Story at the dealership level at the time having to do with the Fiero concept. The story goes that the Pontiac division didn't show any prototypes to the GM Brass, wonder how that got that one done, before getting the OK to go to production. The Fiero concept was presented as an economy car with a basic 4-cylinder engine, not mentioning where the engine was located in the car, with the steering rack, as well as other mechanical components, would be shared with the Chevette and standard 4-speed manual and an optional automatic transmission. At the time GM and every other American Automotive Manufacturer were under the gun from the Fed to get their gas milage averages up so anything that sounded like an econobox was popular with those that made such decisions.