Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Monday, September 2, 2013
Minneapolis Street Sighting: Pontiac Fiero 2M6
I know I have lambasted the Pontiac Fiero numerous times on this blog, and my good friend Alan F. and Chris G. (of Insomniac Garage fame) have also done the same. And righteously so. When the Fiero came out, it was dubbed the "P-car"; reading old Motor Trends suggests that Fiero was supposed to be a sports-car, but, as with all new production cars, the speculation was far off.
Instead, what we got in 1984 was a mid-engine, four-cylinder runabout with limited trunk space, and horrible visibility front and rear. In 1985 a GT model came out, with slightly more performance, wider tires, and rear anti-sway bars. Later, a more powerful V6 was added to the options list for the GT, and a nifty-looking fastback was added in 1988 as a last hurrah. Unfortunately for Pontiac, the Fiero never quite became the sales success that its main competitor did; while Pontiac moved just under 400,000 Fieros in four model years, Toyota moved that in a little over two model years. Once again, proving that reliability and public perception of your brand does matter.
But all was not lost, however. Instead of being a tried-and-true sports car, the Fiero become a hit with large portion of the country's automotive enthusiasts--for a reason completely unexpected by Pontiac. Because the body panels were made of a plastic-polymer composite, the vehicle itself was fairly light; the panels were removable as well, and the Fiero became a hit with kit-car builders across the country.
So much, in fact, that clean Fieros are getting ever harder to find today; hell, even beater Fieros are somewhat of a rare occurrence. I normally don't shoot "mundane" cars unless they're of a certain age, but the Fiero has always held a special place in my heart--and they've reached the age that nice ones deserve collector plates.
These are old photos, I know. This is what a non-GT Fiero should look like; GT appearance package, non cliche color, and not tattered to bits. Upon first glace, I thought it was a GT, so I didn't think that much of it, since, well, the majority of the Fieros left are GTs. I got closer and realized that this wasn't a GT at all. It was something more special--or less depending on how you look at it.
Sitting in all its glory outside of a wheel and tire shop, I can only imagine what became of this car; no, Fieros aren't really a hit with the donk crowd, but I have seen a couple Fiero lowriders, so who knows?
I quite like Fieros, and I am a huge fan of the facelifted models; I'm glad I found this, and despite my iffy camera, the pictures are decent. I only wish I could find an example this clean again. I'd shoot it better and actually take my time getting nicer pictures.
Instead, what we got in 1984 was a mid-engine, four-cylinder runabout with limited trunk space, and horrible visibility front and rear. In 1985 a GT model came out, with slightly more performance, wider tires, and rear anti-sway bars. Later, a more powerful V6 was added to the options list for the GT, and a nifty-looking fastback was added in 1988 as a last hurrah. Unfortunately for Pontiac, the Fiero never quite became the sales success that its main competitor did; while Pontiac moved just under 400,000 Fieros in four model years, Toyota moved that in a little over two model years. Once again, proving that reliability and public perception of your brand does matter.
But all was not lost, however. Instead of being a tried-and-true sports car, the Fiero become a hit with large portion of the country's automotive enthusiasts--for a reason completely unexpected by Pontiac. Because the body panels were made of a plastic-polymer composite, the vehicle itself was fairly light; the panels were removable as well, and the Fiero became a hit with kit-car builders across the country.
So much, in fact, that clean Fieros are getting ever harder to find today; hell, even beater Fieros are somewhat of a rare occurrence. I normally don't shoot "mundane" cars unless they're of a certain age, but the Fiero has always held a special place in my heart--and they've reached the age that nice ones deserve collector plates.
Sitting in all its glory outside of a wheel and tire shop, I can only imagine what became of this car; no, Fieros aren't really a hit with the donk crowd, but I have seen a couple Fiero lowriders, so who knows?
I quite like Fieros, and I am a huge fan of the facelifted models; I'm glad I found this, and despite my iffy camera, the pictures are decent. I only wish I could find an example this clean again. I'd shoot it better and actually take my time getting nicer pictures.
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