Serious disappointment

Discuss everything about the "new" 124 Spider here! The good, bad and ugly, anything goes. But keep it clean please!
KandJinmaine
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2014 9:30 am
Your car is a: 1980 spider 2000

Serious disappointment

Postby KandJinmaine » Tue Dec 06, 2016 5:18 pm

Well my wife and I decided that when we're were down in the more populated part of the state of Maine, we would stop at the Fiat dealer in Portland and get our first look at the new 124. You just do not see them up here in the hinterlands. We changed our plans to make sure we would be there while they were open so we could perhaps take a test drive. We had convinced ourselves that we wanted an Abarth, and would most likely buy one.
Well, we found the dealership and were quickly drawn to the two nonAbarth beauties out on the lot. We circled them like a shark would a seal pup, myself leaving a drool trail on the asphalt. We go inside and find one on the showroom floor and eagerly await our turn to get in the car as another potential buyer was already in it. My wife gets in the car and the smile starts. She looks great in the car,and appears very happy. I await my turn anxiously and then it's time. I get in, not real easily as I am 6'5", but that is expected. I move the seat back as far as it will go, and adjust the seat back as straight as possible and adjust the steering wheel up as far as it will go. I still have no room to move my right leg ( the one with the total knee replacement), and the left leg is not much better. This car was an automatic so I don't really know if I could have operated a clutch pedal but if so, I wouldn't have been comfortable and most likely not safe. Meanwhile the salesman is telling us that all the manuals he has are spoken for, no Abarths are available, and we can't put our speak in for a 2017 until July of next year....
I resign myself that this will be "her car" , as she deserves it. "At least I can be a passenger" I think to myself. But alas -no!! I go around to the passenger door, do all the seat adjustments....and I cannot even get into the passenger side. Major Bummer!!

As we drive away disappointedly, it occurs to me that the restoration budget on our 1980 FI 124 just got substantially bigger.
1980 2000FI
1959 Chevrolet Apache 4WD
1962 Chevy Nova
2015 Chevy Silverado Z71
2013 Grand Cherokee Overland

AriK
Patron 2018
Patron 2018
Posts: 1148
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2011 7:58 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider
Location: Montreal Canada

Re: Serious disappointment

Postby AriK » Tue Dec 06, 2016 11:54 pm

The seats that come with the Abarth model are more accomodating for the taller folks. This is feedback i witnessed at FFO where both models were on hand.

KandJinmaine
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2014 9:30 am
Your car is a: 1980 spider 2000

Re: Serious disappointment

Postby KandJinmaine » Wed Dec 07, 2016 4:46 am

AriK, thanks for the info. There may be hope after all :D
1980 2000FI
1959 Chevrolet Apache 4WD
1962 Chevy Nova
2015 Chevy Silverado Z71
2013 Grand Cherokee Overland

RMaxfield
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2016 1:07 pm
Your car is a: 1984 Pininfarina Azzurra

Re: Serious disappointment

Postby RMaxfield » Mon Dec 12, 2016 12:17 pm

While I am glad the car does exist there are some things that bug me about it. The hood opens the wrong way.... LOL The interior is very Mazda. I am looking at it the same way as my restoration budget has increased also!

Robert

DieselSpider
Posts: 2130
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2014 10:21 pm
Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider with Isuzu Turbo Diesel

Re: Serious disappointment

Postby DieselSpider » Thu Dec 22, 2016 1:06 am

After seeing the new ones I suddenly appear to have a restoration budget forming in my mind too.

At work I have been getting hints from my co-workers lately as I am finding PostIts left on my Plug In Electric Nissan Leaf with subtle messages like "Fiat Spider Parking Only!". It is amazing how many notice when my 1978 Spider is not where I normally park at work.

Maybe there is a chance I can pick up a Spider with a bad drive train and merge it with a wrecked Leaf. Some folks have already done that with their MG's.

scampbel98
Posts: 304
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2010 7:45 pm
Your car is a: 1980 Fiat 124 carb
Contact:

Re: Serious disappointment

Postby scampbel98 » Tue Oct 17, 2017 2:44 pm

I was amazed too at the size (or lack there of) of the new 124. At 6' 4" even the passenger side is not an option.
I can drive our 1980 all day long....

User avatar
spidernut
Posts: 1905
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider Automatic
Location: Lincoln, CA

Re: Serious disappointment

Postby spidernut » Sun Oct 22, 2017 12:25 am

I'm only 5'9". I was able to find a reasonably comfortable driving position with the seat nearly all the way back. I have bad knees and couldn't move my left leg enough to be comfortable on any longer drives. The lack of interior room was a huge show-stopper for me. I like taking long trips in my Spider and we were hoping the new one would allow us to go places we'd never take our classic Spider. Because we like long drives, we like having snacks and beverages but there really were no places for snacks, the cup holders were a joke and there was no place like a small cooler. So sad.
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)

User avatar
DUCeditor
Posts: 490
Joined: Sun May 23, 2010 7:36 am
Your car is a: 1977 FIAT 124 Sport Spider
Location: Monadnock Area, New Hampshire USA
Contact:

Re: Serious disappointment

Postby DUCeditor » Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:12 am

There's no spider like an old spider. Wish as we may.
-don
Italian motorcycles. An Italian car. An Italian wife. What more could a man desire?

spider2081
Patron 2024
Patron 2024
Posts: 2967
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:45 pm
Your car is a: 1981 Spider 2000
Location: Wallingford,CT
Contact:

Re: Serious disappointment

Postby spider2081 » Sun Dec 10, 2017 2:14 pm

Our Fiat group was invited to a Mazda event last year. We got there a little late so all the Mazda's were parked in a row. We kind of had to find spots around the lot. We were surprised at how little space there is in the Miata. They were shocked to see our coolers sitting accessible on the back seats along with jackets and soccer chairs. Performance and appearance often do not make for comfort.

User avatar
KevAndAndi
Posts: 531
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:14 pm
Your car is a: 1981 Fiat Spider 2000
Location: Chatham, NJ

Re: Serious disappointment

Postby KevAndAndi » Wed Dec 13, 2017 1:39 pm

To use a phrase I usually find irritating: It is what it is.

What it is: A minor re-working of the Mazda by Fiat's in-house design team, with a Fiat motor. On the exterior, the design cues from the classic Spider are too "mild" to overcome the general Mazdiosity of the car. And, of course, on the inside it's virtually pure Mazda.

In a perfect world, the body would have been designed by Pininfarina, with a hood that opens the correct way, stronger design cues from the classic, and a bit more room - after all, key design features of the classic Spider include that little back "seat" and a fairly long tail with a spacious trunk. The new 124 is unappealingly "snub tailed". The nose is also too generic and modern for my taste. Does every car have to look like some sort of feline Transformer? Are round headlights out of the question? Why? Jeep uses them.
Kevin
1981 Spider 2000


Return to “NEW 124 SPIDER”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests