European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 5, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday May 5, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 13 the Pontiac Fiero it mid engine sports car won t in around for a 1989-Model update. Pontac s two seater bows out in August Fiero remains an unpolished Gem editor s note general motors announced earlier this or that lie de Mist of the pc Lac Fieri two sealer sports car will come in August at the end of the 1988 Mode ran. Ken new York times Auto Miter Marshall Schuon writes a of Era obituary in his test report on the current and final Model. Randy Harriett. D Marshall Schuon new York. Not the Auto show was in new York this Spring. Lois of hoi lights red Neon cars glittering on revolving platforms. And at the Pontiac stand there was one sad White Fiero among other things. The Ficq will die this year and 1 am mourning. Pontiac s plastic two seater was bom in 1983 after years and years of gestation As general motors mysterious a car and it held Promise a Promise to Bent the sexy europeans and the japanese on an important Battleground. The Fiero looked like the great american Hope for those who love to drive. Back then the car writers me included thought it might Challenge the Cor Vette and i wondered aloud what Gener Al motors was thinking of. A mid engine two seater with great handling a reason Able Price and an undeniable body that would look Good until the youngest of us were fogies How could it help but steal sales from its sister division Chevrolet Well we were wrong. The Pon Liae Fiero has t stolen sales from anyone. Production will end in August and the fault t think is with the product planners who never polished inc Gem at hand. Today s Ficro is essentially the same car that was introduced at the 1 Ocono raceway in Pennsylvania on june 16, 1983. True the 1988 version can be had with a 2.8-liter v-6, and it is faster and has a More seductive exhaust note than the ears the Pontiac people trolled out on that warm Bright morning. But it would be Overly kind to say that development has been leisurely. The original press release touted the Fiero As a showcase of engineering in Novation manufacturing technology and design tendency and noted that the car combined excellent traction with the stability and control of a mid eng inc rear wheel drive vehicle. The car Wii built around a steel space Frame and could even be driven that Way for one who cared to tootle around in a skeletal Dune buggy. But its body was � snoopy wedge of Urc Hanc and folded plastic compound with sleek aerodynamics and a safety Factor second to none. The position of the engine sideways and just behind the scats gave he car a Pristine balance neatly abetted by the or wheel Independent suspension that in turn was complemented by Power disk brakes at each Comer. The platform and the body were exactly right. Unfortunately other things were Lack ing. There was no five Speed stick. The Only engine was Pontiac s old Iron Duke four. And the passenger Compart ment needed a lot of help but All of that would come would t it the answer after a week s Worth of driving in this year s Model is qualified. Yes there arc now transmission options. Yes pm finally dropped its old a car v 6 into the engine Bay. Yes there has been some tweaking and Honing. Yes there is new Canary yellow paint for 1938. But no a lot of what Reighl have been still in t. The Interior continues to be Flat out ugly a Jumble of angles and crevices with most of the components looking like stuck on afterthoughts. The sleeting wheel is terrible. It consists of a Slippery rim that lacks any sem Bounce of indents for a Driver s grip and two tiny Horn buttons Hal would be impossible to find in an emergency but Hal always gel in the Way by Accident. There is still no place to put anything. Interior storage consists of two map pockets on the doors another pocket where the Glove Box ought to be and the actual Glove Box barely big enough for the owner s manual Between the scats and behind your right Elbow. Trunk room consists of some space behind the engine Don l pal anything there that Ean l stand cooking and Stor age under the Hood in and around the spare tire the Jack and the Brake sys tem s master Cylinder. The car by its nature is also hard Roget into and out of. But. Once behind inc wheel the Fiero is comfortable. You sort of Wear this car like a pair of tight jeans. And you still get thumbs up signs and admiring glances on the Street. The exterior design remains Superb and Ficro looks like a lot More Money than its base Price of j13,999, or even its Well optioned Cost of $ 16,4s it s also Tun to drive. The car is Low. It goes where you Point it. It Sticks to the Road. And the Lis horsepower v-6 Bur Bles through the four exhaust tips like a Cabin  its failings i la by sorry to Sec it go. The Fiero deserved belter an Pontiac ought to be ashamed for letting a real Opportunity pass. But what do i know i m the Guy who s still mad at Chevrolet for killing for Lull of Lull Ort in 19m Powk Wio Mcd Ltd  Mimi a Flatt we pm tiers buy Mir in duct a Wil Nouyi Tillat re it ilium us cafes  uth Patton tha we Tai a Eliop i Toyota Mitsubishi Mercedes tops in reliability the Abac Germany s largest automobile club recently published its annual breakdown statistics report and the results show that Toyota and Mitsubishi cars Are the most reliable in the Small and under mid size divisions respectively while Mer cedes diesel cars arc the Best in the mid site and Large car categories. The 1987 statistics Are based on inc average occurrence of faults resulting in a breakdown in cars registered from 1985 to 1987. The adar whose yellow cars come to the Rescue when breakdowns occur on the autobahn says that 104,037 breakdown Calls during 1987 provided the figures for the annual report. Percentages of breakdowns were based on help needed per 1,000 models and Only cars that bad 10,000 registrations or More per Model year were counted. The adar applied the breakdown Rale per thou Sand to each Model year i98i, 86 and 87then totalled All three to get the reliability Winner in each category. For instance the Toyota Starlet reliability Winner in the Small car class had the following breakdown percentage 3.8 per thousand for 1987 models 4.3 far s6 models and s.8 for 1985 models for a total figure of 16.9. The winning cars were ranked by reliability on the total three year figure. The list includes 46 models and they arc placed in four groups As follows Small cars under mid sin cars mid size cars and Large cars. In the Small car category the Toyota Starlet As noted was the most reliable car followed by Honda civic Ford fiesta diesel Peugeot 205 diesel and Nissan Micro. Of the 13 models listed in this category the Renault 5 had the most breakdowns. In the under mid sic class Mitsubishi was Best with its Colt Lancer cars. Nem came the vow Colf Jet diesel models followed by the Toyota Corol la Maida 323 and the Ford escort Orion diesel models. The opel Kadi to had the most failures of the 13 models listed in this category. In the mid sine class the Mercedes 190 diesel had the fewest breakdowns followed by the Audi 80/90 series cars Mazda 626, Honda Accord and Bow 3 series can. Experiencing the most breakdowns of the 13 models in the mid size category was the diesel Model from the Bow 3-series. In the Large car class he Mercedes 200d/300d diesel cars proved the most reliable followed by in regular Mercedes 200/300 models the Audi 100/zoo, the Bow 5-scries cars and the Bow 7 series cars. Nem came the Mercedes a class cars and last was inc Ford Scorpio. Only these Large ear mod Els Are listed in the adar report.