Oct 2020 Car&Driver Fiat 124

[smark]

Just got my 2020 Car and Driver, in the mail. Featuring all the new 2021 new car models. It looks like the Fiat 124 is being discontinued here in North America. Dead in the water too. That’s too bad, it’s was a nice looking roadster, compared to its cousin the Miata.

[tvmaster]

Just got my 2020 Car and Driver, in the mail. Featuring all the new 2021 new car models. It looks like the Fiat 124 is being discontinued here in North America. Dead in the water too. That’s too bad, it’s was a nice looking roadster, compared to its cousin the Miata.

I’ve never heard anyone say the 124 looked ‘girlie’. What’s happened to the swingin’ 60’s auto imagery? If Jaguar released the XKE today, it probably wouldn’t sell. So, which will be more valuable in 10 years, the 500 Abarth, or the 124 Abarth? Just because Mazda parts will be easier to source, I’d bet on the 124.

[smark]

The 124 should hold it value, in 10 years, over any 500. Nothing More fun the driving a 2 seat open top Roadster.


Everyone still loves the Honda S2000. Highly desirable roadster. I think the 124 will someday will have the same appeal.

[BigDaddySRT]

The 124 should hold it value, in 10 years, over any 500. Nothing More fun the driving a 2 seat open top Roadster.


Everyone still loves the Honda S2000. Highly desirable roadster. I think the 124 will someday will have the same appeal.

Honda has one thing going for it... Reliability.
FIAT has one thing going for it... No Reliability.

Once production run stops for the FIAT 124, and the prices plummet even more, I will acquire another racecar.

[mp4guy]

Just got my 2020 Car and Driver, in the mail. Featuring all the new 2021 new car models. It looks like the Fiat 124 is being discontinued here in North America. Dead in the water too. That’s too bad, it’s was a nice looking roadster, compared to its cousin the Miata.

If this is the case, this leaves very little reason for a Fiat dealership to exist. Even MX-5 sales are down sharply, so it doesn't really surprise me with OEMs dropping small cars left and right. But the platform sharing with Mazda should have made this more viable.

It's not a bad car, and people seem to like the 1.4T engine more than the MX-5 one.

Welp.

[tvmaster]

Yeah, I have to sadly agree, although if Alfa dealerships don’t close their doors, at least licensed FIAT techs will exist at those locales. But I think FIAT North America died the day Sergio Marchionne did....

[rustbucket]

Honda has one thing going for it... Reliability.
FIAT has one thing going for it... No Reliability.

I don't buy it- my previous 2013 500 Sport was no less reliable than the 2013 Honda CR-V it shared the garage with and unlike the Honda the door trim stayed on the door, the a/c still worked and it didn't have the infamous Honda VTC issue. My current 2018 500 Abarth is better still. I'd have no qualms about buying another new FIAT or an Alfa for that matter provided I had a good servicing dealer .... I'm fortunate enough to have two.

[map]

That's where "your mileage may vary" comes into focus. The 124 has a reputation of reliability because it's main components are built in Japan with final assembly in Turin (drive-line). This gives the 124 a reliability rating about half a point below the MX-5... very good for a sports car. The 500? Not so much. Based on actual service, it's been given a 2 vs a 3.5 for the CR-V... but each car is unique.

Some Fiats require little/no service and it's mostly covered in the first 4 years. Mine was in the shop 20 times (little things) for the first year. To be fair, many of those were double visits to have the same fix completed. I'm not sour about it because I expected tinkering to be needed when I bought the car. Mexican assembled cars simply don't have the same reputation as for US or Canadian built models. At $4/hr for parts workers, $8 for assembly workers, you get what you pay for.

[rustbucket]

Mexican assembled cars simply don't have the same reputation as for US or Canadian built models. At $4/hr for parts workers, $8 for assembly workers, you get what you pay for.

Reputation (perception) is one thing, the reality is quite different. From June of this year ....

'Toluca Assembly Plant wins Gold Award as top plant in the Americas'
http://https://media.fcanorthamerica...se.do?id=21802

Toluca Assembly is the plant where North American 500's were built. A few years ago FCA started an effort to improve the quality of all its vehicles and it's starting to pay some big dividends.

[smark]

I got 2 vehicles built in Mexico. The 500, and a Honda Fit. Both are built really good. The 500 was a early production car in 2011. How much a auto worker makes, means nothing. Those workers, are dedicated to produce the best they can.

I wonder if FCA will retool the Toluca Mexican assembly plant. To produce Jeep vehicles.

[map]

Reputation (perception) is one thing, the reality is quite different. From June of this year ....

'Toluca Assembly Plant wins Gold Award as top plant in the Americas'
http://https://media.fcanorthamerica...se.do?id=21802

Toluca Assembly is the plant where North American 500's were built. A few years ago FCA started an effort to improve the quality of all its vehicles and it's starting to pay some big dividends.

Yes, this is after the last 500 was built there; per the article: "This is the first time in the history of the study that FCA outperformed the industry average. J.D. Power uses reported problems per 100 vehicles as a measure to make its assessment. FCA’s total of 153 was 13 less than the industry average and 10 less than its closest competitor." 1.53 faults per car is a huge improvement over their previous score. It was closed and as of May 26th had reopened for one shift, so maybe that helped. Of course Toluca is their stamping plant, relying on the other Mexican companies, who didn't rate #1.

Unfortunately, JD Power rated the 500 as 2 points of 5, comparing it to other cars in its class. Last, behind the Spark and Smart on owner experience for small hatchbacks. Don't get me wrong, I've driven the Spark and you couldn't give me one... but as a commuter it is more practical. Not all of us can make monthly trips to the dealer. As no surprise to those who read posts, most of that dissatisfaction comes from dealer experience. My dealer is great but it is frustrating for an alignment to require 2 trips and weeks to complete, as an example.

Toluca is a brilliant design. They can rearrange the assembly line in days to build different vehicles. This was a carrying on of Chrysler's "quick build" program. Chrysler revolutionized the industry by shortening the time from drawing board to production. In Toluca, quality control has had problems because of the concept. Any new plant design has bugs that can take years to work out. Last week you were assembling Jeeps, this week a 500 and workers need to readjust, machines need fine tuning.

[rustbucket]

I was a bit surprised when the 500 was discontinued for North America given the flexible manufacturing capabilities of Toluca. No question the 500 is a niche car but I thought FCA could run off a batch of 500's once or twice a year to help continue FIAT's presence in the US/Canada. Basically that market has been ceded to Mini/BMW. I was also a bit surprised that the 124 Spider was discontinued given that it was "profitable" according to FIAT's Olivier Francois. FCA's future plans for FIAT don't seem to include cars with sporting pretentions and I wonder what will happen to Abarth.

[rustbucket]

I wonder if FCA will retool the Toluca Mexican assembly plant. To produce Jeep vehicles.

They already have; currently Toluca produces the Jeep Compass (almost 144,000 last year), Dodge Journey, and Fiat Freemont (a rebadged Dodge Journey). The Journey is supposed to be discontinued for 2021 and don't know what will take its place.

[map]

I think the reason Fiat was looking at dropping the 124 was because Mazda wants to redesign the Miata. Mazda would likely have done so for 2021, but I think they like their contract with Fiat. It keeps Miata above the 9K sales levels, which makes both brands profitable. (After all, Mazda only has about 1.7% of market share in US and Europe and the MX-5 draws.)

The 124 gives it more of a classic look. Add the Abarth option and it has more of an old-time sports car feel, too. Unfortunately, neither sells very well. Recently it's not just 124's that are hard to locate. In Oregon a person has to travel to Portland or California to find either a 124 or MX-5.

[rustbucket]

I'd read somewhere that the current Miata wouldn't have happened without FCA's partnership given the almost prohibitive cost of certifying a new design, especially a low volume, moderate cost one like the Miata. I would have liked to see the 124 Spider adopt the 1.3L Firefly engine. More hp, lots more torque, less turbo lag, lighter and lower emissions. It would have kept the Spider more than competitive. That said, I hope Mazda has the wherewithal to continue the Miata. A 124 Spider is on my bucket list.