Let there be no mistake: Pontiac’s fortunes and very future were riding on the mid-engined Fiero. On paper and in plastic, the Fiero was a very appealing package, needing but a minor influx of horsepower to make it a world beater.
If additional horsepower was what Pontiac required to pull out of its doldrums, the potent turbocharged 1.8-liter OHC L-4 in the division’s J-car arrived just in time. For 1984 the Pontiac 2000 received an additional name with the return of Sunbird. Now called the “2000 Sunbird”, probably due to pressure from the dealer salespeople, who apparently never understood the division’s long term program or the “new-values” buyer Pontiac had been courting.
On the positive side, Pontiac had one of the industry’s hottest new engines for 1984, a turbocharged, port-injected version of the 2000’sd 1.8 liter overhead-cam four that was rated at 150-hp. It was standard in the new performance version SE’s and optional across the 2000 Sunbird line, including the convertible. Curiously, the sexy STE-like SE front end also graced the luxury-version LE Sunbirds, which seemed to dilute its performance-image impact.
What Junkies are Saying