Joined
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115 Posts
Hi all!
Many of you have seen me posting around here for some time now, but I've never actually introduced myself or said anything about my plans for the car.
First, a bit about me. I work in Export Parts Quality Assurance at Nissan (Smyrna, TN manufacturing plant). My job, therefore, is to help our global Nissan plants build our vehicles with minimal headaches. I act as a liaison between the European manufacturing plants, and the North American Engineering team and supplier base. So, this has effectively ruined car shows/car tuning for me because I now catch the most minor of defects that 99% of people wouldn't notice. With that being said, it's one of the things that has helped me maintain interest in the Fiat 124 -- because if Nissan has taught me anything, it's that the Japanese absolutely have manufacturing figured out. So with the 124, we get Italian soul with Japanese quality. MUCH better than the inverse
Now that I have the boring stuff out of the way, here's why I love the little 124:
Last but not least, I've attached some photos of my last toy (sold in 2014) -- 2005 Crossfire SRT-6. It would knock out a quarter-mile in around 12 seconds flat... 0-60 in the 3.9/4.1 range (depending on road surface). It was a ROCKET, but definitely antiquated when it came to chassis technology. Tackling the Tail of the Dragon in this thing was a fun (albeit vague) experience. It got me addicted to boost... some shoes I think the 124 Abarth will be able to fill nicely.
All the best,
John
Many of you have seen me posting around here for some time now, but I've never actually introduced myself or said anything about my plans for the car.
First, a bit about me. I work in Export Parts Quality Assurance at Nissan (Smyrna, TN manufacturing plant). My job, therefore, is to help our global Nissan plants build our vehicles with minimal headaches. I act as a liaison between the European manufacturing plants, and the North American Engineering team and supplier base. So, this has effectively ruined car shows/car tuning for me because I now catch the most minor of defects that 99% of people wouldn't notice. With that being said, it's one of the things that has helped me maintain interest in the Fiat 124 -- because if Nissan has taught me anything, it's that the Japanese absolutely have manufacturing figured out. So with the 124, we get Italian soul with Japanese quality. MUCH better than the inverse
Now that I have the boring stuff out of the way, here's why I love the little 124:
- Pedigree -- I love cars that hearken back to a yesteryear of racing
- Retro looks -- I admire how the original Pininfarina design language has been preserved
- It's a Miata, but not -- the Miata is arguably one of the purest affordable sports cars in existence. This keeps the best of that, but gives us a different market and crowd of enthusiasts with which to interact
- Aftermarket -- since it shares the Miata ND platform, all of the aftermarket naughty bits should bolt right up. And the Miata has PLENTY. The engine is borrowed from the Abarth 500, and as a result, has a ton of aftermarket tweaks available as well. Coming from a car with limited aftermarket, this is new territory for me.
- Less is more -- most cars these days are getting horsepower out the wazoo, but they're getting FATTER as a result of all of the safety junk being tossed into them. The 124 carries Lotus' mantra of "simplify, then add lightness", without the Lotus pricetag. It's a "small dollop of wasabi" versus a "bucket of buffalo sauce".
- Consumption -- being a 1.4 Turbo, it will be a relative gas-sipper even at full chat. Smaller cars mean smaller tires, which mean smaller brakes, which all comes together to equal cheaper track days from a consumables perspective. Cheaper track days = MORE track days. More track days per dollar = more smiles per gallon.
- Rarity -- at an initial run of 2500 units, this isn't going to be a car you're going to see at every stoplight. It's the answer to the "why not buy a Mustang GT for the same money" question.
- It's silly -- It makes whooshing turbo noises, has a raucous exhaust note, and the cargo capacity of a kangaroo. It's the perfect toy. Toys aren't supposed to make sense.
Last but not least, I've attached some photos of my last toy (sold in 2014) -- 2005 Crossfire SRT-6. It would knock out a quarter-mile in around 12 seconds flat... 0-60 in the 3.9/4.1 range (depending on road surface). It was a ROCKET, but definitely antiquated when it came to chassis technology. Tackling the Tail of the Dragon in this thing was a fun (albeit vague) experience. It got me addicted to boost... some shoes I think the 124 Abarth will be able to fill nicely.
All the best,
John
