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Capitol City Fieros Car Show 2010 St. Ignace

1980s Sports Car Is ' Poor Man's Porsche

    By Ted Booker

Coined the "poor  Man's Porsche," the Pontiac Fiero was the

hippest affordable sports car to hit the streets in the 1980s. The

American classic was so trendy, in fact, that a network of Fiero

clubs has been spawned across the world to preserve the car for posterity.

One such group is the Capitol City Fiero Club of Lansing, which will have 15 Fieros on display at the 35th Annual St. Ignace Car show Thursday, June 24, to Saturday, June 26.

The Fiero,  which means  "proud" in Italian and "ferocious" in Spanish, was produced in limited quantites by Pontiac from 1984 to 1988. It is the only mid-engined sports car produced in America, a distinction that makes the car stand all by itself, Said Rob Holtz of Leslie, The chairman of the club who will have a 1987 SE and a 1986 GT on display at the show.

"The styling of the car,' he said, " is still ahead of its time. The body lines make it timeless. You  look at that car and there isn't anything out there that comes close." The club will have a varity of Fieros on display Car show weekend, he said, including a rare 1984 Indy 500 pace car, convertibles, and custom built GT and SE models. One  model is equipped with a 3800 supercharged engine. With 45 members from Lansing area, the club was formed last year after splitting  from the Michigan Fiero Club of Detroit. In addition to attending car show across the country, the groupe meets regularly to work on their Fieros together. They will take their cars to the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn next month to run them on the track.

Club member Joe Welsh of Homer will have two 1988 Fieros on display this weekend. "One's a Formula

that's been customized a little bit with a Cadillac V8 in it," he said. "and the other is my son's car that we've

turned into a Fiero with a V6 and three speed automatic. One fact people often fail to realize, he noted, is that a lot of modern technology used today originated with the Fiero. Its unique space frame, for example, is still being used on General Motors cars today. Not only can the frame be removed from the body of the vehicle, its rigid structure helped make the Fiero one of the safest American cars introduced in the 1980's.

"The space frame dosen't flex, so the car handles well. You don't feel the car flexing as you turn," he

said, adding that the frame offers extra protection in car accidents. "Ive never seen a Fiero in an accident where the passenger compartment was compromised." The club will bring six members from Lansing and four from Wisconsin to St. Ignace. Members will be on hand near the display to answer questions about the Fieros and will have applications for the club for those interested in joining. "For most of our group, it is the highlight of the season to come to St. Ignace," Mr. Holtz said. "Not to just put our cars on display, but to see what everyone else has at the show.

A 1984 Pontiac Fiero official pace car for the Indanapolis 500, one of 12 Fiero models that the Capitol

City Fiero Club of Lansing will fearure at the St. Ignace car show Thursday, June 24, to Saturday, June 26 ( photos courtesy of Capitol City Fieros)

Rob Holtz of Leslie, The Chairman of Capitol City Fiero club in Lansing will have this 1987 Fiero SE on Display, The Club is being featured at the show this year for the first time.

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