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really too quiet to be a sports car. The driver has a sensation of extreme lightness. The clutch is light and precise. The accelerator travel is long but very light. The brakes are power-assisted and the steering is so effortless you'd swear the Fiat was rear-engined. It just feels like the original nine pound car-except that everything is so sturdy and solid. At 2093 pounds the Fiat is the lightest in its class, but only 40 pounds less than the Datsun 2000. Apparently Fiat put the weight in just the right place to obtain a quality feel that is missing with the brand X-machines. One of the greaatest hardships associated with the traditional sports car has been the top. Even though vast improvements have been made in the last few years there're not even in the same league with the Fiat. You |
can put the spider's roof down without ever leaving the driver's seat. Just unhook the clips at the windshield and push it back. The whole apparatus, including the glass rear quarter windows, disappears behind the seats and still leaves room for a large suitcase back there. It couldn't be easier. And errecting it is no more difficult. Visibility is superb because of the large window area. Moreover, the unique glass rear quarter windows assure that weather sealing is the best we've ever seen in a sports car. Fiat even has the answer to the ballooning top problem. They just tie the skin to the bones. Why doesn't everyone? We see the fiat 124 spider as a mile-stone--the beginning of the end of the hardship sports car. It's the only machine in its class in which we'd enjoy taking a long trip. Not only is it quiet and comfort- |
able but everywhere you look are features normally found in cars costing far more. Vent windows that open, a vanity mirror on the passenger side visor-and top it all off, an electropneumatic hor. Honest. That's what they call it. You may call it an air horn if you like, but we'll stick the the Italians. Regardless of what it's called, it's the finishing touch for the irresistible Italian personality. We don't say everything is perfect. The curved outside rearview mirror that makes the truck riding your back bumper look like it was half a block away deserves criticism and we've already discussed the shift linkage and the handling. Even so, the credits far outnumber the debits on the desirability ledger. If the Fiat 124 Spider isn't a resounding sales success, it will prove , once and for all, that the rest of society is right to dismiss all sports car enthusiasts as incurable masochists*. |