1971 Fiat 500 Abarth - (restored Collector Series) on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1975 Fiat 124 Sport Spider

Fiat sold the two-seat convertible version of the 124, the Sport Spider, in North America from the 1968 through 1982 model years. After that, Pininfarina continued to build and sell the 124 Sport Spider through 1985. Like the similarly cheap and fun MGB, plenty of these cars were sold, and huge numbers remain in back yards, garages, and driveways across the continent. Those unfinished projects continue to get evicted, which means I see a good half-dozen discarded 124 Sport Spiders in junkyards every year, about the same quantity now as you'd have seen 30 years ago. Here's a once-snazzy tan '75, spotted in Denver. Fiats became somewhat mainstream in the United States during the early 1970s, with the extremely cheap 128 stealing plenty of Beetle and (a bit later) Civic sales. The 124 Sport Spider competed directly against the MGB, and both types once served as commonplace daily drivers all over the country. In 1975, the 124 Sport Spider cost $4,703 ($23,140 today) and had 86 horsepower to move its 2,320 pounds. Meanwhile, the MGB cost $4,249 and weighed just 2,287 pounds … but was issued a mere 62.5 horses by British Leyland. The Fiat Twin Cam DOHC straight-four was decades more modern than the MGB's elderly (but quite sturdy) pushrod BMC B engine. If this is the original engine, it displaced 1,756cc. There's enough rust to scare off would-be restorers, but this car could have been put back on the street at fairly low cost. Naturally, I brought a vintage Italian film camera — a Bencini Comet II, circa 1951 — to photograph this vintage Italian car. You can tell a sports car owner is serious when you see studded snow tires on the car. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The car so good, it made you hallucinate romantic drives with Rolls-Royce owners. Featured Gallery Junked 1975 Fiat 124 Sport Spider View 17 Photos Auto News Fiat Automotive History Convertible fiat 124 Junkyard Gems

America was the unexpected theme at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show thanks to Trump

President-elect Donald Trump was not in attendance at this year's Detroit Auto Show, but it sure seemed like he was the target audience for many of the press conferences and announcements surrounding the event. Several manufacturers chose to play up existing and future commitments to the US in general and American jobs specifically in their presentations to the press, and we're pretty sure that has everything to do with Trump's recent targeting of automakers on Twitter. To us, it seemed automakers were going on the offensive to try and preempt any future tweet-shaming for investing in auto manufacturing anywhere but the US. The pro-America sentiment started the week prior to the auto show, with Ford announcing that it would build several future electrified vehicles at its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan and also cancel a $1.6 billion factory planned for Mexico. Ford announced the two items on the same day, but the reality is that they likely have no relation to each other; the Mexican plant is being skipped because the company doesn't need the extra capacity to build the Ford Focus right now. Trump was still happy to share the news on Twitter. Then, on Sunday, FCA announced it would invest $1 billion in manufacturing plants in Ohio and Michigan to produce the new Jeep Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer, and Wrangler-based pickup. It's not as though those potential new jobs were on their way out of the US, necessarily, but FCA took the opportunity to mention that plant upgrades at the Warren Truck Plant would allow the company to build Ram heavy duty trucks, which are currently assembled in Mexico, there. CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed that Trump and his proposed tariffs had nothing to do with the decision. We certainly believe that, but we also have to believe that the timing of the release, positive outcome for America, and zero gain for Mexico were all orchestrated. Again, Trump sent out a victory tweet as if this had been his doing. Ford then used its press conference at the show on Monday to reiterate the plans for Flat Rock and also confirm that the Ford Bronco and Ranger nameplates will be returning to the US market, and that both will be built at a plant in Michigan. Announcements of manufacturing locations are usually aimed at the UAW, which certainly has a stake in these things, but again this one was broadcast to the auto show crowd in general.

Fiat 500e order guide shows $32,500 starting price for the U.S. market

UPDATE: After publishing this post, Fiat announced its Fiat Pass with some images of the 500e Red, one of the initial trims to ship to U.S. dealers. The pass is "a digital collectible that acts as a social VIN to unlock fun rewards and extraordinary experiences that celebrate the FIAT brand’s iconic heritage and its shared, sustainable future." The benefits of signing up for an as-yet-unknown price include priority access to order the 500e Red, digital art, "mobility credit" for driving the 500e, and "priority access to future vehicle releases." Here's a photo of the 500e Red, followed by the original post: Last year, Fiat said its cute, dinky 500e electric hatchback would go on sale here at the beginning of 2024. We're not far from the calendar's big turn. Fiat's U.S. site opens with a banner telling us, "Get ready to revel in the details," December 5 being the day to unlock 500e specs and to "Take a closer look at all-electric Italian engineering." While we wait, Cars Direct did its usual, finding an early order guide with an MSRP for the 500e: $32,500, excluding destination. If that's the number that ends up on window stickers, the electric two-door would fall between the two trims of the single ICE four-door Fiat currently sells here, the $30,245 500X Pop Techy Traveler and the $33,275 500X Sport Sporty Socialite. All prices exclude the destination charge unless noted. This MSRP also puts the 500e under all but four EVs on the market at the moment, the $28,140 Nissan Leaf, the $26,500 Chevrolet Bolt, and the $27,850 Bolt EUV, and the $30,900 Mini Cooper SE. In fact, $32,500 is less than the price of the bygone 500e; when it left the market in 2019, it cost $33,210. That's an ostensible difference of $710, however — and this might be the most frightening sentence we write all day — the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator tells us that $33,210 in May 2019 is equivalent to $39,898.76 in October of this year. We only have European specs to go on until December 5. In Italy, the 500e runs on a 42-kWh battery powering a single motor on the front axle capable of 117 horsepower but restricted to a maximum power rating of 94. Range on the WLTP cycle is 199 miles. Our EPA-rated range will be lower, although it should handily beat the 84-mile estimated range of the old car.