What do you drive…

[csgx1]

Station wagons are great.  My beater is a 93 Subaru Impreza L wagon (Fwd). I use it like a truck. I've hauled countless things like wheels/tires, car bumpers/parts, can recycling, wood, etc.  Also helped many people move with my wagon.  Not much to look at, but here's an old pic...

[esteban]

But all is not lost for Hockey fans. The "station wagon" was invented ages ago and will haul all your Hockey stuff with ease. I honestly have no idea how big a Hockey bag is or what it looks like but if it fits in the trunk of a Taurus I'm pretty sure it would fit in my girlfriend's Jetta Sportwagon as well. Most wagons are German these days but there are few random ones out there still. Subaru, Mazda, and some others.

You must've glazed over one of my points in picking this car,

I looked at a lot of the mid sized and full size sedans, I needed something with a trunk so that my hockey gear didn't make my car smell like a locker room, so the range of vehicles I was looking at was fairly specific, but I completely ignored the taurus until then.

Station wagons are great, that's what I had in high school through college until a little under two years ago when I got this car (from a volvo 740L to the mazda protoge 5, which was basically  what is now the mazda 3) But if you don't know what a hockey bag looks like, you sure as shit don't know what it smells like. 7 years old, 100's of hours of use, leather which is unwashable outside of hand scrubbing but can never get all creases and fold cleaned. Imagine the smelliest shit in the world, and double it. It was myth busted as the smelliest sport, and often comes up as tops of the worst smelling sports. So much equipment, so hard to keep clean. It doesn't bother me so much, 22 years of having it all over my body and in my face has made me more than acclimated to the oder, but guests in my cars have always made comments and been very uncomfortable because of the crazy smell. I think at every job I've driven people to lunch once... once. So yeah, I needed a car with a huge trunk that is in a separate compartment from the cab, no more hatch backs here, that's a thing of the past for me.

With the death of the Taurus line another full size sedan will spring up. I would've rather gotten the Hyundai Genesis but it was 2x as much, or I would've had to gotten a 5 year older model to stay within the same budget. I'm sure I'll have large car/trunk options in the future - us "hockey fans" aren't going anywhere and purchase vehicles too


In case you're wondering why I have to have my gear, I almost always play after work, so I have to pack my equipment in the morning, put it in my vehicle and drive to work, then go to the rink on my way home. When I was playing every day of the week the gear never would have a chance to completely dry, so on hot days I'd come out to my car and the windows would be fogged/steamed with condensation from my gear, guests love that

Hah!

Smelliest Sport Ever!

[SignOfZeta]

It sounds like what hockey fans need is a trailer. Or maybe a body bag for their hockey bag. Now I'm even less interested in the game. I do like Nintendo Ice Hockey though. That game is extremely solid.

Btw, while there isn't a huge amount airflow between your trunk and the rest of the car it's absolutely not sealed. Look for the stank to spread eventually.

[esteban]

It sounds like what hockey fans need is a trailer. Or maybe a body bag for their hockey bag. Now I'm even less interested in the game. I do like Nintendo Ice Hockey though. That game is extremely solid.

Btw, while there isn't a huge amount airflow between your trunk and the rest of the car it's absolutely not sealed. Look for the stank to spread eventually.

Ice Hockey and Blades of Steel are still quite fun to play.

[Gredler]

Ice Hockey and Blades of Steel are still quite fun to play.

They're fun in short bursts, but lack the depth and technical prowess of the glorious TV Sports Hockey

Btw, while there isn't a huge amount airflow between your trunk and the rest of the car it's absolutely not sealed. Look for the stank to spread eventually.

Yeah the seats fold down in the back making it very functional but yes far from air tight - but better than those cars with passthroughs (from what I've heard from team mates).

Terrible odor spreading from the trunk to the rear seat is inevitable, but 2 years into owning this thing and I have yet to smell any residual stench, where as in a hatchback day 1 and that entire vehicle would smell worse than bigfoots dick.

[SignOfZeta]

It sounds like what hockey fans need is a trailer. Or maybe a body bag for their hockey bag. Now I'm even less interested in the game. I do like Nintendo Ice Hockey though. That game is extremely solid.

Btw, while there isn't a huge amount airflow between your trunk and the rest of the car it's absolutely not sealed. Look for the stank to spread eventually.

Ice Hockey and Blades of Steel are still quite fun to play.

Fuck Blades of Steel. I'm sick of people needing to mention it every time I mention Ice Hockey. There is no comparison. Blades has five guys and fights but I don't give a shit for the same reason I don't care that Daisenryaku is more realistic and has more pieces than chess.

Ice Hockey is like that. It's perfect at being what it is, a video game.

Blades was very well made but it's embarrassed by its own flaws. Ice Hockey doesn't care that there are only three players. It has three players because that's what it needs to be a good game. It doesn't need a super shitty fighting mini-game thrown in so it doesn't have it.

[Arkhan Asylum]

lol

[Arkhan Asylum]

YEAHHHHHHH

[SignOfZeta]

[OldMan]

.... would smell worse than bigfoots dick.

How would you know that?

(yes, I understand it's hyperbole - an exaggeration.)

[Gredler]

.... would smell worse than bigfoots dick.

How would you know that?

(yes, I understand it's hyperbole - an exaggeration.)

Because hockey gear smells even worse than sex panther.

[TDIRunner]

True to my member name, I used to drive a Jetta TDI, but I recently sold it since it was starting to give me trouble and I was spending most of my weekends working on it.  I actually enjoy working on cars, but at this point in my life, I don't have time for constant repairs.  So I've switched back over to my truck as a daily driver.

I've had it since 2008, but it was only a part time vehicle for most of those years.  I'm still on the look out for a small, cheap, and efficient daily driver for work.

[TDIRunner]

I have owned a crap ton of cars over the years.  The current driveway features:

My 95' Taurus SHO.  It's the 10th SHO I've owned including parts cars.  It's been great considering I paid $1200 for it about 6 years ago.  Nothing fancy just some suspension mods, bigger brakes and a little exhaust work.

Nice.  That is my original "favorite car."  The SHO is what got me started as a car person (I was about 8 when I first saw one).

[esteban]

It sounds like what hockey fans need is a trailer. Or maybe a body bag for their hockey bag. Now I'm even less interested in the game. I do like Nintendo Ice Hockey though. That game is extremely solid.

Btw, while there isn't a huge amount airflow between your trunk and the rest of the car it's absolutely not sealed. Look for the stank to spread eventually.

Ice Hockey and Blades of Steel are still quite fun to play.

Fuck Blades of Steel. I'm sick of people needing to mention it every time I mention Ice Hockey. There is no comparison. Blades has five guys and fights but I don't give a shit for the same reason I don't care that Daisenryaku is more realistic and has more pieces than chess.

Ice Hockey is like that. It's perfect at being what it is, a video game.

Blades was very well made but it's embarrassed by its own flaws. Ice Hockey doesn't care that there are only three players. It has three players because that's what it needs to be a good game. It doesn't need a super shitty fighting mini-game thrown in so it doesn't have it.

Blades of Steel is still fun to play, regardless of your own vendettas.

Now, grab a bottle Quaaludes and prepare for the following:

Hogan's Alley is still friggin' awesome, and superior to Lethal Enforcers (all platforms).



However, Lethal Enforcers is still fun as hell. In fact, they are both damn fine games.

[SignOfZeta]

I don't have a problem with BoS, I just have a problem with the fact that EVERY TIME someone mentions Ice Hockey someone else has to bring up BoS like they are joined at the hip. This has been going on since 1987 and it's bullshit.

[esteban]

I don't have a problem with BoS, I just have a problem with the fact that EVERY TIME someone mentions Ice Hockey someone else has to bring up BoS like they are joined at the hip. This has been going on since 1987 and it's bullshit.

Blades of Steel was a breath of fresh air when it was released.

That is the context in which I know the game.

It took some time before I was able to go back and appreciate Ice Hockey, since the newer BoS was so nice.

The same goes for Bonk 1 after Bonk 2 was released.

Or MegaMan1 after MegaMan2.

Or Castlevania 1 after Castlevania2.


P.S. If Ice Hockey allowed me to play Mario Bros. or Donkey Kong or Ice Climber during intermission....well, that would have helped This Prodgial Gamer return home sooner to the teat of Nintendo.



No joke, though, it took some time before I rediscovered the majesty of Bonk 1, MegaMan 1 and Castlevania 1...I was thoroughly enraptured with the sequels.

Since Nintendo never followed-up Ice Hockey with a sequel, Blades of Steel was de facto sequel.

The biggest crime, IMHO, is that Hogan's Alley never got a sequel.

I played it in the arcade all the time...and the NES version was nice, but I wanted more Hogan in my Alley.

I'm serious. There was just something so satisfying and pleasing about the entire experience and progression through the game....but it deserved to have an "XTREME" adrenaline-infused follow-up.

[SignOfZeta]

Have you played Police Trainer?

[esteban]

Have you played Police Trainer?

Yes, but do you think it has the charm of an old-skool Nintendo game?

I want to whole package.

I want solid game mechanics  + atmosphere + charming aesthetics.

Police Trainer = sterile.

Hogan's Alley = oozing with charm (relatively speaking)

[Sparky]

Get a room you two!

[esteban]

Get a room you two!

I know, right?!

I'll take a picture of my "new" generic car tomorrow.

[vmorr]

/282trk.jpg

Also have a 1990 Miata I'm building up to get into tracking/racing with. So slow and yet so fun to drive.

[SignOfZeta]

Man, I thought I was old.

[esteban]

Not very exciting.

2008 Honda Civic



"Do not crash into my new car!" I bellow at the kids.

They promptly ignore the humble request.

[Joe Redifer]

I also have a 2008 Honda Civic. But it's a coupe, not a sedan. And a manual transmission. I've probably already posted somewhere in this thread about it. 100% paid off. That's my favorite feature.

[wildfruit]

The European civic is quite different to the US variant.

[780racer]

That is my Track toy^. I have had it for 6 years. 03 Miata.

My Daily is just a silly ole 2007 Mini Cooper S.

[DeshDildo]

I have owned a crap ton of cars over the years.  The current driveway features:

My 95' Taurus SHO.  It's the 10th SHO I've owned including parts cars.  It's been great considering I paid $1200 for it about 6 years ago.  Nothing fancy just some suspension mods, bigger brakes and a little exhaust work.

Nice.  That is my original "favorite car."  The SHO is what got me started as a car person (I was about 8 when I first saw one).

I've always liked "sleepers" and the 1st and 2nd generation SHO fit the bill.  While under powered by today's standards, they were the fastest production car Ford sold back in the day.  There is still nothing like the sound of the secondary intake runners opening and hearing the Yamaha engine scream to redline.  Jelloslug on the forum has a really nice SHO that you can pretty much say he rebuilt from the ground up.  I remember following his mod and build threads intently on SHOforum.com back in the day.

[TDIRunner]

I have owned a crap ton of cars over the years.  The current driveway features:

My 95' Taurus SHO.  It's the 10th SHO I've owned including parts cars.  It's been great considering I paid $1200 for it about 6 years ago.  Nothing fancy just some suspension mods, bigger brakes and a little exhaust work.

Nice.  That is my original "favorite car."  The SHO is what got me started as a car person (I was about 8 when I first saw one).

I've always liked "sleepers" and the 1st and 2nd generation SHO fit the bill.  While under powered by today's standards, they were the fastest production car Ford sold back in the day.  There is still nothing like the sound of the secondary intake runners opening and hearing the Yamaha engine scream to redline.  Jelloslug on the forum has a really nice SHO that you can pretty much say he rebuilt from the ground up.  I remember following his mod and build threads intently on SHOforum.com back in the day.

I'm also a big fan of "sleepers."  About the time I was getting a license, my Dad had a '97 Buick Regal GS.  Like the SHO, it isn't fast by today's standards, but back in '97 it was faster than just about anything with 4 doors.  I used to love embarrassing people at stop lights.  I was pretty excited when they brought the GS back (around 2010) available with a manual transmission option.  I just with the current Regal wasn't so small.

[Gredler]

I just with the current Regal wasn't so small.

Dude, finding a "big" car is actually kinda hard! The Taurus and Genesis were the only two I enjoyed driving, but also fit spaciously in with my aforementioned gear.

BIG CAR REVOLUTION! Bring it back! Make America great again!

[TDIRunner]

I also have a 2008 Honda Civic. But it's a coupe, not a sedan. And a manual transmission. I've probably already posted somewhere in this thread about it. 100% paid off. That's my favorite feature.

I always love seeing others that still drive manuals.  Not counting my wife's cars, I've only owned two automatics in my entire life, and I owned each of them for less than 12 months.

[esteban]

I also have a 2008 Honda Civic. But it's a coupe, not a sedan. And a manual transmission. I've probably already posted somewhere in this thread about it. 100% paid off. That's my favorite feature.

I always love seeing others that still drive manuals.  Not counting my wife's cars, I've only owned two automatics in my entire life, and I owned each of them for less than 12 months.

82' Datsun 200SX manual
84' Ford Festiva manual

[SignOfZeta]

There's no such thing as an '84 Festiva!

[esteban]

There's no such thing as an '84 Festiva!

Hmmmm... it was mid-80's...that's for sure.

LX?

Maroon red.

I only sold it because I was moving back to NJ....

[DeshDildo]

I also have a 2008 Honda Civic. But it's a coupe, not a sedan. And a manual transmission. I've probably already posted somewhere in this thread about it. 100% paid off. That's my favorite feature.

I always love seeing others that still drive manuals.  Not counting my wife's cars, I've only owned two automatics in my entire life, and I owned each of them for less than 12 months.

This!  I always own at least one vehicle with 3 pedals at all times.

[wildfruit]

I have only ever owned manual transmission vehicles. How I yearn for an automatic. Years of doing a clutch in stop start traffic is not kind to the left leg. Especially now I have sciatica. My new bmw rev matches the engine when you depress the clutch so it's like having an auto where you still move it yourself. On the plus side makes it super smooth.
Regarding the Buick Regal, I have it in its European guise and I'd say it's big enough for almost anything. Especially in sport tourer form. Wish the entry model had the same 2.4l that the US variant does. 1.8l struggles with the weight of the car.

[TDIRunner]

Once in college I was driving a friends car which was an automatic transmission.  At that point in time, I hadn't driven an automatic in like 4 years.  I couldn't figure out how to get the keys out of the ignition until I finally realized that I had to put it in "park."  What the hell is "park?" 

[crazydean]

1986 Pontiac Fiero. 2.5L 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual. I had to ship a guitar and this was the only way I could get the box to fit.



2006 Kawasaki ZX-14. I ride it to school pretty often since there is motorcycle parking and finding regular car parking can be difficult.

[SignOfZeta]

There's no such thing as an '84 Festiva!

Hmmmm... it was mid-80's...that's for sure.

LX?

Maroon red.

I only sold it because I was moving back to NJ....

You might be confusing Fiesta with Festiva. Both are pretty cool little cars, but there was a gap in 84 where neither were sold in the US.

[csgx1]

1986 Pontiac Fiero. 2.5L 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual. I had to ship a guitar and this was the only way I could get the box to fit.

Nice, clean looking Fiero.  Sadly, original ones are getting harder to find since a lot of Fieros were hacked up for Ferrari/Lambo replica kit cars

My Mom had a '84 Fiero that looked just like that.  It was the very 1st car I drove and basically learned how to drive with it.  I feel bad, it was a 5 speed manual and I burned out the clutch practicing on it.   

[SignOfZeta]

1986 Pontiac Fiero. 2.5L 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual. I had to ship a guitar and this was the only way I could get the box to fit.

Nice, clean looking Fiero.  Sadly, original ones are getting harder to find since a lot of Fieros were hacked up for Ferrari/Lambo replica kit cars

Is that the kind of story Fiero fans tell themselves?

The price of those gross kits combined with the installation bill exceeded the worth of any Fiero by 1992. Very very few people did this, and the Fiero sold many times however many of those body kits were made. I don't think any body kit manufacturer has sold anywhere near 163,000 kits before. I'll bet money on that actually.

The Fieros are all gone because they are old and nobody cares. Well, there is a guy in Sandford, Mi that has a few dozen rolling shells and one Diabo ver. Most things from that far back are gone, even the cool shit. Try to find a super clean '89 Civic Si. Just try. Seriously.

In the end, if you want a cheap MR supercar the Fiat X1/9 and Toyota MR2 (AW11) are a much better use of your restoration dollars, most people would agree, and that's why you see more Miatas than any of them.

[TDIRunner]

1986 Pontiac Fiero. 2.5L 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual. I had to ship a guitar and this was the only way I could get the box to fit.

Nice, clean looking Fiero.  Sadly, original ones are getting harder to find since a lot of Fieros were hacked up for Ferrari/Lambo replica kit cars

Is that the kind of story Fiero fans tell themselves?

The price of those gross kits combined with the installation bill exceeded the worth of any Fiero by 1992. Very very few people did this, and the Fiero sold many times however many of those body kits were made. I don't think any body kit manufacturer has sold anywhere near 163,000 kits before. I'll bet money on that actually.

The Fieros are all gone because they are old and nobody cares. Well, there is a guy in Sandford, Mi that has a few dozen rolling shells and one Diabo ver. Most things from that far back are gone, even the cool shit. Try to find a super clean '89 Civic Si. Just try. Seriously.

In the end, if you want a cheap MR supercar the Fiat X1/9 and Toyota MR2 (AW11) are a much better use of your restoration dollars, most people would agree, and that's why you see more Miatas than any of them.

My understanding was that the Lambo replica kits were not so much for Fiero fans who wanted a fake Lambo, but that it was more for movie studios and TV shows that needed a Lambo in a chase scene (and probably crash) and didn't have the budget for the real thing.

[SignOfZeta]

Again, I don't think there were 163,000 movies with Lambo chase scenes in them. They sold 163,000 Fieros. That's a shitload.

It's not a very convincing kit anyway since the cars have way different dimensions. It's SD, basically. You'd have to shoot from just the right angle to fool anyone and you'd still need a wrecked one for the closeup. By the time you paid union guys for the conversion you could have nearly bought a real car anyway. A Countach was under $100,000 in the 80s.


(This technique has been going at least as long as The Italian Job. It's usually not hard to find a wrecked Lambo somewhere.)

[TDIRunner]

Again, I don't think there were 163,000 movies with Lambo chase scenes in them. They sold 163,000 Fieros. That's a shitload.

It's not a very convincing kit anyway since the cars have way different dimensions. It's SD, basically. You'd have to shoot from just the right angle to fool anyone and you'd still need a wrecked one for the closeup. By the time you paid union guys for the conversion you could have nearly bought a real car anyway. A Countach was under $100,000 in the 80s.


(This technique has been going at least as long as The Italian Job. It's usually not hard to find a wrecked Lambo somewhere.)

Honestly I don't know.  As much of a car guy as I am, I was never much into the Fiero.  I had heard that from a friend of mine who was really into them, but as you said earlier, maybe that's what all of the Feiro collectors tell themselves.

[esteban]

There's no such thing as an '84 Festiva!

Hmmmm... it was mid-80's...that's for sure.

LX?

Maroon red.

I only sold it because I was moving back to NJ....

You might be confusing Fiesta with Festiva. Both are pretty cool little cars, but there was a gap in 84 where neither were sold in the US.

Must be '86 Festiva  (?)

It was a golf cart

[crazydean]

The Fieros are all gone because they are old and nobody cares. Well, there is a guy in Sandford, Mi that has a few dozen rolling shells and one Diabo ver. Most things from that far back are gone, even the cool shit. Try to find a super clean '89 Civic Si. Just try. Seriously.

This is the more likely scenario. It doesn't take much to total an old car, so if it gets hit or runs low on oil just once, that's one fewer car on the road. The Fiero is a mid-engine sports car which means that owners have a hard time not driving them in a "spirited" manner. This leads to more wrecks and shorter engine life.

[DeshDildo]

1986 Pontiac Fiero. 2.5L 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual. I had to ship a guitar and this was the only way I could get the box to fit.

Nice, clean looking Fiero.  Sadly, original ones are getting harder to find since a lot of Fieros were hacked up for Ferrari/Lambo replica kit cars

Is that the kind of story Fiero fans tell themselves?

The price of those gross kits combined with the installation bill exceeded the worth of any Fiero by 1992. Very very few people did this, and the Fiero sold many times however many of those body kits were made. I don't think any body kit manufacturer has sold anywhere near 163,000 kits before. I'll bet money on that actually.

The Fieros are all gone because they are old and nobody cares. Well, there is a guy in Sandford, Mi that has a few dozen rolling shells and one Diabo ver. Most things from that far back are gone, even the cool shit. Try to find a super clean '89 Civic Si. Just try. Seriously.

In the end, if you want a cheap MR supercar the Fiat X1/9 and Toyota MR2 (AW11) are a much better use of your restoration dollars, most people would agree, and that's why you see more Miatas than any of them.

I've always liked the last few model years of the Fiero.  If I ever got one though I'd have to quickly shove a supercharged 3800 or LS1 in the back.

[SignOfZeta]

The Fiero is a good car. A much better car than the ones it's based on. It's a shame that every time GM does something cool it ends up being a dead-end evolutionarily speaking. The Corvair, the Fiero, Cosworth Vega, Saturn, and the "kappa twins" roadsters...all were pretty great. The rental sedans still flow like water from GM.

The issue with the Fiero (and the kappa roadsters, front engine but still too big) is that it's just too big to ever seriously take advantage of being MR in the first place so the whole exercise is kinda pointless. Also those big dumb engines are for cruising not for racing. The 4AGE in the MR2 may have less power, but when you're driving the car it feels like more because it actually likes reving. I'm from Midland Mi, (in Ann Arbor now) SKACK DAB in the middle of GM country, and yet when I go to Waterford hills or an autocross I rarely see Fieros. I see much more rare vehicles and like Miata 20 nerds with some staple econoboxes thrown in. Considering many local events take place on Belle Isle, a place where GM's corporate headquarters is the largest thing in the background...you'd think you'd see more of them considering its one of the coolest things they've ever built. 

One year in DET Solo there was a kid with a shitty white Fiero that was also in my class, which was CSP at the time. He was pretty cool, but had a hard time keeping up with my 1.6 Miata. What is a car with an engine roughly twice the size of mine doing in the same class despite the theoretical advantage of MR? Well, that's what happens when your car is slow and totally non-competitive, you keep moving it down classes until it occasionally wins.

One nice thing I'll say about it, the marker renderings for the final refresh made it look like it was going to be really slick. It's a shame they canned it in development.

[crazydean]

The Fiero was originally designed to be a true sports car. The problem was that it turned out to be much cheaper than the Corvette with similar power capabilities which is why it ended up so under-powered when it came to produciton. As for why it was canned, I have no idea. The sales were good. It outsold the Toyota MR2, its main competitor, which outlived it by more than a decade.

[SignOfZeta]

Power was never it's problem. It would have helped to have more! But in all seriousness it had quite competetive power for its day and it's class. It's always that way with GM. It's problem is that when you drive it it feels like a Buick but more claustrophobic. Driving an MR2 or Miata feels a million times better so with those two on the market at the same time GM was fucked. I don't know why exactly they canned it (nobody understands how this company makes it's decisions...) but I would assume that the bulk of the 166,000 were in the earliest years and by the end they were probably sweating out 10,000 making it a loss. There's no shame in being beaten by the Miata corporately or on the track because it's happened to everyone. Every single sportscar ever made was less of a success than the Miata. They've even manage to make four generations in a row and not once fuck the whole thing up (try that, Ford). It's like magic, that thing. It restarted sports cars and has outsold everything in the segment that it helped revive. So GM getting out then could be almost considered precognitive. They just bailed before everyone else did.

Also, it's also possible that they killed it because it was cutting into Vette sales and that's a higher margin car with more history. I would argue that the Fiero is a better car than the C4 Vette so maybe it was like how Porsche supposedly killed the 944 because it was just as fast as the 911s they were trying to move.

[DeshDildo]

The Fiero is a good car. A much better car than the ones it's based on. It's a shame that every time GM does something cool it ends up being a dead-end evolutionarily speaking. The Corvair, the Fiero, Cosworth Vega, Saturn, and the "kappa twins" roadsters...all were pretty great. The rental sedans still flow like water from GM.

The issue with the Fiero (and the kappa roadsters, front engine but still too big) is that it's just too big to ever seriously take advantage of being MR in the first place so the whole exercise is kinda pointless. Also those big dumb engines are for cruising not for racing. The 4AGE in the MR2 may have less power, but when you're driving the car it feels like more because it actually likes reving. I'm from Midland Mi, (in Ann Arbor now) SKACK DAB in the middle of GM country, and yet when I go to Waterford hills or an autocross I rarely see Fieros. I see much more rare vehicles and like Miata 20 nerds with some staple econoboxes thrown in. Considering many local events take place on Belle Isle, a place where GM's corporate headquarters is the largest thing in the background...you'd think you'd see more of them considering its one of the coolest things they've ever built. 

One year in DET Solo there was a kid with a shitty white Fiero that was also in my class, which was CSP at the time. He was pretty cool, but had a hard time keeping up with my 1.6 Miata. What is a car with an engine roughly twice the size of mine doing in the same class despite the theoretical advantage of MR? Well, that's what happens when your car is slow and totally non-competitive, you keep moving it down classes until it occasionally wins.

One nice thing I'll say about it, the marker renderings for the final refresh made it look like it was going to be really slick. It's a shame they canned it in development.

Comparing a Miata to Fiero is simply apples to oranges.  Even a first year Miata is light years ahead of what the Fiero was.  As far as a Fiero being in a lower class in auto-x it's all about performance.  Fiero is double A-arm up front (which would give you VERY little camber adjustment out of the box) and the same basic geometry in the rear as an x-car.  I haven't seen too many Chevette race cars in my day.  Also, 2.5 gives you around 90 H.P. and the heavier 2.8 V6 gives you a whopping 140.  If you have a 2 pedal car it's a crappily geared 3-speed.  Fiero weighs about 2600-2700 lbs compared to a first gen Miata at what 2100 lbs?  Of course it was in your same class, maybe should have been lower.

A supercharged 3800 would only add about 100-150 lbs to a 2.8 V6 equipped Fiero while adding 100 H.P. in stock form.  LS1 would be chosen expressly for wow factor.

While I find autocross enjoyable and have run a few events myself, I prefer a bit more power at the sacrifice of a little handling.  I like a little bit more tire smoke and donut hooning in my "fun" car.  There's nothing like correcting a bit of understeer with some added throttle.