The Cars That Made America On The History Chanel

[Johnny Acree]

Anybody been watching this?
Last night they were in the John DeLorean and Lee Iacocca era.
Two things caught my ear. It took DeLorean 10 years to design and produce his DMC12, and it took Ford 25 months to do the Pinto.

 

[Made in USA]

Taking only 25 months for Ford to do the Pinto probably explains why it was such a disaster later on. Same thing with the Vega. Speed is not always a good thing when bringing a product to market. On the other hand, wait too long and the world will pass you by.
I wonder how much of this series is absolutely true and how much has been embellished for the viewers enjoyment.

 

[Johnny Acree]

They have "highlighted" some facts and "down played" others. I wouldn't go as far as "embellished"

 

[W. WIllie]

I've been watching. It also shows the BS with the govt that you have to go through.
The only thing bad about the pinto was the gas tank. Seems the engineers could have fixed that.

 

[Johnny Acree]

They did, in the recall. They replaced the fill pipe with a longer one. The original one would pull out of the tank when the wheel arches buckled out in a rear end collision. Then a heavy plastic shield was placed between the rear axle and the tank. The axle had sharp edges that would puncture and cut open the tank.
They could "fix" the problem with the car, but "fixing" the problem in peoples minds was much harder.

GM "fixed" the problem with the corvair. The later models were good cars,,, but, People won't change their minds.

That's why Elio has to be good right out of the box. People won't give them time to make it right, or, a second chance.

 

[BigWarpGuy]

I think that is what happened to the Pontiac Fiero. It was not really good when it first came out. They worked on it and made it better but the reputation of the first ones killed sales of the better ones.

 

[Mel]

I think that is what happened to the Pontiac Fiero. It was not really good when it first came out. They worked on it and made it better but the reputation of the first ones killed sales of the better ones.

I have to disagree a little here. I followed the development of the Fiero very closely and my Wife bought one of the very early ones. It was a great little car. The problem was that it looked so good that everyone expected it to perform like a Corvette.

 

[Elio Amazed]

I've been watching. It also shows the BS with the govt that you have to go through.
The only thing bad about the pinto was the gas tank. Seems the engineers could have fixed that.

I sure wouldn't say that the gas tank was the only thing bad about the Pinto Willie.
I bought one of the last new ones to leave the lots.

It still makes me shiver when I think about how quickly the thing deteriorated.

 

[Elio Amazed]

I have to disagree a little here. I followed the development of the Fiero very closely and my Wife bought one of the very early ones. It was a great little car. The problem was that it looked so good that everyone expected it to perform like a Corvette.

Most of the engines didn't last in the Fiero.
Notice how few of them you still see operational? Even at car shows?
My mother won a Fiero and thousands of $ in furniture in a nationwide contest in '88.
Thankfully she and my father threw a few extra bucks in and traded up to an '88 Firebird V6.

The Firebird has 50K on it and my family offered it to me after my parents passed.
I turned it down. I like my '03 'Stang. Even an '88 will cost more in upkeep than most post 2000 vehicles.

 

[Jeff Miller]

Most of the engines didn't last in the Fiero.
Notice how few of them you still see operational? Even at car shows?
My mother won a Fiero and thousands of $ in furniture in a nationwide contest in '88.
Thankfully she and my father threw a few extra bucks in and traded up to an '88 Firebird V6.

The Firebird has 50K on it and my family offered it to me after my parents passed.
I turned it down. I like my '03 'Stang. Even an '88 will cost more in upkeep than most post 2000 vehicles.

The original Iron Duke was a solid engine tried and true. In the Fiero the oil capacity was reduced and because many owners didn't do regular maintenance or pay attention to oil level that lead to the demise of many of those engines and even the car when thrown rods etc. resulted in engine fires.

With the exception of issues caused by the dealer, my Fiero, one of the first, lasted me well until I swapped out for a Tornado when it was in its 90K mile range.