the Vette guys along with a few other factors helped get the Fiero killed.
This is all confirmed by Hulki, the head Fiero engineer and the father of the Fiero, who has been to a few Fiero shows and has done question/answer during the show banquets. I have one of these all on video from the HUGE Fiero 20th Anniversary show last year in Pontiac MI that he and his former boss during the Fiero production years Parki attended.
Just wanted to clear up some of the misinformation that is still floating around abouty this subject.

Steve

[nbw]

its nice to pretend what kinds of bad ass cars GM would have if the corvette wasnt around. It seems that everytime I read about a sports car under GM there is some history about it being toned down to not compete with the vette...

[Indy-1]

Originally Posted by nbw

its nice to pretend what kinds of bad ass cars GM would have if the corvette wasnt around. It seems that everytime I read about a sports car under GM there is some history about it being toned down to not compete with the vette...

Uhm, OK whatever.
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction

[Old Lar]

Pontiac stopped making the Fiero because GM set a sales goal of 50,000 units for 1988. Then their wisdom took over and gave no funding for marketing the car. It sold only 20,000+ 1988 models. The car by 1988 had developed a bad reputation by then, for the 84 versions had many catasrophic engine failures ie bad press.

The brass at GM determined that there was no market for a two passenger car and the Fiero replacement was to be that Korean POS Lemans for an econmy driver.


Auto manufacturing is about the numbers of sales.

[Indy-1]

Originally Posted by Old Lar

Pontiac stopped making the Fiero because GM set a sales goal of 50,000 units for 1988. Then their wisdom took over and gave no funding for marketing the car. It sold only 20,000+ 1988 models. The car by 1988 had developed a bad reputation by then, for the 84 versions had many catasrophic engine failures ie bad press.

The brass at GM determined that there was no market for a two passenger car and the Fiero replacement was to be that Korean POS Lemans for an econmy driver.


Auto manufacturing is about the numbers of sales.

Some of that is partly true as part of the other elements that helped get it killed, but you can't use this as the major factor for the simple reason that the decision to kill the Fiero was done very early in the year "before" any kind of sales numbers could be generated. The "bean counter" excuse and first year engine failures are not the main reasons of why it was killed. In fact, of all the things I have heard from those who truly know like Parki and Hulki, they have never mentioned the engine problems from '84 as any reason for why it was killed. They have always said that it was first and foremost pressure by others within GM, and with all the turmoil going on in the mid 80's within GM the Fiero was able to sadly get killed instead of being allowed to grow a little and see what transpired like they did with the Vette. The bean counter excuse and the no market for a two seater doesn't even make sense as they had the Corvette and that hadn't produced ONE year of profit yet and it was a two seater. The Fiero had turned a profit every year thru '87 and recieved a lot awards for design, safety, mill and drill structure, and using the "plastic" panels, etc. If the no profit and no market for two seater argument was true, then the Corvette that had actually lost money every year and was a much more expensive car to produce woiuld have been killed as well.
Also remember that GM allowed the Fieros suspension to be completely revamped for the '88 model year costing millions of dollars and then it was killed before they could even begin to get any kind of a return on their investment.

[MagicRat]

Sure, the downturn in sales were a big factor, but there were some other reasons, too.
GM needed the Fiero factory space to make another model of car that would have higher sales, thus using the factory, the staff etc would make more money for the company.
GM has done this elsewhere when they canned the RWD Caprice, Roadmaster and Fleetwood. They used that Texas factory to make pick up trucks, a more profitable item.
Also, Toyota's MR2 was a better car, at least in the media reviews. (Road & Track and Car and Driver both said so in 1988) GM did not want to spend the $$$ to compete in a relatively small market.

[frogger1971]

I have no official info. However, I am in the process of buying my first Fiero. EVERY SINGLE friend I have told this too (gear head or not) have all come back saying "Why would you want one of those. Don't they burst in flames? Didn't they have a lot of recalls and reliability problems". If this is the way people react 15+ years later I can't imagine what it was like when the problems were in the current news.

I am not daunted. I still want one. I cannot wait to get the one I am buying. Reading all of the fanmail on forums like this allow me to dispell any of these comments.

Tom

[Rinwo]

Tell them "What did the five fingers say to the face?" then smack them upside the head.... hand them the keys and let the drive it once or twice, and they'll shut their mouths