Re-Introduction?

I don't know if everyone's aware, but General Motors re-licensed the Fiero name for use with vehicles on November 2007, which would seem silly to do without any plans on using it... Do you think we'll be seeing the mid-engined sports car freshened up and back on the showroom floor again? Or is it just a business/legal affair? Or perhaps a sinister conspiracy?!?! Post your thoughts below.

On a related note, didn't know this, but Fiero translates into proud (Makes sense, in French, proud is "Fiere"). How nifty.

I don't think other companies are allowed to use the name without some form of royalties (as even expired trademarks must still be respected, such as re-mixxing a classic song). Besides, why would they care if another company wanted to use the title? If they had no plans to use it, they're simply wasting money by buying the title again, and hoping another company asks for it. Still, you could be right.

GM keeps the name so that other people have to pay them royalties.  Just ask Rodney Dickman.  They sent him a Legal letter telling him to stop making anything that had the Fiero logo on it.

Yep....U R right.

Mind you to be honest with all the mergers in the auto industry and this is highly probably to continue, we may end up have Pontiac Accords or Mercedez Grand Caravans.

That will be interetsing as a history lesson in a 100 years time.

That’s exactly my point. If the 3 big Nth American manufactures get their bailout money then we continue with only back door team/partnerships such as with Ford/Mazda.

If not then I believe we will see a greater push with Government pressure to introduce smaller European/Japanese cars into our market.

Consumers confidence in a sustainable reduction of long-term gas prices at the pump coupled to the general overall financial global squeeze will kill off the local sales market of most of GM/Chryslers
product line-up in major urban centres.  No Ram truck for commuting –

Would they shut down their plants, I don’t think this would be the deciding factor. To much financial impact on the massive automotive support industry.
The alternative is a radical shift in direction for Nth American manufactures – it can happen, there is a skilled labour force waiting and ready. It’s the design stage that’s the bottle-neck.  This is why I think that we could start to see a lot more Nth American manufactures licensing European/Japanese technology or signing key strategic partnerships to quickly launch more fuel efficient/hybrid GM’s and Chrysler models.

Then we will continue to say things like:
“Is that a Toyota Matrix or a Pontiac Vibe – not sure, from a distance they look the same.”

 

I would hope that they re-release the Fiero as a compact well priced alternative to the soltice. Maybe they will go back to the Fiero's origin of being a commuter car. Really there is not that much difference between the smart car and a fiero in general. 2-seater, compact, light-weight, good fuel enconomy. Of course the Fiero is horny, the smart car is not. Although...I'm told by my son that chicks from the enviromental engineering depart. at ubc think guy's with smart cars are sexy - God I must be getting old.

I'm only kidding anyways.