Zimmer Quick Silver

[CHuDWah]

I usually don't go for cars, made from parts of other cars, that try to appear "classic."  They usually end up just looking clunky.  But I think this Fiero-based one's not bad.  What say you?

 

[TerryB]

Nice!

[John_S_in_Penna]

I like it as something different, but the roofline,

to my taste, doesn't go well with the rest of the styling.

I wish they had put it on a different platform, so that

it was about the size of a Buick Riviera.

[CHuDWah]

23 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

I like it as something different, but the roofline,

to my taste, doesn't go well with the rest of the styling.

I wish they had put it on a different platform, so that

it was about the size of a Buick Riviera.

 

 

Yeah, I agree - the roofline isn't horrible but the proportion isn't quite right.

[CHuDWah]

5 minutes ago, plymouthcranbrook said:

As Momma used to say, “If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything”

....................

 

 

So, I guess you're not saying anything then?  🤣

[CHuDWah]

17 minutes ago, plymouthcranbrook said:

You are very perceptive😁

 

 

Oh, well - if we all liked the same stuff, there wouldn't be enough Plymouth Cranbrooks to go around!  😉

[Steve_Mack_CT]

I worked with a guy in the late 80s whose prior job was a factory rep for Zimmer. Interesting job for a single guy in his late 20s or maybe 30ish.  Fun but I hope he was not paid on volume... 

[Ed Luddy]

I do remember the "Car & Driver review. 

The choice is simple, really: You can be the toast of the town, or you can live out your days as another schnook in a Ferrari. Don’t be a schnook. Buy the Zimmer.

[JamesR]

I've seen this model of Zimmer before, and I do like it. Probably the biggest problem with the roof is that it looks too Fiero-ish. For a fancy a car based on a Fiero, that's probably not a good thing, but I've seen worse roof lines. Did Zimmer use new or previously owned Fieros? If new, did Pontiac sell them to Zimmer without major body components?

[padgett]

No roof vent.

[Studemax]

That rear bumper is too large... I liked them better when they used Cougars.

[8E45E]

If there was ever a Buick version of the GM 2-seat P-body, this would have been it!

 

Craig

[JimKB1MCV]

😄 "Does this bumper make my  *** look big?"

[8E45E]

2 hours ago, JimKB1MCV said:

😄 "Does this bumper make my  *** look big?"

Is that why its "Contour Curved" in the middle like that?!?

 

I had NEVER thought it could be a place to sit with the trunk open!

 

Craig

[CHuDWah]

On 8/31/2020 at 9:49 PM, JamesR said:

I've seen this model of Zimmer before, and I do like it. Probably the biggest problem with the roof is that it looks too Fiero-ish. For a fancy a car based on a Fiero, that's probably not a good thing, but I've seen worse roof lines. Did Zimmer use new or previously owned Fieros? If new, did Pontiac sell them to Zimmer without major body components?

 

 

IMO, the problem is the top edge of the door dips down between the front and rear fenders.  I think it would look better if it followed a straight line between the fenders like it did on the Fiero.  That, and maybe "chop" the top a bit.

[Matt Harwood]

The reason the roof looks like that is because the A, B, and C pillars were a part of the car's structure-basically the safety cage that formed the skeleton of the unibody Fiero. I believe the door opening is identical to the Fiero's as well since its perimeter was formed by structural components. Windshield and rear glass were probably standard Fiero as well. However, the rest of the Fiero's body panels were not structural and could be easily unbolted and replaced. Hence the easy rebody. But changing the roofline would have required major surgery, cutting, welding, etc., plus maybe some kind of safety recertification. Obviously Zimmer didn't have the resources for that.

 

I think they're kind of cool. Not in the "I want to own one" way, but in the "I'm glad they built that and I like seeing it" way.

[edinmass]

If you can’t say something nice.......do this!

 

🤮

[CHuDWah]

Deleted

 

Edited September 2, 2020 by CHuDWah
Erroneously posted before completion (see edit history)

[CHuDWah]

1 hour ago, Matt Harwood said:

The reason the roof looks like that is because the A, B, and C pillars were a part of the car's structure-basically the safety cage that formed the skeleton of the unibody Fiero. I believe the door opening is identical to the Fiero's as well since its perimeter was formed by structural components. Windshield and rear glass were probably standard Fiero as well. However, the rest of the Fiero's body panels were not structural and could be easily unbolted and replaced. Hence the easy rebody. But changing the roofline would have required major surgery, cutting, welding, etc., plus maybe some kind of safety recertification. Obviously Zimmer didn't have the resources for that.

 

I think they're kind of cool. Not in the "I want to own one" way, but in the "I'm glad they built that and I like seeing it" way.

 

Yes, I know.  I bought a new 86 and the "space frame" was a selling point.  Here's an exploded diagram:

 

and here's an un-exploded one showing the beams in the doors:

 

 

Yes, the body panels are easily replaceable (another selling point).  Manufacture of re-body panels has become a cottage industry.

 

Again IMO, the problem with the Zimmer roof appearance is the height difference between the top of the door and the top of the fenders, especially the rear one.  That difference is less obvious on a Fiero:

 

 

Granted, changing the roof-line would be a major undertaking.  But given the extent of the re-body, I would think it within Zimmer's capability to re-skin the doors without affecting structure.  This could include building up the tops of the doors, thereby eliminating the height difference with the fenders.  It would give the car more of an uninterrupted wedge profile.  I did that with a quick-and-dirty Microsoft Paint modification and it does look better, at least to my eye.

[Paul Dobbin]

I always liked the Quick Silver by Zimmer until I owned a Fiero GT.   They are about 15K in that shape

and will always look like a radical customized Riviera to me.  The GT was fun to drive and felt like a

Go Cart with A/C.  Mine had a Ferrari look.

Edited September 15, 2020 by Paul Dobbin (see edit history)

[8E45E]

10 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said:

They are about 15K in that shape and will always look like a radical customized Riviera to me. 

As I stated earlier, if Buick Motor Division marketed a version of the 'P'-body (Fiero), I bet it would have appeared close to the Quicksilver.   

 

Craig

[padgett]

All of the car lines were allowed two place cars in the 80s. Pontiac had the Fiero, Buick the Reatta, Cad the Allante, and Chev the 'vette, the FRAC cars.

Odls chose a different route, the rebadged Blazer, the Bravada. It sold better than the others.

[60FlatTop]

It has the flavor of an Exner Revival car. I always liked those concepts.

 

One time I worked for a department director and we didn't always agree. I told him if we both thought alike there would only be a need for one of us. I was older and got here first.

 

Bernie

[PONTIAC1953]

i was a over the road truck driver for 22 years, starting in january-1998, either that year or 1999, one night going west on the will rogers turnpike, i stop at vinita, ok. for a bathroom break and get something to drink, as i climb down out of the truck, i saw a zimmer getting gasoline at the pump, walking closer i realized that the driver was none other than Mr. Roy Clark of Hee Haw and his Branson theater, i told him, if you're a pickin, i'm a grinning, lol, he got a good laugh from that. i asked him, what are you doing out here on the turnpike at 10:00 pm ?, he said him and his wife were going from branson to tulsa, where he kept his airplane, him and the wife were going to fly down to florida for a vacation, he liked driving his zimmer.

[8E45E]

On 9/2/2020 at 3:42 PM, Matt Harwood said:

I think they're kind of cool. Not in the "I want to own one" way, but in the "I'm glad they built that and I like seeing it" way.

At the time, it was a refreshing break from the plethora of neo-classic replicas that descended upon the land in the late '70's and early '80's, including the Zimmer Golden Spirit, Panther DeVille, and the Clenet, et al.

 

Craig

[zmcdonal]

I finally got to see not one, but 2 of these Zimmer Quicksilvers in person this summer at the 40th Anniversary fiero show.