The Top 12 Stillborn Production Cars of All Time

Pontiac Fiero (Second Generation)

While the Pontiac Fiero certainly wasn’t without its problems, in its later years (particularly the final 1988 model year, when the car got the dedicated Fiero-only front and rear suspension systems it was supposed to have from the get-go) it was a legitimately-enthralling mid-engine sports car. But after 1988, the first generation car reached the end of the line. However, there were very real plans for a successor.

The 1990 Fiero (The nameplate was to have gone on sabbatical for the 1989 model year, much the way the Corvette did in ’83 ahead of the C4’s arrival.) would feature swoopier exterior styling featuring a mix of Corvette and Firebird cues, while the first-gen’s humdrum pushrod inline-four and V6would be replaced with high-revving, high-output DOHC replacements developed by Oldsmobile. Quite a few prototypes were produced, but the program would go no further: It was decided that the Fiero would stay dead, and all but one of the prototypes was destroyed. And that’s too bad, because it had all the makings of being a serious threat to the second generation Toyota MR2.