Mid / rear engine flops...

[flaps10]

Do you means sales flop, or the car was a piece of crap?

Keep in mind that one man's flop is another man's bargain. Sort of how I ended up with a cheap Porsche.

I'm going to preface this next part by admitting to the only GM car I've ever owned. My typical opinion of their products is just this side of my thoughts on Chrysler.

Way, way back in the day I fell into a deal for a Fiero (it was a 2 year old '86 model). They were known for bursting into flames and the early models s*** the bed for the entire production run because of clutch problems. GM solutions were weak at best.

On the flip side, it was a very comfortable two seat road tripping car. I'm 6'2" and you could be considerably taller than me and be comfortable. The stock stereo including speakers in the head rests is probably responsible for most of my hearing loss.

Hate it if you want, it was a low slung mid engine car and that always pays in smiles. I even had the most hated 2.5 four cylinder (aka 151cu in "iron duke"). It was a push rod motor that was completely out of breath past 4500 rpm. The gearing however was perfectly spaced so that you could keep the car between it's 4k rpm torque peak and 4400 rpm hp peak at all times. It was possible to maintain some very high speeds in the corners.

The clutch problems were because the pivot shaft was too tight. Curable with a bit of tinkering and a piece of sandpaper.

The tendency to burst into flames was often due to oil starvation in high G turns (my car had amazing rubber and rims). The dry engine would throw a rod and puke what little oil it had left on the exhaust manifold. There were work arounds with large capacity oil filters, running slightly more oil (one recall just gave you a different dip stick to do just that). I kept a halon fire extinguisher in the car but never used it.

Glitchy throttle position sensors were another pain. They failed randomly even if new. The solution was to crack it open and solder three metal tabs to the contacts they were touching and then silicone it shut.

My car broke a head bolt. A head gasket set was $40 and I was back in business.

In the end, not my worst car experience. Cheap to run and still holds my fastest time across the state of Washington (by over 40 minutes).

[thstone]

Originally Posted by flaps10

... Way, way back in the day I fell into a deal for a Fiero...

[78F350]

Wasn't there Ford that came out in the mid to late 80s..? I can't think of the name.

The one I was trying to remember was the XR2, Mercury Capri XR2. Turns out it was front engine & FWD, so not in the category.

[Luckyed]

Originally Posted by 78F350

The one I was trying to remember was the XR2, Mercury Capri XR2. Turns out it was front engine & FWD, so not in the category.

Actually, although still not in this category because it was a front engine car, I think he was referring to the Ford EXP and Mercury LN7 (I owned the latter....It handled great but was a POS)

Forgotten Mercury Of The Day: 1982 LN7

[BobRickel]

I have owned most every mid engine car on the market in the last 50 years. Everything from Porsche 914 and 550 Spyder, to Pantera, to Fiat X1/9, to Lotus Europa, to most every year Fiero. I just love mid engined handling. The Fiero started out as a cheap car that was assembled from the spare parts bin but was finally redesigned for a final time for the 1988 model and with the help of GM's new company, Lotus they addressed most every problem including the suspension and then they quit making it halfway through the year. Loved the 11 914's I have owned over the years and they got better with every year and by the time they quit making it in 1976 it was a pretty nice car. The 550 Spyder was a total blast to drive, 1100 lbs made for great power to weight ratio but you either cooked or froze in the car with no roof/windows or vent/heat. The Lotus Europa was great but fragile as it only weighted 1500 lbs. Loved the Pantera but that was back in the day and it was a pain to deal with the overheating problem and then there was the Italian build quality and wiring issues. I feel that the Boxster is a modern itineration of the 914 and 550 Spyder and great value for the money plus all of the modern niceties like A/C, cruise control, and all the other power goodies.