Top Gear August 25

[baltobernie]

Any comments on James May's treatment of the Fiat 124 and cousins?

I didn't know I am driving the second-most popular car model in history! (Actually, I'm 2-for-2, with my DD a Corolla). I wonder if the 20 million number includes the 131, 132, etc.?

As an aside, I learned a great deal about the Beetle.

[njoconnor]

Gotta get my kid to download the episodes!

In the trailer I saw, it was Clarkson (aka Jennifer) who was messing with a 124 Spider. CPT Slow? That would be a treat.....

Neil

[baltobernie]

I missed it too. I was recording a subsequent program on that channel and only saw the last few seconds of the Top Gear episode and recognized the 124 sedan. It is available for $2.99 on iTunes. "The People's Car" is the title. The footage of the old Fiat plant and rooftop test track was a hoot.

[njoconnor]

In the trailer (on their website), the 3 boyos head to a Japanese car fest in UK, deciding to bring the pride of Europe or something. Clarkson brings a pretty good looking later model 124 Spider with some possible upgrades; Hammond, an MGB; Cpt Slow, a Peugeot or something. Natch.

Looking forward to the season. Especially the McLaren/Porsche showdown. Rooting for Hammond (though I'm no fan of Porsches in general).

Neil

[KidDingo]

In the third episode, dedicated to roadsters, he puts a lovely Spider in with a group of other Euro sports cars, but only as a comparison for the Mazda MX-5

[djape1977]

I didn't know I am driving the second-most popular car model in history! (Actually, I'm 2-for-2, with my DD a Corolla). I wonder if the 20 million number includes the 131, 132, etc.?

no. it includes 124's made in italy, lada in ussr/russia, seat 124 from spain, tofas 124 from turkey, bulgarian pinin 124, egyptian made lada, kia 124 from korea (south), and indian Premier 118 which is still in production

[djape1977]

by the way, 131 and 132 are compleely diferent chasis and suspension to 124. they do share some oily bits, engines and gearboxes mostly

[70spider]

I just saw the re-air here, I liked the history lesson. James mentions Fiat made alot of 124 coupes (excluding the Russian Lada), if that is the case why do they seem so rare here? Did Fiat not export them as much as the Spider?

[vandor]

> if that is the case why do they seem so rare here? Did Fiat not export them as much as the Spider?

1. Likely more Spiders were sold in America bcs of the appeal of the cheap sports car to a semi-affluent US clientele. Spider was only a little more money than the Coupe, so most people opted for the convertible. At that time owning a SP\pider was considered a luxury, so if someone opted for the Sportier version they were more likely to get a Coupe as it was a more useable car for a family.

2. 30-40 years later a convertible is lot more likely to be restored/rescued than any hardtop. So a lot higher percentage of sedans and coupes went to the scrapyard.