Coming Soon the Pontiac P-Car (Fiero)

As you can see in this promo image for the Pontiac P-Car from 1982, they still weren’t even sure what the name of the car would be. The promo speculates the evocative “Sunfire”, but that name wouldn’t be used by Pontiac until 1995 as a replacement for the Sunbird. The name was going to be the Pegasus, which you can still see evidence of in the winged horse emblem on the car. This name was rejected because it was feared that consumers would not understand how to pronounce Pegasus. This sounds crazy, especially considering the name they finally went with, the Pontiac Fiero (1984-1988).

Fieros went over in a big way in my hometown. I think during their release year, four of them appeared on my block, and boy were the owners proud. Often spending extensive amounts of time cleaning and waxing their red (always red) new cars.

For a deep and interesting look at the history of this car, I suggest you read Kill Your Darlings: The Birth and Death of the Pontiac Fiero over at the Ate Up with Motor blog.