Good morning! For your mid-week Showdown, I have a couple of cars featured in the classic 1986 John Hughes film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. No, not the one you’re thinking of, or the other one. Or the other one. These are the two cars in which Jennifer Grey squeals the tires.
But first, about yesterday: Yeah, I screwed up. Of course that Polaris was a scam ad. I have no idea what those usually go for, don’t care much about them anyway, and figured depreciation was just horrible on them (because really, it should be). I should have checked, I didn’t, and I regret it.
It doesn’t matter; the stupid thing lost anyway. As it should. If you really want to have fun on three wheels, don’t half-ass it; do it the right way. That little Sidekick is probably a little overpriced, considering it needs tires like five years ago, but at least it’s honest.
All right; back to more familiar territory. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off isn’t really a car movie, but it has probably the most famous bit with a Ferrari of any movie ever. It’s not a real Ferrari (fun fact: those are MGB taillights), but still, it’s the one car everyone remembers. But John Hughes was a genius when it came to picking cars for movies, and the rest of the cars are absolutely perfect: Cameron’s Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Ed Rooney’s Plymouth Reliant, the other two cars in Morris Frye’s garage – an MGTC and what I’m pretty sure is a Lancia Aurelia – and these two, driven by Ferris’s mom and sister, respectively. Let’s check them out.
1985 Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country – $4,200
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.2 liter overhead cam inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: West Hollywood, CA
Odometer reading: 69,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Katie Bueller, working mom, real-estate agent, and complete dupe when it comes to her son, needs a car that works for her. It has to be classy enough to show clients around, large enough to carry yard signs, economical, and easy to live with. Enter the luxury version of the most practical K-car bodystyle: the Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country wagon.
No mere Reliant, this. The Town & Country features a quad-headlight fascia with a waterfall grille and Chrysler’s faceted crystal (actually probably acrylic) pentastar hood ornament. Behind that hood ornament is a turbocharged and fuel-injected version of Chrysler’s 2.2 liter K engine, a welcome improvement over the Mitsubishi-sourced 2.6 liter with its hateful feedback carburetor. It drives the front wheels through a three-speed Torqueflite automatic (of course).
Inside, you get comfy leather seats in good condition, a full host of all the power toys available in the ’80s, and Chrysler’s Electronic Message Center. The leather-wrapped steering wheel could use redoing, but otherwise it looks quite nice. The seller says it runs and drives just fine, and has a new battery, tires, and front struts.
The trademark fake woodgrain paneling outside has suffered somewhat in the California sun, but it’s all there, and passable. One of the “Town & Country” badges is missing off the rear quarter panel, and you can see the outline of where it once was. But that should make it easy to line up a new emblem, if you can find one.
1985 Pontiac Fiero SE – $11,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5 liter overhead valve inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Westminster, MD
Odometer reading: 25,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
“I asked for a car,” says Ferris, “and I got a computer. How’s that for being born under a bad sign?” His sister, Jeannie, on the other hand, has her own car: a snow-white Pontiac Fiero, shown only in one scene, when she cuts school (ironically) to try to catch Ferris in the act of cutting school. When I saw the Town & Country for sale, I knew I had to find one of the other cars from the film. I wanted to find a red Audi 5000, like the one Ferris’s dad drives, but came up empty-handed. So instead, we have what might be the nicest Iron Duke-powered Fiero left anywhere.
This SE model Fiero has a five-speed manual gearbox sitting next to its Iron Duke, providing better acceleration than the economy-geared four-speed or the completely unnecessary TH125C automatic. It still doesn’t have the performance to back up its looks – you need the V6 version to get close to that – but it’s plenty for a maniac driver like Jeannie Bueller. This one has a scant 25,000 miles on it, and as expected, runs and drives beautifully.
It’s practically flawless inside and out, as you would expect for something with so few miles. The only issues noted by the seller are a falling headliner (though it has a sunroof, so there isn’t much headliner to begin with) and a non-functional tape deck (which means you might as well leave the Yello cassette at home). The car’s low mileage is due to being parked for many years; it was revived by a Fiero specialist and has since completed several long drives.
I know the final-year Fiero GTs and Formulas are the best of the breed, but I greatly prefer the looks of these early cars, with the trim squared-off bumpers, the much smaller buttresses in the rear, and those classic ’80s Pontiac “Salad Shooter” wheels. Yes, the asking price for this car is steep, but if you really want a near-perfect four-cylinder Fiero, here it is.
Yes, I know Katie Bueller’s car was yellow instead of white. But it’s the first thing I think of whenever I see a Town & Country wagon, which is not very often at all, especially these days. But at least I was able to find a white Fiero, even with an eye-watering price. I know we’d all rather have Tom Bueller’s Audi, or Cameron’s Alfa, but those are getting really hard to find at any price. So we’ll stick with the American iron in the film. What’ll it be: the wagon or the sports car?
(Image credits: Chrysler – Facebook Marketplace seller; Fiero – Craigslist seller)
Both, please.
Does the Fiero have the cassingle for Proclaimers’ “500 Miles” stuck in the player, by any chance?
No way I’d pay $11k for an Iron Duke Fiero, so turbo K-car it is.
Wagon? Check. Woodie? You bet. Turbo? Yeah, buddy! And all that for only 38% of the asking price of the chump-etition?
Just shut up and take my money, already. You’re making us both look bad.
LOL that Fiero isn’t worth 11k
My favorite car from that movie was the dad’s Audi 5000. There was even a nice scene of him driving in it acting silly.
Went with the Town and Country as the Fiero is over priced to me.
Mark – you win, I voted K car! I just can’t go 11k for an Iron Puke and the T&C has the turbo motor. If I recall these are at least fairly smooth and run well. The 3 speed sucks though. Also, when did you last see one?
Now it all makes sense. He intentionally went out and found something so insanely priced to force us all to vote K. Well played sir!
As a dude of a certain age, I’ve driven many Fieros, and countless K-series cars/vans even briefly owned a Dodge K somethingorother. There’s no way I’m paying that for a Fiero, I don’t care how nice it is, but a turbocharged station wagon? Yes please!
I just can’t 11,000. Not for that. T&C, and still overpaying by about 50%.
I sold a Fiero just like that one in 1995 for $600. $11,000? Yikes!
No way it was that nice though lol :). I’d have bought it in a sec then even with the Dukie. My 88 Sunbird had the same awesome rims
The Fiero is over priced for a 4CYL and so I went with the TC wagon
I still have that Yello album ON CASSETTE.
I voted Fiero.
OH YEAH
I was going to comment on the insanity of $11k for the Fiero, and then I saw it. Low miles and nearly mint. The engine may be a dog, but you couldn’t start with a better base for an engine swap. Pity about the non-color, though. It will fit in with all the other boredom boxes cruising our modern highways.
I want the Fiero more, but I can’t ignore the massive difference in price. Gimme the wagon.
Went Chrysler, not because I want it, but just because a base model Fiero is not worth anywhere near that price! Plus, this is shitbox showdown, and that is in far too good of shape to be a shitbox, so I went with the wagon that is also rather nice, but could still count as a genuine shitbox.
I respectfully disagree. Some cars were shitboxes when they rolled off the assembly line. It may take a little time and some negligent owners for it to reach it’s full potential, though.
Ok I can’t argue there. It’s a very well polished turd, but a turd nonetheless. I concede this debate haha.
I’ve watched Ferris Bueller hundreds of times but I still have a question.
Who’s older, Jeannie or Ferris or are they twins?
Jeannie of course
But Ferris mentions being a senior so she can’t be that much older and still be in school. Her character also comes off as a rule follower so I can’t image she’s been held back any grades.
Shawna was older.
This has to be the correct answer.
I always assumed they were fraternal twins.
Jeannie (Jennifer Grey) is younger in the movie, but older (Jennifer Anniston) in the TV series.
I am going with the Fiero. It is nice to see one preserved in mostly original condition. It seems a bit expensive, but a few similar four cylinder cars for sale at the moment are listed for higher prices. The owner doesn’t seem open to negotiation given the general tone of the ad and the “I know what I have” line, so whether it is reasonable or not, I doubt the owner will accept anything less. Price aside, I still think it is a cool car and more interesting than the Chrysler.
1). Brown wagon. You all need to put your money where your mouth is. Everyone talks a big game about how a brown wagon is the perfect car and yet this one is currently losing. WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT?
2). 5 figures for a Fiero powered by one of the most maligned engines of the last 50 years? Time capsule or not that’s ridiculous. Once again the answer is Miata…but if for some reason you simply MUST have a Pontiac you can get a really nice Solstice for under 10 grand, and if you spend a few more grand you can get a GXP with the better engine.
It’s not a manual though, and FWD. Everyone says they want a brown, RWD, manual wagon. I totally agree though, that Fiero is not worth anywhere near that so it’s all about the wagon for me!
Whenever I hear that, I think a Peugeot 504 wagon. Which I’d love to have…
I’ve got a brown Vanagon Westy with a 4 speed. Does that count?
That would fit the mold perfectly. Nope, Vanagon definitely doesn’t count, you should shred your brown wagon card and deliver the van to me and give me $2 for helping you. I could probably be talked into helping for free though if you really need to hold onto those $2.
Ha! At this point I think my family would be willing to sell it for $1, but I’m not giving up on it… yet
It’s not exactly the pinnacle of reliability but it did get us from Mass to Ohio and back a few summers ago. Needs a new wiring harness, ECU, or connector because it randomly stalls. Moving the ECU or harness gets it going again, which is one of the passenger’s jobs since it’s under the rear seat.
You mean they expect ME to pay $1 for taking it off your hands? Ok fine, you drive a hard bargain but sold!
So it’ll just die going down the road and the folks in the back have to jiggle the wires for it to restart? Sounds more reliable than my car at the moment sadly.
Yeah, that was the routine. I’d pull over and have my son fuss with it until I could hear the fuel pump come back on. Then I’d know it would start again.
It only crapped out 3 times on the way to Ohio, zero on the way back, plus some random misfires. But is was often enough that it was hard to really relax and enjoy the ride for very long. Instead I spent my time scouting for potential breakdown spots…
Yeah that would be nerve wracking.
Fiero, all day everyday. For me its the car that got away. I almost had one when I was 16 but the clutch was shot and my dad didnt want me to put one in. Its a dream car but I want to switch out the Iron Duke with a modern drivetrain like an ecotec
There are several V8 swap kits for these, but I’ll bet an LS4 (the FWD LS) and a 6-speed transaxle from a newer GM will probably fit nicely.
Or a Northstar (the later ones that don’t blow headgaskets).
Or the 3800 with the supercharger.
But I’ve had the fantasy for a while to swap the Evinrude marine 2-stroke V8 into a Fiero, with a huge bundle of expansion chambers coming out of the rear hatch.
Id be happy with a 4 cyl or 4cyl turbo. I have seen the 3800 supercharger swap but I have heard of the 3.8 turbo from the late 80s in a Fiero.
That Fiero is an absolute time capsule. I would imagine that you’d still catch a faint waft of new car smell in there. It’s also got the right transmission, but at the end of it all, it’s still an iron duke fiero. It’s amazing, but I could think of several other cars from that era (albeit higher mileage examples) that could be had for that price (and still might have a functional cassette deck.
Ironically, I think that the T&C might even have more cred in the current day than the Fiero does. Nobody held on to these things, and while Fieros are rare, these are bigfoot sightings. High school me would hate current me for saying it, but I’ll take the Town & Country wagon.
Normally, I’d go for the long roof, but this Town and Country proves there’s an exception to every rule. I hate these cars. Going for the Fiero, even if it does occasionally catch on fire-o.
Both actually.
I can do a lot more with the T&C. Plus that extra room up front in leather is appealing to me. The steering wheel and funky dash mat will need to be addressed though.
I want a Ferrari 250GT, or at least a replica like the one in the film.
Of the above choices, Fiero…
As the owner of potentially the worst SE Fiero that price is crazy.
I’d prefer the Fiero, but no way I’m paying 11k for an Iron Duke