New Addition To the Vehicles – 1988 Pontiac Formula Fiero

Since life has been dull recently, I decided I to pick up an older vehicle that I’ve wanted for some time now, a Pontiac Fiero.  They came out about the same time as Toyota’s MR2 mid-engine car, and are also mid-engine design with the engine behind the driver.

The one I picked up actually is in pretty good shape for being 29 years old.  The seats are pristine aftermarket leather with a fiero logo on them, and the gauges are all digital instead of the stock analog.  Below is the center console…

And these are the driver console gauges.  (speedometer & tachometer are stock)

I’m finding it fun to drive, but it definitely gives you a quick view of the differences we’ve seen in vehicles over the last 30 years.  Granted, Pontiac didn’t design the Fiero as a luxury model car, since it was created for commuters.  This particular model has a 2.8 liter V6, happily sitting right behind the driver’s back.  The sound from the engine is deadened quite a bit, surprisingly.  I can only hear exhaust and not engine noises, while in the passenger compartment of the car.

This is the engine compartment under the trunk lid behind the driver’s seat.  Notice the storage space right behind the engine at the rear for groceries or whatever. ( 😉 )
Actually, from my examination of it I could probably put groceries in there and not have any issues since it is heat-shielded very well.

The only issue I’m seeing right now is rattle, mirrors that need to be replaced, and a ground issue with the digital gauges.  Other than that, this car is in great shape.

Now, the car itself isn’t a contender against today’s vehicles in road racing, since it’s a small 2.8 liter V6 with about 140 horsepower and 170 ft-lb torque.  Though it has been tuned to show it’s colors at higher RPMs.  Driving from where I bought it to my home last night (at about 75-80 MPH average traffic) the manual steering took a bit to get used to with the bumps in the freeway.  The engine held it’s own though, seeming to have more life over 65-70 MPH.  With the speedometer gauge being so small compared to how car speedometers are today, visually it seems to be moving slow… until I see that 20 and 40 aren’t far from each other…

This is a picture in comparison to my other vehicles, for size comparison… as you can see, My 2000 R6’s (right behind the Fiero) front window is almost as tall.