[2020 Nordamericano]

enjoy mine until the wheels fall off.

I don't believe, with all you have done, that there's any question you fully enjoy owning your 124 Spider. I also don't believe you nor anyone else, with all you have done, would ever have to worry about your 124 Spider being view as a classic collector's item.
Now having said that I will add I applaud you and all you have done ..... the thought given, the research, the time invested, the dollars committed, the willingness to go far beyond plug & play.
Would I have done these thing to my car? No! But it's your car and you can to do to it whatever you want, whatever tickles your fancy, whatever makes you happy. That's the whole point of the exercise. That to me is the base essence of the 124 Spider. These cars make people happy. People are happy when they first see them. People are happy thinking about someday owning one. People are extremely happy the day they actually do own one. People are happy when driving them. People are happy when planning out how to personalize the one they own. People are happy fussy over and with them to keep them looking good. People are happy when walking away from their 124Spiders in a parking lot and looking back to sneak a peak. These cars make people happy!
I bought my 124 Spider to make me happy. If someday down the road it ends up being someone's classic collector's car great, but that's not why I bought or own it.

 

[TX_Bandit]

 

[TX_Bandit]

Here is how I imagine my car after it's last drive 😀

I want to have pulled every ounce of enjoyment and fun the car had to offer. If someone wants to rebuild it after that. Be my guest!

 

[Scorpius]

Victor Troia the author of this review perhaps never owned or even drove "AKA The FIATA".

I test drove both the Fiat and the Miata. The Miata delivers its power in a more linear fashion. The MX-5 has better low end acceleration, but the Spider has better at speed. The Fiat needs to get up in the Revs before it really goes. So, it feels slower off the line. A little more like a Honda S2000. The automatic transmission is a frustrating underperformer but not the 124 Spider Abarth's turbo-laggy 1.4-liter engine. So it is really down to which one appeals to you more. It is peppy and agile. It holds the road like nobody’s business. Interior noise level is minor for a car of this type.

The 124 Spider captures the joy of driving well. It gives you excellent feedback, handles well, has a great little shifter, and looks awesome to boot. How well do they handle? Fastestlaps rates the Abarth at 1.10g on the skidpad - tied with cars like the Ferrari P488 Pista and Lambo Aventador. The Classica and Lusso are rated at 1.09g, tied with some models of the Porsche 911 and McLaren 720S! The drop top goes up and down easily.

 

[Steele]

Fiat had an uphill battle with Spider.

Namely:

1. A poor quality reputation in N.A., as already mentioned. When Fiat returned to N.A., the first thing it had to do was dispel the perception that FIAT stood for Fix It Again Tony. But for a variety or reasons, including a management team with its head in the sand, they didn't. Sitting at the bottom of the quality rankings didn't help. Questionable dealers only compounded the problem. By the time Spider launched, the damage to the brand was done
2. Minuscule demand for 2-seat cars. Demand for 2-seat cars represents less than 1% of total market. Of which Mazda owns more than 60%. It was going to be extremely difficult to generate sales when market demand was nearly non-existent
3. Lack of commitment from management. It took Mazda three decades to get where it is with MX-5; Fiat gave up after four years

Despite all these headwinds, Fiat did a magnificent job with Spider.

Aldo hit it spot on
Bravo

 

[dennis63]

I always completely disregard "reviews" like this. Sites are filled with articles on any subject (diets, martial arts, cars, boats), and they effectively say, "This one is better than that one." In the end, it's just some idiot writing to fill space to get paid. His opinion has no value to me.

For every review that pans the 124 Spider, there's one that says its a great car that's fun to drive.

What I know is:

• I bought the car because I like it -- the look, the performance and the brand.
• So Fiat didn't sell that many in the U.S.? Good! I have a relatively rare car.
• Every time I take the car out on the road, people comment on how beautiful it is.
• For me, it was the perfect balance of beauty, performance and affordability.
• Just weeks before I bought mine, I read another review that said the 124 Spider is "destined to be a classic.," and "Buy one if you can get your hands on one." I did, and I couldn't be happier.

 

[TX_Bandit]

I don't believe anyone on this forum disagrees with the fact the Fiat 124 Spider is a fun to drive, good looking car that brings us great joy. And I don't think I would be wrong to say I am one of the more active members regarding mods (whether you like them or not) for this car. I am a true Fiat Spider afficionado.

But what the article states, and no one has shown any proof to the contrary, is Fiat did a $hit job of selling and marketing the car as a viable brand in the US.

Regardless of the fact we love our little spiders and believe they deserve to be classics, production has ceased and repair parts are getting harder to find by the day. To paraphrase my favorite Monty Python skit:

As a car model, the Fiat Spider is definitely deceased. It's is demised. It has ceased to be. It has expired and gone to meet its maker. It's a stiff that is bereft of live. It has pulled down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. If if it weren't for this forum it would be pushing up daisies. It is an ex-car!​

Thinly veiled protestations of "it is a rare diamond the underclass dregs of society haven't the capacity to appreciate" doesn't change the facts.

No, I don't expect to change anyone's mind. This is a forum after all.

 

[fiatmidway124]

Is that the dead parrot bit. Classic monte.

All i know is never drive, or own, your car for the next owner! Even if it’s a P.O.S. The drive is the adventure. And stats are for those not brave enough to live a full life.

Cars that crossed the Barrett Jackson stage with less than 100 or so miles being 20, 30, and 40 years old have wrought a curse upon their owners, and the new owners to be. God help their souls.

 

[Scorpius]

Like

I always completely disregard "reviews" like this. Sites are filled with articles on any subject (diets, martial arts, cars, boats), and they effectively say, "This one is better than that one." In the end, it's just some idiot writing to fill space to get paid. His opinion has no value to me.

For every review that pans the 124 Spider, there's one that says its a great car that's fun to drive.

What I know is:

• I bought the car because I like it -- the look, the performance and the brand.
• So Fiat didn't sell that many in the U.S.? Good! I have a relatively rare car.
• Every time I take the car out on the road, people comment on how beautiful it is.
• For me, it was the perfect balance of beauty, performance and affordability.
• Just weeks before I bought mine, I read another review that said the 124 Spider is "destined to be a classic.," and "Buy one if you can get your hands on one." I did, and I couldn't be happier.

Like

Is that the dead parrot bit. Classic monte.

All i know is never drive, or own, your car for the next owner! Even if it’s a P.O.S. The drive is the adventure. And stats are for those not brave enough to live a full life.

Cars that crossed the Barrett Jackson stage with less than 100 or so miles being 20, 30, and 40 years old have wrought a curse upon their owners, and the new owners to be. God help their souls.

Hopefully, the 124 Spider will be featured someday in The Fast and the Furious movie franchise, then the price and intrest will skyrocket.

 

[fb_Stork]

I have to disagree with statement that the Abarth is just badging. Full torque is there at 2500 rpm. Vs 3200 rpm non Abarth.

 

[TX_Bandit]

I have to disagree with statement that the Abarth is just badging. Full torque is there at 2500 rpm. Vs 3200 rpm non Abarth.

Yep, a full 4 horsepower. Definitely a huge power difference.
Just add a tune and all versions wind up with the same HP.
As I said. I don't expect to change any minds...

 

[fiatmidway124]

Not sure if everyone is familiar with the two guys that produce Everyday Driver. They had a recent podcast where the Todd guy roasted the 124. Said it has love it or hate it styling, he hates it. (He likes the Mazda RF look, that, I will admit is better looking than the regular Miata soft top.) The turbo engine isn’t as good as the (here we go again) “even power delivery“ of the two liter, and that our engine isn’t as reliable.

He also said, way back several years when they tested both, that he doesn’t fit in either of them and so wouldn’t buy one.

 

[BGcAnAdA]

Not sure if everyone is familiar with the two guys that produce Everyday Driver. They had a recent podcast where the Todd guy roasted the 124. Said it has love it or hate it styling, he hates it. (He likes the Mazda RF look, that, I will admit is better looking than the regular Miata soft top.) The turbo engine isn’t as good as the (here we go again) “even power delivery“ of the two liter, and that our engine isn’t as reliable.

He also said, way back several years when they tested both, that he doesn’t fit in either of them and so wouldn’t buy one.

I hope Todd knows that his vision problems can be corrected at any Costco optometry clinic...

 

[BGcAnAdA]

This is Todd....from EveryDay Driver..

 

[pikeman]

The End Of A Legacy: Why The 124 Spider, AKA The FIATA, Failed

I don’t think the author ever actually drove the “Fiata”. I drove the Abarth and the MX5 club back-to-back the same day and bought the Fiat. This is after having an MX5 for 12 years that was a wonderful car. The car failed due to insufficient demand in the niche, and an incompetent company building the car. I feel very lucky to have my 124.
best regards
Pete

 

[DiegoC]

Opinions, opinions, opinions… everyone is entitled to have one, and feels the need to express them, even on things they don’t understand (including me, probably). If the person who wrote the article have ever driven one, he probably would know from start that all that means little to nothing on the rationale to own one, i.e., assuming I can project on him what I feel every time I drive my Abarth.

Yes, Fiat sucks, and their incompetence and market conditions killed the car… yet, completely aware of this, and that 2020 was its last year, I went to a dealer, ordered mine with all goodies and waited impatiently for 13 months for it to arrive. It is a fortunate that by a chance of the destiny the Spider “happened”, like a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a car that took the great foundation of the MX-5 and improved it on its looks, handling, etc.

I didn’t buy because it was the rational choice according to “opinions”, I bought because I was lucky for once to be able to buy a car able to put a smile on my face every single time I drive it - it does not matter if I drive it to the supermarket, in the track, in the autocross, on the long road-trips, with top down or up, in the rain or snow.

If I wanted faster, I could have bought one of the muscle cars for 30% less; if I wanted peace of mind on maintenance and parts availability I could have bough an MX-5 for about 30% less as well; if I wanted space to transport people and junk I could have gotten a Porsche Macan for a few thousand bucks less at that time… Yet I chose the Abarth and I don’t regret, I would chose it every single time.

 

[Aldo]

^^^ this!

I never owned a Fiat before this one. In fact, I was scared of owning a Fiat. But it only took a short test drive of a used Abarth 124 sitting in an Alfa Romeo lot to know that I wanted one.

I had spend the previous eighteen months test driving NDs, but couldn’t bring myself to pulling the trigger. Then in only eighteen minutes Fiat convinces that this is the car I want, and I want it BAD!

To this day whenever I come across one of the many videos that pop up on YouTube every week glorifying MX-5, and hear that tepid Mazda engine sound, I just go “Ugh!” and shake my head...

 

[dennis63]

^^^ this!

I never owned a Fiat before this one. In fact, I was scared of owning a Fiat. But it only took a short test drive of a used Abarth 124 sitting in an Alfa Romeo lot to know that I wanted one.

I had spend the previous eighteen months test driving NDs, but couldn’t bring myself to pulling the trigger. Then in only eighteen minutes Fiat convinces that this is the car I want, and I want it BAD!

To this day whenever I come across one of the many videos that pop up on YouTube every week glorifying MX-5, and hear that tepid Mazda engine sound, I just go “Ugh!” and shake my head...

Yes! I thought about buying one for more than a year. When I found my red 2017 Spider online. I drove to the dealership thinking, "Well, I'm not buying. I just want to go see it." I arrived early, so the dealership hadn't opened yet. I walked around a fenced lot and stepped within 10 feet of that Spider. One look and I thought, "Oh, crap! Now I'm going to have to buy it."

 

[2020 Nordamericano]

^^^ this!

I never owned a Fiat before this one. In fact, I was scared of owning a Fiat. But it only took a short test drive of a used Abarth 124 sitting in an Alfa Romeo lot to know that I wanted one.

I had spend the previous eighteen months test driving NDs, but couldn’t bring myself to pulling the trigger. Then in only eighteen minutes Fiat convinces that this is the car I want, and I want it BAD!

To this day whenever I come across one of the many videos that pop up on YouTube every week glorifying MX-5, and hear that tepid Mazda engine sound, I just go “Ugh!” and shake my head...

Yes! I thought about buying one for more than a year. When I found my red 2017 Spider online. I drove to the dealership thinking, "Well, I'm not buying. I just want to go see it." I arrived early, so the dealership hadn't opened yet. I walked around a fenced lot and stepped within 10 feet of that Spider. One look and I thought, "Oh, crap! Now I'm going to have to buy it."

I'm thinking all this sounds all too familiar and probably happened to all too many. I went to look. I went to see what the actual car actually looked liked. When I got to the dealership, just short of a 2 hour drive from home, to look at the half dozen 124 Spiders they had in inventory at the time, 2 Abarth and 4 Lussos, I saw the black Abarth with the red seats and at that point I saw no others. It was pretty much a done deal. Drove it around their parking lot and up the street & back just so I could say I had tested it out.

 

[Aldo]

I still have all the dealer's pictures of my car's original listing