Every now and then you see something pop up on the auction sites that lodges itself in your brain so tenaciously and intensely that you just can’t get it out of there unless you do one of three things: try to buy it, drink yourself into a stupor, or write about it. I’ve tried the middle one and am working on the last one now, so I hope it helps. The car in question is this 1980 Fiat Strada with only 3,900 miles, offered with no reserve. It’s currently at $3,200.
This has to be the best-preserved Fiat Strada in America right now, no question. I don’t think there was a lot of competition for that title, but that doesn’t matter, this little Strada is definitely the winner. Now, it’s hardly the most appealing spec of Strada out there – it’s got a Volkswagen-derived three-speed auto, which, mated to that 1.5-liter, 69 horsepower engine, likely means that performance is, um, leisurely.
The engine looks very familiar to me, which makes sense, as it’s basically the same unit as was in the Fiat X1/9 and, more relevant to me, my old Yugo:
It’s not exactly the same – my Yugo had fuel injection, the Strada there has a carb, but the layout of the engine bay, right down to where the spare tire relaxes, is pretty much the exact same.
The Yugo also had a manual transmission, which helped wring every bit of power from those horses, which helped immensely. I’d wonder if you could swap one in to this Strada, but it’s so well-preserved, I’m not sure I’d want to touch it?
The car seems to have been bought by the proverbial Nice Old Lady who kept it immaculately maintained but didn’t actually drive it all that much. As a result, this thing has become a peculiar, preserved relic.
In the rest of the world, this car was known as the Ritmo, and was, I think, one of the best-designed cheap hatchbacks of the 1980s. I even wrote a whole article to just that effect. Of course, the Euro-market ones looked a good bit better; in America, the more functional but less attractive 5 mph bumpers take away from the look a bit, and we somehow couldn’t stop ourselves from fussying the whole look up in subtle yet design-destructive ways.
Here’s the Euro version:
…and here’s ours:
It’s subtle, but the changing of the grille to be that fake-chrome-trimmed one instead of the more bold asymmetrical one makes a big difference. The bumpers don’t help (visually, hit something, and they help a lot, of course) and when you put the less-cool wheels on it with out-of-place whitewalls, it just hits a little less hard:
That said, I still think the design is great – those round door handles – but let’s not fool ourselves into thinking this is a good car. I mean, it sort of was, but the quality control was early-’80s Fiat-grade, which is sort of like saying the tuna in your sushi is septic-tank-overflow-pond-grade.
To see what I mean, take a moment to watch this period review of the Strada:
That’s not great. It wouldn’t start, and look at this steering wheel alignment:
That’s on a new car. Damn.
So what does one make of something like this? It’s the best example of an interesting but kind of fragile car, and the mileage certainly is low, which I normally would avoid, but here I wouldn’t mind actually driving this one. I mean, look how perfect this interior is:
It’s got some wear, but the kind of wear you’d expect to see in, what, 1983? It’s a time capsule.
Also, it’s worth remembering that these were among the first cars to be almost entirely built by robots, 1980s robots even, like Johnny 5. Fiat made a big deal about this in their advertising:
So, what does one make of this car? At $3,200, it’s still a bargain, I think. I’m really not sure how to value this thing: it’s perhaps the best original example in America of a car that has pretty minimal appeal to most people. But it also has a lot of charm and appeal to a certain set of weirdos, like myself. Who’d going to end up with this thing? And how much will it go for? What is the perfectly-preserved automatic Fiat Strada market like in America right now?
I guess we’ll find out, in about a day. If any of you kooks buy it, please let me know!
After that rusty box was no longer offered in the US, the Fiat Ritmo/Strada eventually evolved into a somewhat-attractive hot hatch in the Euro market. It still had the same quality and durability weaknesses, but with enough horsepower and agility to better outrun the corrosion.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/17/2d/23/172d2345669eed6cb9674c56baa238fa.jpg
Thinking persons Golf GTi. Not many about, but they are out there.
Nowadays the Strada nameplate lives on, but as a totally non-related bodystyle sold in South America.
Yikes! First time seeing one of these. Can’t help but think the Italians looked at a Dodge Omni and AMC Gremlin with enough fondness to smush the two together.
Exactly! Despite being the product of Fiat’s Centro Stile this design always felt like an awkward mashup of ’70s design trends rather than a cohesive whole.
Do Not Look At It! It will Rust if you Look At It. Melting, melting.
UK TVC so I think that the cars driving onto the truck is a nod to the minis in the original ‘Italian Job” as the strada/ritmos were made in Turin.
I continue to be mildly amused at Italian car names and their banal English translations (and don’t get me started on Le Car, you lazy Frensh!).
Why stop at just ‘Strada?’ How about ‘Strada Ritmo Cinqoporte?’
Imagine if Ford sold a Street Rhythm Five Door.
Street Rhythm isn’t a terrible name
Would sound better if it was from Pontiac.
Pontiac Street Rhythm Five Door
Impressive they managed to get the robots to match the historic poor Italian build quality so well.
It’s not any robots, it’s ITALIAN robots sir!
They installed hands on the robots so they could talk.
The robots were lubricated with wine and had their ‘fingers’ coated in sausage grease. They also still required 4 hours a day of downtime for an espresso and a nap. Ever wonder why there are so many attempts at humanoid robots when that might not be the best configuration to execute a task? Well we model what we know. In this case the typical industrial worker of the day.
Fix It Again Torchinsky
I’m a bit disappointed there wasn’t an Italodisco soundtrack to that Fiat ad.
Interlacing that music with starwars beeps and bloops and synth was horrible
quality control was early-’80s Fiat-grade, which is sort of like saying the tuna in your sushi is septic-tank-overflow-pond-grade
You had me at ‘septic’
That Strada is sort-of interesting to me, but more like $1500-interesting, not $3200-interesting.
These were shit when new. And that means this example is still shit today.
Just because it’s rare these days to see one of these in decent condition doesn’t make it valuable… not even $3200-valuable to me.
And to make matters worse, this example has the slushbox.
You know what most European car brands (except for Mercedes) were especially bad at in the 1980s and earlier?
Automatic Transmissions.
And this Fiat has a 3 speed sourced from VW. And back then, VW automatics are NOT what you wanted. Their manual transmissions were MUCH better.
So yeah… to me this is a $1500 vehicle tops.
Only of it was one of the more interesting versions with the Lampredi Twin Cam engine with a manual, I’d be willing to spend more.
No lowballers.
I know what I got.
Not sure I buy the “old lady” story. More likely it’s low mileage because it doesn’t work.
More likely the odometer wasn’t even connected to begin with.
I owned one in the 1990s. Bought it cheap with MOT, with idea of selling for scrap if it broke before the next MOT, or if it failed the next MOT.
Well it passed the next MOT and then the fuel consumption jumped by 50%, when the fuel tank started leaking.
In the meantime had driven it all over France and Italy on a touring holiday and grown to like it — no ball of fire but better than the low powered Golfs of the time too.
Broke my rules, had fuel tank replaced, and a month later regretted it when the head gasket blew, blowing pretty blue but stinky oil smoke behind…
Scrapped it, luckily kept the papers, because three months later the coppers were at the door, asking about the car found abandoned 200 km away…
Bob Mayer videos are a perfect antidote for misplaced nostalgia. I couldn’t stop laughing as they were showing the production crew helping him bump start a BRAND NEW CAR! The paint is rated “good” because it is only a little grainy and even has some gloss (!).
I still listen to old episodes of Car Talk and feel much the same way about that. It is amazing how much crap we used to put up with.
Caller: Hi guys, I have a 1985 Renault Alliance with 15,000 mile. I was driving down the street the other day and one of the rear doors fell off.
Tom: Only one!?!? You must have bought a good one!
Ray: Yeah, these things are notorious for having the doors fall off, we see it all the time in the shop. But that’s ok, at 15,000 miles you’ve pretty much reached the end of its lifespan anyway.
Ahahahah that’s amazing. The completely clinical, calm manner in which Mayer talks about the steering wheel being 45 degrees off center is WILD.
Back then they reported the news – they didn’t emote their version of the news and then follow it up with 24 hours of opinion.
Americans can be very isolated from the rest of the global automotive market. This Strada is a generic model. Nothing special. Just the old SOHC in it. The special one is the 130TC version, equipped with the Lampredi 2-liter twincam and genuine Weber DCOE 40s from the factory. It was a GTI killer back in the day.
Frankly, the biggest issue most mainstream European cars had in the US was the dealer network. VW just BARELY made it here with a solid dealer network. The likes of Fiat and Peugeot didn’t have a chance. Renault had the AMC dealer network.
Fiat made a whole series of hot versions, from the 105TC to the 125/130 Abarth versions. The later cars were built on a separate production line, which probably explains the shorter wheelbase these cars had.
Fiat even made a cabrio version, which stylistically didn’t work quite as well as VW’s Rabbit droptop.
This has got to be one of the worst applications of US 5 MPH bumpers outside of Lamborghini Countaches.
In fact, someone in some Facebook car group I’m part of is actually restoring a Strada and went to the trouble of importing Ritmo bumpers from overseas.
It also appears to have the classic feature of the steering wheel is rotated to 5 o’clock when the wheels are pointed forward.
It’s always wine o’clock somewhere.
Not entirely correct. It was the Strada in the UK and Canada at least.
A version fo the advertising slogan according to BBC comedy show “Not The Nine OClock News” :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEQriHQpJFQ
No comments or even pictures of the taillights?
Torch, are you feeling okay?
Been a big fan of these since my friend’s brother in college bought one. But this one on BaT is too low spec and too slow, especially with the automatic. Yeah it’s rare, but dometimes the old canard, “go and find another” isn’t enough to overcome the negatives, even for this fan.
There’s a Fiat group that goes to the Dragon twice a year, I used to take the Abarth. Usually there were a few X1/9’s, and lesser known vehicles. You would be the only one with a Strada.
Also, Midwest Bayless is a garage in Columbus OH that specializes in Fiat/Yugo/etc. A meet there one time had me stuck behind 4 Yugo’s that were getting a photo taken together. Probably for the 1st time since 1985.
Now I’m anthropomorphizing those four Yugos.
“Nikola, I haven’t seen you since the old country!”
“Yes, yes, remember Belgrade, ’84? You know you do.” (chuckle, wink wink, nudge nudge)
I definitely read this in the voices of a few John Wick goon-type guys
I saw this on Craigslist a couple months back, and if I lived in the northeast, it would have come home with me. The original ad listed it as a flood car, which is doubly odd because it looks ridiculously nice for having been dunked, but there’s also zero mention of that on BaT. I’m also mildly irked that someone bought it to flip, it should have gone to a Fiat nerd instead of just being mined for a few extra bucks, but that’s just my heart talking.
Only a Yugo lover would think this is tempting.
I’m your Yugo lover
Tell me there’s no other
I’m your Yugo lover
Better run for cover
Well, you’ve got another thing coming if you buy this.
Some heads are gonna roll, for sure.
Whoa! I never encourage breaking the law!
I got carried away there. I guess I need some parental guidance.
Yugo chugga yugo chugga!
Wow. The miles are so low on this Fiat that Tony’s only had to fix it once.
More likely the miles are so low because Tony couldn’t fix it at all.
Oh man, do I want this thing.
The Strada is a styling masterpiece that’s every bit the equal of the Golf (itself a styling tour de force).
It was the first car Chris Bangle worked on, too!
I bet that bit of trick driving at the end with them pulling up onto the rolling car carrier (dig the selective yellow headlamps!) was orchestrated by the great Remy Julien
UK ad so I think that the cars driving onto the truck is a nod to the minis in the original ‘Italian Job” as the strada/ritmos were made in Turin.
DOT bumpers just seem so quaint now that so many cars have just given up on bumpers altogether. I’ve suddenly gotten fascinated with how many new cars have basically eliminated any semblance of rear bumper, so even a minor collision will absolutely destroy the rear hatch/trunk. But the manufacturers get to claim more interior space for any given length so….we’re winning?
This car might be kind of fun to take to local car shows or C&C, but I’m not going to delude myself into thinking it’ll be fun, reliable, or a good investment. It’s like wanting a Cimarron, but without the GM reliability.
You’d think they’d have gamed the system long ago for EPA credits for length/width with more bumper overhang if they could.
I mean, they have bumper bars under the plastic covers. The covers aren’t really there for any reason other than aerodynamics/aesthetics.
OP is right though, the bumper bar can’t really serve its purpose if the liftgate is flush with the bumper cover. One tap and you’re looking at a massively expensive liftgate replacement instead of cosmetic damage at worst.
I won’t be buying for a while, but when I do, I will specifically favor those vehicles that have the gate set back from the bumper.
Don’t worry, Full Self Driving Autopilot will make sure you never get bumped!
Makes for convenient place to mount a row of Hella 500s for rally dreams.
True! However I always liked the asymmetrical Euro grille better.