Fiat in the 1980s - A Crossroads in History

[@TwinCam]

Hello folks, hope you enjoyed this weekend’s video. I just wanted to note how it’s funny that some cars perform and others don’t across markets. While cars like the Regata were rare in the UK, they were very popular in Ireland. Car markets are fascinating things. I’d also like to bring up a fact I neglected to mention, that the Alfa 164 was, of course, based on the Type 4 platform of the Croma. It took them only a year to get a new Alfa on sale! Correction: I've been informed that I'm getting confused with Fiat in Ireland. The Regata actually didn't perform very well over there, and was rather a turning point downwards for Fiat's performance, as the older 131 did perform well, unlike in the UK. Before it was killed off, it took over 10% of the segment in Ireland, while the Regata only managed around 5%, while Fiat fell behind Austin Rover.

[@Mancozeb100]

Didn’t realise, Ed, that the Regattas were more popular here than in the UK. It reminds me that booted cars were often marketed here particularly towards a farming clientele - Solara, Hunter, Carina, etcc.. all had farming oriented adverts as I recall. The Regatta must have jumped in on that idea too. One would have thought that hatchbacks would have been much more useful to farmers - but then farmers were probably trying to keep dirty, smelly stuff separate from the passenger cabin ?? Anyway - great, informative vid, Ed, as usual. My uncle had an ‘86 Uno 45 (pre-FIRE) and it stood up to his abuse better than nearly any car he had before (apart maybe, from a couple of A40 Farinas)

[@paulqueripel3493]

the platform was developed by all 4 companies (though Fiat and Lancia were really the same one), it started in the late 70s. Alfa weren't owned by Fiat till a year before the 164's release, it took them 8 years to develop.

[@newto74]

Owned an 86 mk1 Panda. Loved that little thing. Covered 100’s of miles in it. Did what a car should do. Get for a to b with no frills or fuss

[@Timico1000]

Here in Germany small saloons became very unpopular during the 80s as hatchbacks were far more practical and simply looked cooler. Saloons were seen as cars for elderly and more conservative people who were used to them and didn´t want something else. And when you find an 80s saloon on car sales platform it most certainly is rather base spec, sprayed in a dull colour and has an automatic gearbox.

[@TwinCam]

Very much the same thing over here. The Regata and Orion were generally targeted towards older people stepping down from the likes of a Cortina, or those turned off the Sierra by its new-fangled hatchback.

[@agnieszkamoczadlo407]

I'm English but i live in the mountains in southern Poland,i used to teach English in the fiat factory and had the chance of touring the plant.i was very impressed.i now own a 2010 fiat croma and it's one of the best car's ive owned.

[@gwheregwhizz]

I had an original Panda. Unbelievably cheap to run, even when buying wiper blades that were sold in pairs in those days, it was one on the front and one on the back. Spare under the bonnet and on earlier ones the seat covers unzipped and went through the washing machine. Lots of good ideas.

[@TwinCam]

I love simple cars like the Panda. How motoring should be, and that simplicity is where all the character comes through.

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

And a rear seat that tipped back at 45 deg, handy for "borrowing" a computer monitor from work.

[@colrhodes377]

​@TwinCam Prior to our Punto, my wife had a Seat Marbella, which was a cracking little car.

[@anderspedersen7488]

@@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391Rumour has it that the true purpose of this feature was to give young Italian couples without a home of their own a place to be private.

[@carswithcharacter]

I worked in a Fiat dealership in 84/85. I sold all of the range seen here. The Uno sold we'll, with the Panda being a close 2nd. Stradas hardly sold. Regata models, being new, sold slowly at first. When I started the job there was a Strada Cabriolet and X1/9 VS in the showroom. They were still there a year later, when I left. If note, the Regata ES was ahead of its time. This 1300cc had stop/start technology. We found this fascinating in the day.

[@darrenwilson8042]

Interesting - lad next door to me in the 80's had a Strada 105tc - literally dissolved into rust in short order. Two mates of mine - 1 had a mk2 Strada 1300 and the other a Regatta 1300 - both in white and both remained immaculate for all the time they owned them. Presume it just took time for FIAT to really master rust prevention

[@robtyman4281]

The Strada did sell quite well for the first few years I think (saw lots of them in the early 80's as a kid), but after around 1983, sales of it in the UK dried up. People back then (in the UK) just preferred the VW Golf, Ford Escort, and Vauxhall Astra cars. If it wasn't these cars people were buying, it was cars like the Renault 14 or Citröen Visa. Sadly all these cars were bigger sellers in the UK than the Strada. Here in Britain, the Strada never achieved the sales Fiat had hoped. This was redressed by its successor, the Tipo (MK1) which was alot more popular than the Strada was. And the Tipo at least served Fiat very well, carrying them forward into the 90's.

[@nathanfisher4452]

As a US guy, I have a 1979, 124 and a 2019 Abarth, I LOVE THEM BOTH please come back!!!

[@johnvender]

Here in Australia Fiat now give you a simple choice, a flavour of the 500 or Ducato if you need a van :)

[@David_H-73]

Great video again Edd. The 126 was comfortably the UKs cheapest car at £2297 ( 3/3/85). The cheapest Panda was £3298. The 126s nearest price competitors were, Skoda Estelle £2548 FSO 1300 £2749 Lada Riva £2749 Citroen 2CV £2774 Yugo 45 £2799

[@TwinCam]

Fabulous. Thank you for this!

[@martindooley4439]

I think my Skoda Estelle was B765 WFV ??

[@StandaBlabol]

The cheap 126 was not Fiat but Polski fiat. Old fiat model lecense built and modified in Poland

[@peterthwaites5891]

Brilliant as ever Ed.. One car i wish you had given a mention to was the fantastic Fiat Uno Turbo ie, Admittedly not launched until late 1985 i had an X demonstration Jan 86 model with the early huge red TURBO lettering down the sides... It was light years ahead of the the mk2 Fiesta XR2 that i traded in for the Uno Turbo, no horrid unreliable auto choke carburetor on a wheezy CVH engine, but proper fuel injection with a water cooled inter-cooler and as the name says a Turbo... For a 1299 cc engine these cars were bonkers FUN and the reason i still drive the closest modern day equivalent,an Abarth 595... Yes i`ll never grow up !

[@DazBull26]

I had a red 87 uno turbo. So much fun, its still my favourite car ive ever owned.

[@TwinCam]

Thanks Peter :) Of course, had this brochure been a year later it would have been that bit more interesting.

[@garywilton1514]

Lampredi turbo!

[@JK061996]

Nice video! Another thing to mention about the Regata is that the estate introduced the drop-down rear bumper that made loading and unloading easier (16:29). This solution would be retained for the estate versions of the Tempra and Marea.

[@lamiaitaly2549]

Great video. Thanks for giving Fiat some attention as underrated in UK in my opinion!

[@TwinCam]

Thanks mate :)

[@terryatkinson899]

Usually hate brochure videos But as a fiat fan this video is very interesting. Only this week I bought a 07 year panda for a friend's sons first car. Mint condition and half the price of anything else he could afford and he loves it. I have 2 90s cinquecentos and they are great fun to drive. My first car was a ritmo followed by the 2 mks of uno.😁👍🇮🇪

[@rogerrees9845]

Another interesting presentation..... Bringing back all those warm memories.... well researched and presented as usual.... Thank you.. Roger...

[@TwinCam]

Thanks as always Roger :)

[@fhwolthuis]

Hi Ed, thank you for this interesting video. I grew up in FIATs in the 1970s and 80s. My uncle had a FIAT dealership here in the Netherlands until 1983, when he switched to Daihatsu because of "irreconcilable differences" with the importer. I have fond memories of our visits to the garage back then, remember the brand new 127 Sport for example in the showroom ☺️ Despite building some great cars then and later, I believe it all went pear shape during the 80s. Mainly because if the inconsistent model and name politics. They should have done more like the Germans and French, make consistent line ups of models and offer various body versions of all if them. Well, at least we have the classics, the memories and the old brochures... And Twin Cam 😄👍🏼

[@TwinCam]

Phwoah I'd love a 127 Sport, though the pick of non-X1/9 Fiats for me would be a 128 3P. Such pretty little things.

[@AutistCat]

Subscribed on a whim last week, and it turns out to be a very good channel. Great job, mate.

[@TwinCam]

Thank you my friend, very kind of you to say :)

[@martindooley4439]

That was a great time to be a car enthusiast. Cars were genuinely different. I owee a Tipo Alfa 33 Cinquecento Sporting and Marea Estate. Glutton for punishment some would say

[@Pat_RickX]

Hi Ed, very interesting again. Fiat has been extremely popular in Southern Germany from the 70s to the 90s, with the peak in the 80s where you saw Fiats in every street & nearly every village had a Fiat Dealer. Nowadays they don' t play a role here, due to their realy boring range of models now . Retro 500 are quite popular, but the other Fiats nobody wants. 126, Argenta & X 1/9 versus the iconic Panda and the extremely popular Uno - must have been interesting veing a Fiat Dealer in 1985...

[@TwinCam]

Thanks mate :)

[@darrenwilson8042]

Peak FIAT - I had several Uno's - couple of Panda's even a SEAT Marbella that was a Panda once removed as it were - quality cars

[@heavyt749]

We still have a 1983 strada cabrio In daily use

[@stevenlawrie7819]

Hi Ed another great vid. I love the full range brochures from the 80s Renault did them brilliantly from memory.

[@TwinCam]

Thanks Steven :) I only have one Renault brochure I'm afraid, and it's an A5 full range book from 1978, so not really appropriate for this kind of video. However, I have included scans of it in some other videos.

[@nomdeplume798]

I bought a new Uno 60DS in 1989. A week later it took four adults on a week long self catering holiday to France. Including four pillows for the in-laws. I was a driving instructor at the time and that car served me for 10 years and almost 200,000 miles before being replaced by a Punto.

[@heyboykelly]

Very interesting. I love your presenting style and knowledgeable based content. Thank you.

[@TwinCam]

Thank you very much :)

[@ClaireHeaton-j3d]

My girlfriend bought a new panda in1986, it was cute, practical and drove well. On the downside it suffered from chronic brake fade ,and after less than 2years needed 2 new doors,a bonnet, tailgate and a complete respray.even the roof was rusty.I kid you not!!!

[@patricksmodels]

I've got a 1987 MK2 Regata 70S saloon, it's a very comfortable car with a spacious boot. My first car was a 1986 Regata 70 Weekend estate, the flap down rear bumper allowed you to load just about anything.

[@seanoneillsongs]

I've bought two Fiats in my life - both brand new one in 1973 - a 128 and one in 1980. Both times, I parted with them and swore I'd never buy another - although, as you can see, I gave them a second chanc. The first, a 128, I traded for a, 18 month old Triumph Spitfire and limped the 11 month old car across town, praying that I'd get there. It was a fantastic car to drive - when it was going well BUT, that was only for short periods following a service (3,000 mile intervals). After about 1500 miles, most mornings I needed help from a neighbour to push start it. 7 years later, the spitfire had been traded in for a Citroen Dyane on the day the second child arrived. The Dyane was good and that was traded for another new one. The odd looking Ritmo took my fancy and my wife took over the Dyane when I bought the then range topping Ritmo 75 - sunroof, tinted glass and fancy looking seats. The robot must have been on a smoke break when mine passed along the line to have the exhaust manifold fitted. The first day out and a long way from how and with a days work ahead of me - involving calling to my customers houses - perhaps about twenty calls in all, they could hear mew coming a mile away and the aforesaid manifold fad parted company from the engine. Shame on you Robot. That was sorted the next day and my hearing returned to normal a few days later. The car proved to be a lot more reliable than the 128 but proved to be an absolute dog to drive. The first time I suggested to my wife that we swap cars for the day, she was delighted - but only the first time. I did like the original Panda - in particular it's interesting interior - I don't know how comfortableit would have been to sleep in as I never bought on. I wonder why the 131 wasn't included in the brochure - it was still selling well in Ireland and, by all accounts was a pretty good car.

[@karllelliott681]

I had an '86 Strada Abarth 130TC in the late 80's. OMP exhaust and strut brace, 8v TC engine, twin carb and no power steering - I loved it! Not so much the eventual rust though or the 25MPG at the time or the constant clutch cable breaking issue (poor routing of it due to the RHD conversions). I tried to get an Uno after that (twice) but that's another story based around less than honest sellers at the time. I always regret not owning one as a very good mate of mine had one and it was great.

[@peterward3965]

I was so impressed with my first Panda, when I ordered my second one in 1992, she was a wee bit different. Two tone red and black coachwork, double canopy roof, alloy wheels with thin line white wall tyres. And sign written on the two back side panels and tailgate was TOPOLINO. Meaning small mouse. As in Fiat Topolino. Which ever came first, 10yr ownership or 100,000 mls I would sell it. The first day of putting it on the drive with a for sale notice, I sold it. Well cared for and full service history. I loved that little car. My little Topolino 😅

[@campingramen1841]

Such a cool brochure! Fiat had a pretty small range here in the US in the early 1980s, before withdrawing completely in 1983, so we didn’t get quite a few of these models. We did get the Strada and the X1/9 though, so we take the wins where we can. Thanks for these brochure videos, so interesting to see the things us Americans missed out on

[@deedahinkent]

Worlds best small cars iv,e owned uno 55 ,uno 70 ,panda 4x4 ,seiciento sporting and 500 twin air loved every single one so much character ☺great video 👍

[@pereldh5741]

Great video! Been pondering this fact too. Where did Fiat go.. Sadly with the demise of Agnelli I’m afraid. Sorry u didnt get the Argenta in 1985. Facelifted, better than ever and virtually indestructable (bar rust…) I’ve enjoyed 342000km in my Argenta 120ie. Then a barge, today a quick lightweight small RWD sedan! Funny how the car landscape changes..

[@xmaniac99]

Fiat moved the core of the growth model to Brazil in the 1990s, a bet that paid off.

[@TwinCam]

Thanks mate :) I like the old FR Fiats, though a 130 or 131 would be my pick. As @xmaniac99 said though, Fiat rather redirected its centre of sales to Latin America, though of course the 500 has been exceptionally popular over the past fifteen years or so.

[@pereldh5741]

@@TwinCam Yeah 130 3200 and 131 Supermirafiori too, if not as fast as a Argenta 120ie (mine’s easily over 200km/h!) the 131 is more ’peppy’! I’d like a 124 Coupe or 125 S.

[@patricksmodels]

The Panda 4x4 is a great off road vehicle, when I was doing my Italian military service in 1997 my infantry unit had two of them as staff cars, they could go just about anywhere.

[@garywilton1514]

Great to recognise the quality of the smaller Lampredi engine. Privileged to have driven an 1100cc Fiat 128 as my first car. 55bhp but 50mpg in second gear!

[@martinclapton2724]

I thought Fiat had brought something very different in various decades. In the 1960s , when the UK induced huge tax penalties on imported vehicles , the Fiat range showed something more exotic but with thoroughly standard mechanics. The 850 range , fundamentally a small pretty town car , but also a Bertone styled spider and a super suave Coupe. Their 125 , all round disc brakes, belt driven twin cam engine and in the tweaked Special , a five speed box. The 124 , deserved car of the year, also available in twin cam spider, and coupe forms , possibly one of the best handling cars in the world at the time , at any price. Plus 90 bhp from 1438 cc on a single carb, brilliant. The 1970s brought us the Mirafiori , 3 times world rally champion, the start of the superminis 127, and the 128 fwd transverse with end on gearbox , macpherson struts , a formula followed by virtually most main stream manufacturers today. The x19 , mid engined, but with standard 128 mechanicals brilliant Lampredi again. The 1980s as per your video, then in the 1990s we had the Punto, Brava / Bravo models , Cinquecento, Muitipla , and broke new styling ground , earning ECOTY on several models . The modern 500 as the town car still sells incredibly well despite being around some time but the other cars based on MPV basis don’t do it for me so much , following other manufactures trends , rather than Fiat leading the way as before.

[@apyllyon]

fun fact; 850 engine rotates in the counterclock-wise direction.

[@matheus_ps]

I love Fiat, here in Brazil it was very important, the Uno was a revolution of modernity and the 90's was full of sporty versions that really shaped the market. The Uno mk1 was sold until 2013 here as the Mille and still has a lot of widows

[@danielboguse4249]

I still have my 81 Brava/131 and my 84 Bertone X1/9 here in the USA. Both are all original the Brava from California and the X1/9 from the east coast with just 20k miles. Both are great cars to own and drive.

[@ChrisWilderspin]

Brilliant era for Fiat, I'd have any car in the brochure, the look so much more stylish than modern SUV tanks.

[@TwinCam]

Let's be honest, almost anything is more stylish than an SUV ;)

[@runoflife87]

Well, it was an interesting video for sure. Fiat cars have never been very popular here in Russia because of rust issues and inability to withstand our climate conditions. Their industrial influence, however, is very important. Speaking of the Panda: it was chosen as a possible compact car to produce in late 80's, but with USSR collapsing very soon no real agreements have been made.

[@TwinCam]

Absolutely, there's a case to be made that Fiat are one of the most important manufacturers of all time in terms of mass mobilisation.

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

A brilliant video mate, well presented and researched.

[@michelvondenhoff9673]

The Panda is a cult classic. Affordable,practical and likeable 👌🤠

[@GeneFraxby]

What a massive nostalgia hit. My first ever car was a Panda 4x4 - in EXACTLY the same paint/stripe scheme as can be seen on the right hand side of the page at 4:26. The only difference is that the previous owner had 3 inches of extra suspension travel added, , including the rear leafs, some ludicrous BF Goodrich tyres and 2 glass sunroofs. I loved that car, and would happily trade my S3i for another. Amazingly, the Panda is now probably worth more...

[@TwinCam]

Those little mountain goats are simply wonderful little cars. If I had the use for one, I'd jump at buying one.

[@patricksmodels]

I've had two MK2 Unos, great cars both in the town and for long distance travel. I've also driven various Mk1s, I really like the original pod dashboard designed by Giugiaro.

[@GForceVRX]

Nicely presented as usual! Ive owned a few Fiats from the 80’s here in Sydney Australia. 2 x Regatta 100s’s, a 650 Fsm Nikki (126), and a 131 Mk 2 Superbrava. I also had a last of the line 1975 500, 2 x series 2 850 coupes, and a 128 coupe. They were all such amazing fun to drive and always made driving an event. But there’s not enough Fiat specialists in Australia these days so it makes it a challenge to own them now

[@TwinCam]

Thanks mate :)

[@bigjohno242]

My mate had a Fiat Panda which he drove to a rock festival in 1991. Great little car . Six of us picked it up and moved it behind another camper van and watched him scratch his head saying ‘But I know I parked it here’

[@davidw6469]

A really interesting video again. Fiat was always considered a left field choice in my family but I really liked the 127, Panda and then the Uno.

[@neilmustow368]

Loved the Uno MK 1 interior

[@jameswilliamstreet]

Would you consider doing a video on the Fiat Tipo? Only asking because it was my first car and I'm drunk enough to be getting nostalgic. Love your videos.

[@neilwalsh4058]

What a decade that was for FIAT and I've owned that whole catalogue, the metal versions not the paper ones. Four 126's (inc a water cooled BIS), four Uno's , five or six Pandas (two were 4x4's), a Strada Abarth, a Regatta 1.6 (twin cam) and nineteen X1/9's. Happy happy days, half the price of a Ford and twice as good 🇮🇹

[@plym1969]

Another lovely and interesting trip down memory lane. I've never liked Fiat cars. But maybe if I knew a bit more about them in the 80's and 90's I might have given them a try? I did hire a Fiat Tempra in 1992 for 1 day to travel from Kent to Devon. The car was new. 3000 miles on the clock. It started to misfire 30 miles from Plymouth. Great video as always Ed👍

[@TwinCam]

Thanks mate :)

[@jeremyaustin9103]

Great Video Once upon a time I had a go of a Strada 130 TC. Twin Webber's. That was a fun drive

[@AutistCat]

Just to add, the big fancy print brochures featured are absolutely tits. This puts the video over the top. I don’t see other channels doing this.

[@TwinCam]

What can I say? We're all just nerds!

[@jrushen4235]

Great content. Fiat just didn't do larger cars well. My girl friend had an original Panda with a double fabric sunroof. Like a Safari car. I adored it.

[@thatcheapguy525]

in 1985 I finished my Triumph Stag specialist apprenticeship and went off to Tom Walkinshaw Racing. I got to drive a great deal of VERY tasty cars back then but if there was ever a car I couldn't get enough of in those days it was the Mk1 X1/9 (closely followed by the Mk1 Scirrocco). life is always full of compromises so I bought a Mk1 Strada (mechanically very similar to the 128 & X1/9) and it did what Stradas were really good at: fall to pieces!!! oh well, its was a FIAT afterall lol.

[@riccardotassoni9825]

Another great video, regarding the conclusion it's important to note how the 164 was conceived and designed by Alfa design team while still under IRI ownership, before and independently from the FIAT takeover, and thus should be considered the last Alfa and not the first Alfiat. On Drive to Write Eóin Doyle wrote a great piece on the wonderful 164: "When the Poets Dreamed of Angels".

[@TwinCam]

That's very interesting, I did not know that. Of course, the Saab exists, but I didn't know that Alfa got in on the deal of their own accord.

[@tides2002]

My dad had a MK1 and then a MK2 Strada, the MK2 would without fail, fail on holiday with randomly blown fuses and the clutch cable snapping on the way home. One of the issues was Fiat’s engineering department would only allocate a single Friday afternoon for engineering the RHD conversion.

[@carstenweiland7896]

I think so too, but you can put the 176 Punto in that video without changing the wording much. Very underrated cars!

[@apyllyon]

Punto and it´s sibling lineup did earn their reputation..nothing but good looks and interior....

[@carstenweiland7896]

@@apyllyon had one, bo problems till I sold it with 230tkm it was a comfy car on long distances and the space was plenty for that type of a car, so what's not to like? Lack of maintenance was often the troublemaker not the car.

[@apyllyon]

@@carstenweiland7896 poor anti-corrosion protection was still a thing with cars on the price range such as but not limited to Punto and Brava, especially annoying when you have to drive in a region where 2/3rds of the year theres road salt involved even if one would go through the dog and pony show of inspecting every millimeter of the car every single day, there´s still gonna be rust,eventually. sure, there were plentý of problems that were kept away if the cars were regularly checked, but there were some defects from the factory,propably the worst headache was the wiring and later the fiats propietary CPU.....those were decent car´s but they weren´t nothing to write homeabout in that price range,and especially not underrated, since fiat did sell the same basic range as Lancias Ypsilon range, which was a bloody eyesore:D

[@carstenweiland7896]

@@apyllyon you clearly have got no clue, never had corrosion problems in 12 years of ownership an I live in an area where they salt the roads frequently in winter.

[@apyllyon]

@@carstenweiland7896 and who are you to tell me that,equally based on experiences, early punto,brava range did have issues here and there, and rust was definitely, one of them.

[@ccooper8785]

The original Panda was the best 5 minutes that Giugiaro ever spent with his ruler... I loved my Panda and would have kept it far longer had it not been for the rust. I would happily buy one today if they had modern engine, brakes and rust proofing.

[@PaulinesPastimes]

Excellent video 😊

[@colrhodes377]

I had a Fiat Punto. The car handled really well and was well set out, but it was only a one litre engine and as soon as you showed it a hill , it didn't want to know. A pity because other than that, it was a lovely and economical car. It even looked cool in black and its alloy wheels.

[@stevesas632]

How could Fiat mention any anti corrosion claims, when they all rotted like mad, especially the Strada, which I like the look of?

[@TwinCam]

Even in the mid-'80s, a lot of cars were still like that. While the corrosion proofing was not up to scratch, if there was none at all, none would have made it even to the dealers!

[@MegaReddevil71]

Italian cars would rust quicker than anything else I saw a 5 Yr old fiat strada 130tc being moted the front crossmember was rotten as a pear and other places

[@robertlammer140]

@@MegaReddevil71 Had several Uno - built in 1986, 1988, 2x 1993. You could noticeably see the improved rust protection.

[@saxon-mt5by]

"The Fiat Panda 4x4 is the greatest go-anywhere vehicle ever produced"? As a diehard Panda 4x4 enthusiast, I would still rate the Model T Ford and the Austin Seven as serious contenders for that title.

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

The Regata was basically a straight replacement for the long-lived RWD 131 Mirafiori…. including a peppy 1600cc Twin-Cam !

[@TwinCam]

That's a good point, though would I be correct in saying that the 131 had been pulled out of the UK market a number of years earlier?

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

@@TwinCam About ‘83 on an Y / A plate for the last of the 131s, they were very enjoyable cars by the time they got to the Mk3. , a Dolomite equivalent…

[@simmadpaul2880]

A video going through a FIAT sales brochure shouldn't work and yet yout video is extremely interesting as they always are. My Gran and Grandad were FIAT addicts. Gran always had a new FIAT 500 or 126. Changing them every 2 years. Grandad had the FIAT Panda. So its no surprrise I love FIATs. I've had a FIAT Panda and a FIAT Coupe 20v Turbo. And as you mentioned it here I aksonhad a FIAT X1.9 substitute the Toyota MR2. All excellent cars. FIATs rule.

[@TwinCam]

The Coupes are fabulously cool things.

[@simmadpaul2880]

@@TwinCam they are but they only get shown a can of paint at the factory to tell them what colour to be. And they have virtually no rust proofing. Mine was Sprint Blie or Sprinty as there known and rusted to death on a Welsh mountain side. Just wasn't economical to save it. Oh yeah at the same time it failed its MOT for rust all the electrcs failed. Gave me the constant horn at 2am in the morning 2 days before the test. I think it was its final death scream. I now have a Renault Twingo RS KTec Racing 163. The French really know how to make a classic hot hatch. Reminds me of a Peaugeot 205 1.6 GTi I had back in the 80s.

[@TwinCam]

Sounds like Fiat then 😅

[@tangfors]

I remember a friend who had a Fiat Punto, I think it had 60 horsepower, so it sounds boring as hell, but it was surprisingly fun to drive considering how small the engine in it was, so I think Fiat's strengths are that they are quite fun to drive, even though they often have very small engines, the fact that they rev so well makes them peppery, the are also practical for being small cars, often cheap to buy, but also taxes, insurance and yes they also often look quite good too. The downsides are the quality, The old models rusted a lot, but sometime in the 90s, maybe late 80s, they got significantly better, if you're going to buy a fiat, you shouldn't choose the one with the most electronics in it, it will definitely start to mess up, safety at least some of their models are not the best either., and a small engine that revs a lot wears out faster.

[@easydrive3662]

Id say the most beautiful fiat to date is the fiat coupe, its a stunning unique looking car, the 20vt is the fastest fiat they has ever been and even today its one of the quickest cars on the road and turns heads more than any other car.

[@CarmineFrancescoRichichi]

The Fiat Panda introduced one of the most successful engines in the world: the “Fire” engine

[@mattw8332]

In 1987/8 the Fiat 126 had a list price of £2,431. Maybe a bit extra On The Road price for number plates and delivery. It was the cheapest car for sale in the UK, coming in just below the Fiat based Yugo 45a and FSO 1300 saloon. The things that stick in you brain when you're 10 years old! 🤪

[@Davide0033]

owner of a 4x4. the lovely tuna can is both lovely and strange i own the later model (2001) with a 1100. it's so small it fits everywhere, and it just rocks on the snow. the thing that i don't know is where the fuel goes. it just consumes a lot.

[@gothicpagan.666]

The UNO would have been the best medium size car available in the UK at that time; if it were not for the Vauxhall Astra mk1

[@leonshackleford9585]

I don’t remember the Fiat Croma 1985 Car in that Fiat’s 80’s Brochure after All the Fiat Croma / Lancia THEMA 1984 / Saab 9000 / Alfa Romeo 164 T Spark / Seat Toledo Are all my Favourite Type 4 Cars of all Times I’d own All of Them

[@jasongomez5344]

My first car was an Uno 70S (pre-facelift). Great car and yes, the facelift was a travesty that spoiled Giugiaro's original.

[@judethaddaeus9742]

Great video as always, and extremely informative with great context. It’s interesting… while Fiat was hitting its stride in this era worldwide, they’d left the US market - the world’s largest - after the 1982 model year. So the US never got the Regata or Uno. We did get the 124 Spider from 1983-85 as the Pinninfarina Azzura and the X1/9 from 1983-89 as the Bertone X1/9 after Fiat left. But terribly unreliable Stradas were the last straw for the brand in the US.

[@TwinCam]

I think at that point, any foreign manufacturer who didn't sell on either absolute economy or on absolute reliability didn't stand a chance in the US.

[@judethaddaeus9742]

@@TwinCam Yes, and generally the 1975-95 period spelled the end of several European imported marques to the US: Austin, Opel, & Citroën left in 1975. MG was gone after 1980. Rover & Triumph left after 1981. Lancia & Fiat left in 1982. Renault was gone by 1988. Maserati left in 1990. Peugeot was gone by 1992, as was Rover’s rebranded Sterling marque. Alfa Romeo left in 1995. In that 20-year period, we went from a broad array of available mass-market European cars to just one: VW. And in the ‘90s, even they were flirting with pulling out of the market due to dismal sales.

[@judethaddaeus9742]

@@TwinCam Here is a 1979 road test of a US market Fiat Strada. It almost beggars belief how bad things were. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaLJlH2Vhbx_oZosi=bX_aBydrj1UJl01n

[@jetsons101]

X-19 was available over here, but I have never seen a Panda. The Panda looks like it would be a fun drive.... mike

[@TwinCam]

Absolutely, the X1/9 and 124 Spider are the only two older Fiats I really ever hear talked about over there! The Panda is such a simple thing. Totally unsuited to the US, but perfect for ancient Italian towns with narrow, cobbled streets. It's a box on wheels with all of three moving parts, but that's why it's so charming, and as I said about the 4x4, if you go to Italy, you'll find them climbing mountains they have no right to.

[@jetsons101]

The Panda would fit in many small towns across the US, were not all like NYC or L.A.. Years back I lived in a small town in Maine (East Millinocket) and a Panda would've been great for the summer or winter. Ed, keep up the great work. @@TwinCam

[@markbeed59]

Fiats were always better value for money, hence in my younger days I had a 128, 127, two 131's and a Regata estate, all very rusty but great fun.

[@Gary-Seven-and-Isis-in-1968]

That brochure didn't show the early version of the Strada, a car that was almost irritating to look at.

[@TwinCam]

Yes, I say that in the video. However, I like the original Strada for its weirdness!

[@Timico1000]

I grew up in the 80s in small german village with a Fiat dealer as the sole car dealer. I remember that the cars from the brochure were everywhere (even the Argenta and the Spiders), but at the same time they had quite a bad reputation for poor quality and rust so probably no one had bought them if it wasn´t for the dealer. But looking through old car magazines from that era it seems like Fiats weren´t that bad after all. Apart from the Uno they just weren´t that good and slightly outdated especially compared to german and japanese rivals.

[@TwinCam]

I think that's fair to say - and that reputation existed in the UK as well. Certainly, as I mention, their larger cars didn't get a look in compared to the competition, while the Uno was their single real success of this era over here.

[@Timico1000]

@@TwinCam Same here. The Uno was a bestseller, but apart from that, Fiat struggled quite a bit. The Panda and 126 were just cheap to buy and run and competed mostly with used cars or competitors from the east, the Ritmo/Strada despite the facelift was getting outdated and the Regatta appealed mostly to elderly people. The Argenta and Croma were sold over here, but the Argenta was ancient and the Croma only sold only in small numbers due to a complete lack of prestige. I really liked it and stopped almost every day on my way to school to have a look at a black Turbo i.e. with cool BBS rims, but apart from me everyone seemed to ignore the Croma. It just wasn't a truly great car compared to the also struggeling Granada/Scorpio, the Omega/Carlton or the Audi 100, let alone a 5 series or the W124.

[@leonshackleford9585]

Great Cars Fiat’s / Alfa’s / LANCIA’s in the 1980’s

[@jamesengland7461]

I believe Fiat exited the US market in 1979, but I can't remember what they were still selling here then except for X1/9s. Wasn't much though.

[@TwinCam]

Yeah I wouldn't imagine they sold much, maybe the 124 Spider, 132, and Ritmo at a push?

[@neildutton8077]

1982, we were selling pandas for £2995.

[@Diecastclassicist]

My dream car is an X1/9. Too bad they all rusted away….

[@TwinCam]

After driving that one for Twin-Cam in 2022, I've made it a life goal to own an X1/9!

[@stevenfernando1842]

Fiat marketing has almost always been lousy despite having brilliant cars most of the time. The Uno was such a universal hit and they changed the name….

[@iangrice329]

I had an 85 panda CL, best car ever. Fiat haven't made anything good since mid 90s Had uno 45s with pod controls, only fault was horn was not in steering wheel.

[@TwinCam]

I would strongly argue in favour of the Panda, especially the 100HP.

[@iangrice329]

​@@TwinCamJust another econbox with a big engine.

[@TwinCam]

I don’t think that’s a fair assessment of the Panda. Wonderfully practical design, great chassis, and a proper Fiat engine. Plus, it’s 1400cc, so hardly big. Generally considered one of the best small hot hatches of the new millennium. That’s without also mentioning the huge success of the new 500 and its Abarth versions.

[@iangrice329]

Compared to the original Panda it didn't do anything particularly well, except bounce. Fiat lost its way after the Punto. We always had Fiat's but they bcame same old same old.

[@davidr7819]

Excellent video. But my Fiat ownership was disastrous! I bought a Punto selecta, 1 year old, in 1996, thanks to the demutualisation of the Alliance and Leicester building society. 1 year of hassle free ownership followed by crisis after crisis. Problems with fuses, gearbox, seat belts, even the key snapped in half in the door! A beautiful car but appalling build quality. It’s been Toyota all the way ever since!😂

[@TinLeadHammer]

It is not just Tipo, it is Tipo punto.

[@MegaReddevil71]

Cant agree that uno was a better car than the 205

[@TwinCam]

I’d have a 205 as well, but in 1983, that was the consensus. It seems the 205 really took that extra step when it received the TU engine and new dashboard.

[@JamesAllmond]

then they became Ladas...sigh...of course the new stuff is better than that.... what happened?

[@TwinCam]

None of the cars in this brochure became Ladas.