I have a 1986 Fiero GT.  Red with a grey interior. 5 speed. Sun roof, power windows and locks, AC. The car has about 55K miles on it.  Always been a seasonal vehicle.

 

The Fiero has been owned by me since new.  It was purchased from Bob Jeannotte Pontiac in Plymouth.  Bob's daughter, Robin, was the sales person. My brother and I bought identical, red Fieros at the same time.  His only differed by not having a rear wing and a tan interior.  We had many enjoyable mornings chasing each other around the county side.  Over the years I have had a number of different cars and sometimes the Fiero sat only covering a hundred miles a year. But, it always received it's annual oil/filter change before being put up for the winter.  I often recall draining clear, unsoiled oil from the sump only to be replaced. At least it was recycled!

 

My brother and I were into British cars for years then swore them off.  When the Fiero was introduced I was intrigued with its space frame construction and mid-engine design.  At the time, my son was in Boy Scouts and one of the Dads had an "in" at the Fiero plant in Pontiac.  He arranged for a tour for the Pack and I was impressed with all the cutting edge manufacturing technology employed in its production.  I think that was in 1985 before the "sail back" GT was available.  When the "sail-back" GT came out I was taken by the impressive styling.  In later '86 it was announced that the 5 speed was going to be available and that was when my brother and I decided we "needed" a pair.  Unfortunately, our timing was a bit late and new orders were not be accepted.  I knew Bob a bit and asked if there was anything he could do.  Bob was able to acquire a couple red Fiero orders from other dealerships and change the specs to manuals.  I suppose we could have waited for '87's, but you know how that goes...................

 

My car is largely stock. The rear tires are one size bigger only because I could get them in the brand I wanted.  I have changed the front shocks and rear struts to KYA (?).  For the most part, the car has been very trouble free.  Owing that it's 32 years old and more of an economy car, the required fixes have not been too bad.  The brakes were completely rebuilt ten years ago when one of the front calipers seized. I've had to replace both rears since for leaking issues. Poor rebuilds?  The heater core sprung a leak and need replacement maybe fifteen years ago. Some where on the top of the engine, it sprung an oil leak and I had the dealer do that fix.  The cat started rattling and I had that replaced.  Not sure if some of this has been from too much sitting, but its being driven more now.

 

I hate to admit it, but the reason I have kept it all these years is because the resale was so poor.  I would look at it a number of years ago, and still be impressed with its appearance and low mileage, but realize it wasn't worth much on the used car market.  I certainly couldn't replace it with a comparable vehicle for its resale value and I still enjoyed driving it!  Fortunately for me (and the Fiero) I had access to storage so it always had a place to sit until called upon.  That began happening as the kids got older and needed back-up transportation from time to time (sorry, summers only!).  My wife also has put it to use for that reason. Interestingly, her boss is absolutely enamored with it every time she drives it to work. The Fiero has also been called upon as a teaching platform for a few lucky individuals wanting to operate a manual tranny.  This has never caused any abuse to the car.  My fifteen year old grand daughter is the most recent; actually had her first parking lot lesson at  thirteen.  It's her favorite car; good radio and AC.

 

The possibilities for "engine enhancement" have always been tempting (small block Chevy; Northstar Caddy; alloy heads, on and on......), but I have restrained myself.  Actually the little six matches the capability of the chassis quiet well.  With the availability of  some amazing "street rockets" now, I think anyone is kidding one self to try and elevate the performance envelope of the car to current levels. 

 

During my ownership of the Fiero, I have had a number of other "fun" vehicles. These included an Acura NSX and a Ferrari 308 GTB QV.  For many years, my brother and I have been very active in the local Jaguar Club (yeah, I know we swore those off.....) .  So, the Fiero has been in the company of many E-Types, MK2's, XK's and a few others.  While the Ferrari was still in the fleet, my wife and I attended a Fiero gathering at a Farmington dealership.  Someone had one of the re-bodied Fieros with 308 body panels.  We went home and came back with our 308 and parked them together challenging onlookers to choose which resembled a real Ferrari the most.  Fun comments; fun times!

 

We have a Northern Michigan trip coming up in a couple weeks to visit with some college buddies; planning to drive the Fiero and exercise it a bit.

 

Looking forward to attending an up-coming event and check out the other "Plastic Pontiac's".