Pontiac Fiero

The 1988 Fiero brought a new suspension design, thought by many to have a striking resemblance to those designed by Lotus, which at the time, was about to be acquired by General Motors. The suspension was never a Lotus design though – it was the suspension the Pontiac engineers had designed in the beginning, along with what they learned from the racing program. Up front were revised control arms and knuckles that reduced steering effort and improved the scrub radius. In the back, the old Citation parts were replaced with a real tri-link suspension with all new knuckles. This new suspension came with staggered wheel sizes on WS6 suspension equipped models, with 15 inch by 6 inch wide wheels up front and 15 inch by 7 inch wide wheels in the rear for improved handling balance and to offset the slightly increased front track that resulted from the improvements. Topping off the package were the new vented disc brakes at all four corners, which addressed another common complaint of road testers. The 4-cylinder engine received an in-pan oil filter element and balance shaft. A Formula option was added, which offered many of the GT features with the standard coupe body. 1988 marked the end of production for the Fiero, and is also considered to be the best Fiero produced. Improvements to suspension, brakes, steering, and improvements to both the four-cylinder and V6 engines took the car to a level far beyond the 1984 model that had received much criticism. Also 1988 was the only year T-tops were an option through dealerships, and the only year a yellow exterior color was available from factory. During the Fiero’s final model year, the Pontiac, Michigan plant, where the Fiero was built, was closed down.

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