In the midst of its “Driving Excitement” era in the early 1980s, Pontiac launched a two-seat sports car that lives on with a strong collector community even 40 years later.
The Pick of the Day is a low-mileage 1987 Pontiac Fiero GT listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Belleville, Pennsylvania. (Click the link to view the listing)
“This Fiero GT is in mint condition with only one owner,” the listing states. It has always been garaged and as never seen snow or barely rain.”
Showing just 22,267 miles on the odometer, this 36-year-old Fiero looks as good as one would expect for such a garage queen. The seller states that the sunroof has never been removed, and the interior has the original floor mats and carpeting. “Towels on the seat head rests protect the cloth,” the seller says.
The mid-engined Fiero was manufactured on the General Motors P-body platform between model years 1984 and 1988. In the interest of preventing the Fiero from competing in the Corvette sports car realm (since the Corvette also had two seats), the Fiero was positioned as a fuel-efficient, four-cylinder commuter car as opposed to a muscle car. General Motors made good use of available parts for the Fiero, sourcing a front suspension from the Chevrolet Chevette and rear suspension from the Pontiac Phoenix. A GT model was rolled out that came with an upgraded suspension, wider tires, and a V6.
Today’s focus car is a high-optioned GT with factory air conditioning, an AM/FM/cassette, power mirrors, and power windows. Power comes from the mid-mounted 2.8-liter L44 V6 which is mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The mid-mounting arrangement was part of the Fiero design from the beginning and worked well for optimizing chassis balance and aerodynamics.
In addition to an unmodified low-mileage drivetrain, this Fiero has all the requisite 1980s flair, complete with pop-up headlights, a two-tone body, a rear spoiler, and snowflake-style aluminum wheels.
The last Fiero rolled off the assembly line in Pontiac, Michigan on August 16, 1988. There can’t be many left with fewer than 25,000 miles on the odometer, so maybe your “Driving Excitement” days await if you can scoop this Fiero GT up. The asking price is $25,000.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Great looking car, IMO, but ultimately doomed by GM’s practice of using customers as beta-testers. Concessions made to Chevrolet vis-a-vis the Corvette also prevented the Fiero from reaching full potential.
The Pontiac Fiero came out in the early 70s and they kept burning up.
Even a quick internet search shows that’s incorrect. Production: 1983-1988. 371,168 made.
Donald,
You might be drinking the Koolaid. Fires were restricted to the Iron-Duke-4 (1983-4). The featured car is a 1987 with V-6. Total first year production was ~ 137,000 of which there were approximately 120 complaints of engine fires. The Fiero was a tour d’force of new technology, and certainly a bright spot in GM’s dismal 1980s. Living on the central California coast, I own several sports cars, incl a ‘Vette and Porsche. Nothing gives me more thrill driving over San Marcos Pass or PCH to Carmel than my Fiero.
Go back to bed Donald, your old age is failing you. You need some rest.
Been a Pontiac guy almost from birth, and I’ll betcha my not insignificant 401k that Fieros hit dealers in 1983. And it was SOME of the Iron Duke 4cyls that had the fire issue. This is a V6 model. And they’re just wads of fun.
Near the end of the run, and nearly sorted……cool cars, but just missed the mark.
Sweet car, but Tyson, those aren’t snowflake wheels, they’re GM’s BBS knock offs, also seen on ’80s T/As. Snowflakes, like the Honeycombs, were on larger cars- they look cool, but they are HEAVY.
Seems like this car should have been a winner..I always liked them…I think Pontiac gave up on them because they were not family oriented cars…Looks like fun driving..Wonder why the mileage on these cars is always so low..Must be the key to issues..
They were never intended to be a “family oriented car”… Pontiac had a full arsenal of sedans and wagons for that mission. I am the original owner of a GT. When I first got it, I managed to get on the phone, Hulki Aldikacti (father of the Fiero) and must have talked w him for an hour. Pontiac’s intention was to have their own mid-engine sports car. Market analysis convinced PMD their was enough demand, however, GM brass feared most of those sales would be customers drawn away from Corvette, thus largely negating any net sales increase. PMD argued (to no avail) that years earlier, analysis showed the Corvair never stole sales from the ‘Vette. Thus, the only manner to get the green light was to proceed with the Fiero as a 4-cylinder commuter car, not in any manner a threat to Chev. Hulki said the attitude of his team was this would get their foot in the door, and later they could morph the car into whatever sports car they so desired. Getting selected as Indy Pace Car was a major accomplishment and a different story. Slowly, PMD started the upgrade process w the larger engine, better suspension, variable power stearing, etc. Though it is open for debate whether Colin Chapman et. al. helped with the redesign of suspension for 1988, GM did own Lotus at the time. There is also (at least one) reporting that Porsche too assisted with the 1988 suspension redesign. Point being, PMD was well on its way to achieving what the Aldikacti-team originally envisioned for the P-Car when GM pulled the plug… reportedly due to dwindling sales. One has to wonder whether the more sporting GT model… obviously not a commuter car… pissed off top brass at Chev. Part of the sales decline was due to competition in that market segment from the Toyota MR-2.
I have twice driven my Fiero cross-country. The below photo link proves what a great car she is. With more throttle to spare, I hit 103 mph at a leisurely 3,500 rpm. Knowing I was on 9-year old tires, common sense finally took control of my enthusiasm. At highway legal speeds, she was averaging 30 mpg, however, at 100 mph, she absolutely sucked the fuel dry, stranding me in the Middle of Nowhere, Utah for hours until aid came to my rescue. Taking those photos w 1 hand on the wheel also not for the faint of heart.. Note the tumbleweed stuck in the air intake.
Pontiac’s mistake was to quit making these when they finally figured out how to make them right. Gm ‘s mistake was to pull the plug on all Pontiacs when they started selling their best model( 04-06GTO).
Agree and will add…. the beginning of the end for Pontiac happened when they stopped having a General Manager who was a life-long Car Guy. Decisions being made by bean counters with zero history in the car culture, and who could just as easily been hired by Hyundai… was never going to work.