1988 Pontiac Fiero - Italian Pride

Decades before the "C8" Corvette, there was the mid engine Pontiac Fiero

This 1988 Pontiac Fiero could be the perfect little fuel efficient commuter for me to make my two-hundred mile per day round trip to and from my office. 

A mid-engine car is one that has its engine literally in the middle of the car. 

It would replace my 2002 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS that I've been using to make my elongated traipse to work and back since I took my current job two years ago. With almost 225,000 on it, the poor old boy is pretty long in tooth. It's rusting to the point the front fenders are loose because their bolt points on the body have melted away, the struts are shot, the check engine light is on "permanently" because the catalytic converter doesn't work any more and the air conditioning has stopped blowing cold again. It could use rear brakes and a tire or two as well. 

Mid-engine cars purportedly have near perfect 50/50 weight distribution 

It's not all bad. The engine still pulls well, the transmission shifts smoothly, it's very comfortable and its gas mileage is decent with an honest and consistent twenty-five to twenty-seven miles per gallon. Problem is, with the amount I drive, despite the good mileage my gas bills are steep and when the time comes to replace it, fuel economy is paramount. Covid has, ironically, has been a boom to my bank account but as we gear up to head back to the office, I'm facing gas pains once again. 

Handling for the '88's was much improved becayse Pontiac ditched the Chevette derived for front suspension. 

I've always liked Pontiac Fiero's - especially the older one's like this that GM had sorted out pretty well just before they stopped making them. With only 63,000 miles on our redhead here and what appears to be extraordinary condition, the only thing that stops me from calling on it is it's asking price of $7,900. If it was two or three grand less I might consider it. Might. These cars have stiff rides, no power-steering, sit low and are pretty noisy. I liken to commuting with a Fiero akin to a weekend afternoon jaunt with my wife in out '77 Corvette; fun at first but the drama gets old very quickly. The most stressful part of my day shouldn't be the drive to and from the office. 

Rear suspension was the front, yes, front suspension from a Chevrolet Citation

Pontiac advertised these cars getting as much as forty-eight miles per gallon so this would more than fit the bill in that regard. Although, that kind of mileage is high even by today's standards, hybrids notwithstanding of course. Let's remember that back in the day, the Big Three hyped gas-mileage estimates like they pushed horsepower numbers in the 1950's and 1960's. I'd peg this at thirty-miles per gallon tops. Anything more and I could spring for a frozen Coke and some roller meat at one of the myrad gas stations I frequent between Cleveland and the Pennsylvania border.. 

1984 and 1985 Fiero's came with four-speed manuals; a much welcomed five-speed became available for 1986

Who's kidding who, though. Driving a thirty-three year old Pontiac Fiero back and forth to my office might sound good on paper and be quasi-romantic but in reality, at the end of the day, it's still a thirty-three year old Fiero. And a chugging and huffing four-cylinder Fiero at that. The minute I find myself rationalizing I know that I'm going to easily talk my way out of whatever it is I'm wasting my time on. 

Fiero is Italian slang for "pride"

I guess for the time being I'll have to be comfortable with getting punched in the wallet over and over. Rest assured, though, I'll keep digging. If you're interested in this comment below and I'll try and dig up the actual posting.