The Factory That Killed the Pontiac Fiero
In 1988, General Motors built the best Pontiac Fiero it had ever made — a reported $30 million suspension, real mid-engine handling, the car its engineers had wanted from the start — and then shut down the factory that built it, in the same model year.
Most people blame the Corvette, or the engine fires. The real reason is quieter. The Fiero shared its Michigan plant with one other planned car, the GM-80 Camaro and Firebird. When GM canceled the GM-80 in 1986, the Fiero was left alone in a factory built for ten times its sales — and chairman Roger Smith was already closing under-used plants for Wall Street.
In 1988, General Motors built the best Pontiac Fiero it had ever made — and shut down the factory that built it in the same model year.












