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Something rare for American roads...

For everything that doesn't belong elsewhere.
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The_Bollocks
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Something rare for American roads...

Post by The_Bollocks »

Meh, couldn't think of a better title....

Anyway, I happened to come across this on eBay the other day bored, I know that Fiat stopped selling their vehicles in America in the early 80's, but I thought personal imports of new ('ish) cars was illegal or something in the US:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/L-K-RARE ... dZViewItem

I'm sure it would be a head turner in the US (unlike here where many people hate the site of them by now), but it must be fairly difficult for the owner to get that thing road legal over there, and more to the point, why would they even bother?
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@ob
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by @ob »

Well, the front lights and grill are cool....but thats about it. I dont like how small the wheels are, or the general shape of the car :crazy:
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Carboy717
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Carboy717 »

looooooooooool that thing is FUGLY
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crash
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by crash »

LOL Tho is is kinda ugly I wouldn't mind owning it with the price of gas in the states... Plus it looks like a breeze to work on with all that room around the engine :grin: Automechanics is a hobby of mine... Looks like a fun little toy to mess with...

As far as being road legal, it looks completely legal to drive. I don't think we have any kind of holds on custom imports like that... Plus from the speedo it looks like it was "American-ized" for our streets before it was imported :wink:
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random_monkey
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by random_monkey »

Fugly?!

Heh, once again, Americans proving they have no sense of style when it comes to a cars design - if it's not big and square, it's not good looking :P
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Econobrick
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Econobrick »

Hmm...I find for the most part it looks just like any other car you'd see on the road these days from any country. For better or worse?!

Although in '96 I guess it would've been a tad more unique...but barely.
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@ob
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by @ob »

Actualy, that car is SMALL and square :tongue:

I dont like how tiny the wheels are, and how far the front sticks out from the front wheels, especialy relative to the length of the vehicle. Im not americana, im just picky.
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TheJabMan
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by TheJabMan »

Speaking of odd on american roads... canadian roads in this case...

Anybody who's seen Peter Sellers in "The Party" knows what it looks like... I don't know what they're called but they're old, and have 3 wheels, 2 in the front one in the back. Anyhow Saw a yellow one today, also 2 Toronro EMS people driving by in a 60's Tempest ambulance and a 1950 something ambulance.
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The_Bollocks
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by The_Bollocks »

The only vehicle I could think of that fits that description is these old Morgan 3-Wheeler's:

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1982 Ford Escort Mk3 1.3 L (restoration project)
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coffeycup
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by coffeycup »

Cheers, the wikipedia agrees with you. :thumbsup:
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TheJabMan
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by TheJabMan »

Yarr tis that, except yellow!
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Powdered Toast MAAAN!!
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Powdered Toast MAAAN!! »

Crash... why do you complain about the price of fuel in the US? Have you any idea how easy you guys have it!?

"PRICE COMPARISON

Drivers in the United States may wince over their seemingly high gasoline prices, but American retail fuel costs are positively cheap in light of what motorists elsewhere have to pay.

In the United States last month the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $2.87, about $0.75 per litre, according to worldwide March fuel price data published on Wednesday by the UK's Automobile Association.

Contrast that to the adjusted $7.35 it costs Norwegians for a gallon of unleaded, or the $8.37 Britons pay for their petrol, and the American costs are tame.

In the Netherlands drivers pay the equivalent of $7.52 per gallon, more than twice the American average.

Of the 26 European countries quoted in the AA data, none paid less per gallon on average than the United States.

According to Reuters data, gasoline prices were lower than in the United States only in countries where government subsidies play a significant part in cutting prices at the pump.

In Russia, where the government still occasionally tries to cap prices and control consumer gasoline costs, a gallon of gasoline costs a Muscovite the equivalent of $2.78.

To put this in perspective, the average monthly salary in Russia is 11,000 rubles, or $426. To fill up the 32-gallon tank of a 2006 Hummer H2 in Moscow would cost $88 -- more than 20 percent of a Russian's take-home pay."

From: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20070419/ ... da091.html
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crash
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by crash »

@Powdered_Toast_MAAAN: I'm not really complaining about it, but most Americans barely make enough salary to put enough fuel in the car to get to work for the week, including me. And they keep upping the price from what it was 2-3 years ago when prices were fairly reasonable. I pay rent, a couple bills, groceries and then break myself filling up half or around that. I'm sure there were some here in the states that have gone belly up or close from the more than doubled increase in the price of fuel as far as shipping costs and such alone. If it had been as high as $8-9 per gallon for years we would be used to it, but I'm sure that you would complain about a $2 jump in 2 years when your salary would barely go up with the increase. :wink:
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The_Bollocks
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by The_Bollocks »

Well maybe you lot shouldn't buy big gas guzzling vehicles. Here, most cars are under 2 litres in engine size, 2 being considered big. Also, I think it's ridiculous that America has some of of stigma when it comes to diesel cars, they are far more economical than hybrids (which are a sham in my opinion) and easier to maintain. (I think their was a thread on that before as well).
1982 Ford Escort Mk3 1.3 L (restoration project)
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crash
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by crash »

My truck has a 2.5 litre 4-banger 5spd manual. I have a truck because I got a REALLY good deal on it LOL ($300). But most americans who buy big gas guzzlers don't worry much about the price. I understand what you mean tho about buying little. Since the price hike a lot more Americans have gone small, like our auto makers that used to rely on the huge SUV market felt a pinch when the gas prices went up because people bought the gas sippers like the Mini Cooper and Prius. Ford and I think GM had to close up some plants and (of course) lay off some employees.
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Hairba11
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Hairba11 »

now see, I whine about gas prices too, but I do it big american style.

to and from work, 36-42mpg in my $800 toyota.

need to move 12 people, the 77 LTD wagon does it with ease at 12 hwy, 6 in town. nice ford 400 in it. 6.6L to the rest of you

Need to move 2 tons of crap, the F-150 does a great job and averages 15mpg over the course of two tanks. the last time i gassed up it was $82 and I still had a quarter of each tank left. That hurt.

here's a question for my european brothers out there, how the heck do you get a 4'x8' sheet of plywood, or a sofa moved? ever need to replace a refrigerator? say I need to get 20 80# (40Kg) bags of concrete home? I throw it in the wagon, or the truck but how the heck do you move it? do you hire it done? pay for delivery? rent a truck? make 10 trips in your fiat 500?

people make fun of american vehicles, and for the most part I'm there with them raggin' on the soccer (football) mom with the dyed blonde hair and the cell phone permanently attached to her ear doing 85mph in her H2 getting 10mpg as I'm trying to dodge her in my paseo, but I still wonder how you get things done over there.

:edit:

It looks like a geo storm. a.k.a. another phenomenal P.O.S.
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crash
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by crash »

Well said my fellow Hoosier, I couldn't put it better myself. Just this weekend I used my truck to help a buddy borrowing his boss' jacked up 4x4 Ram 1500 ext. cab move into his new apartment. Could bitch about gas prices then too but it was WAY WAY cheaper than hiring someone to move it because we had little "sippers" :grin:
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The_Bollocks
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by The_Bollocks »


here's a question for my european brothers out there, how the heck do you get a 4'x8' sheet of plywood, or a sofa moved? ever need to replace a refrigerator? say I need to get 20 80# (40Kg) bags of concrete home? I throw it in the wagon, or the truck but how the heck do you move it? do you hire it done? pay for delivery? rent a truck? make 10 trips in your fiat 500?


We've got vans and trucks here too :wink: For example, a Ford Transit van with a 2.5L Turbo Diesel (130 bhp approx.) engine will pull very heavy loads, and they're quite roomy inside as well. Given that diesel's have a higher torque output than equvilant petrol engined vehicles, they are far more ideal for pulling heavy loads. Also, the fact nearly all vans and trucks here have manual transmissions also helps.

As for anyone who doesn't have a van, like myself, we either use roof racks or trailers. You'd be surprised how much stuff you'd get into the back of a Nissan Micra with the seats folded down. I managed to bring back over 600 Euro's worth of alcohol from France in the back of the Micra before. Needless to say the clutch didn't like it!
1982 Ford Escort Mk3 1.3 L (restoration project)
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Beast
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Beast »

First thing: The Fiat Bravo on that auction is not small. At least not according to European standards. It's the same size as a VW Golf of that age, and is quite reasonably sized. Of course, in the US, it's tiny.

New turbodiesel engines that are available in most European cars are great. My brother's 1.4 Peugeot 206 HDi would return upwards of 60 mpg (~4 litres per 100 km). His 1.9 TDI Seat Leon gets 45-50+ (~6 liters per 100 km). And mind you, neither of them is what you would call slow.

The Xantia I drive is quite thirsty, especially in city driving - it regularly drinks up 15-16 liters of petrol per 100 km. However, I run it on LPG, so it's dirt cheap. A litre of petrol costs ~1 euro ($1.3), and a litre of LPG ~.45 euros.

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Qwerty_86
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Qwerty_86 »

They're going to bring the Transit over to the States. I hope they keep the diesel and manual combo. I wouldn't mind having a short wheelbase model with that setup.
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Hairba11
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Hairba11 »

I'll not knock the turbo diesel's, some of those kick a$$ at 50mpg.

But your delivery van won't get that. it will also have trouble with a full load at 85mph.

I went to japan for work, and remember over the course of 2 weeks checking out all the cool and different cars they had there. I swear I could have just grabbed a wheel well and flipped the little buggers. then I would see something, and think, "wow, that's huge, what is it...Oh, honda civic?!"

My favorite truck I say there, was about the size of an s-10/ranger/hilux, but it had dually rear axle, and the dual wheels were inboard, not outboard like a regular american bickup, but closer in. there were literally 30" between the inner tires, and the truck was rated at 2 tonnes! I think I found a source for a drag racing axle, pre narrowed and stout enough for 2000Kg payloads...

my favorites weere the Kei (Kay) cars, turbo, disp<1L mass<1000Kg, they flat smoked around town. city gearing, they were all wrapped out by 55mph, but the 0-30 time was quick. and they looked pretty funky too. I bought a couple of car magazines while I was over there, it was a hoot.

My favorite find is still the honda eggs. ~$1.70 you get a chocolate egg a little larger than a cadbury egg, and inside is a plastic pill with a model of a honda in it. little wheels and axles and interiors, like 18 different cars through honda's history. The chocolate tased gross, but the prize inside made it worth it.

and before we go further, let us not forget the Rioting that went on in Saudi or UAE or BFME because the price of gas doubled from $0.17 to $0.34 USD/Gal

bastards.
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The_Bollocks
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by The_Bollocks »

I've driven the Fiat Ducato van (2.8L JTD), and I can tell you, those things will pull alot. I think it is down to the close ratio gearboxes they have. You'd find yourself shifting into 5 gear at 35mph. I reckon if you could put a close ratio manual 'box on a Ford Econoline V10, they'd pull a building down!

As for those Japanese vans/pickups, we get alot of them imported here second hand, (due to the fact they are RHD), they are used all over here for commercial use. The fact they are very cheap to import makes them popular.

Personally I think American vehicle manufacturers have to learn how to get the most out of smaller displacement engines. The good ol' days of 'their is no replacement for displacement' are over unfortunately. I was just looking on Wiki there the other day on the power output of the 7.3L Diesel engine used in Ford F350's, and the fact it was only 180bhp is ridiculous. The fact that Fiat made a 2.4L diesel engine that has a higher power output than that says alot.
1982 Ford Escort Mk3 1.3 L (restoration project)
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Qwerty_86
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Qwerty_86 »

In the states, people don't really care much about the HP ratings of diesels. They usually look at the torque ratings since they're bought for towing and hauling.
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Hairba11
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Hairba11 »

I though 180 was a goofy number for the 7.3, but when it was introduced in 1994 it did come with 186hp

in 2001, the last year of full production, the 7.3 was pushing 250Hp, and 505 ft-lbs of torque

the new for 2002 6.0L was putting out 325Hp and 560ft-lbs at 2000rpm

I don't know what it is putting out today.

don't get me wrong, fiat getting 200hp and 295ft-lbs out of a 2.4 is good. I couldn't find the rpm for their numbers.

I just knew the 7.3 was the old engine, and wanted to make sure we compared current production to current production, not current production to 13 year old production. yes, the 7.3 making 186 was doggy, but the gas motors weren't much better. a 6.0 making 325 is better because it's not enough to be towing 23000 lbs, I need to do it at 80mph too. can I get 18mpg while doing that too? thanks.

:edit:

one more question, How far do you guys drive on an average day? like to work and back home and weekend trips? I am considered close to work and I am 20 mi (32km) away so I put 40mi (64km) round trip.

last weekend I drove home to see my folks two states away, and the round trip was 1300mi (2080km).

I have friends who live in Indianapolis, IN and work in columbus IN, they're round trip every day is 100-110mi (160-176km) and that's EVERY day. I think they're nuts, I don't feel like
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Qwerty_86
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Qwerty_86 »

I think it's nuts to drive more than 60 miles to work and back. My daily commute is a 12 mile round trip (6 miles to, 6 miles back).
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Alan
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Alan »

Bleh, that Fiat is one ugly bland looking little car. Reminds me of the short lived Geo Storm (Isuzu) Hatchback

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Yuck on both counts. :smile:
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valium
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by valium »

i drive a fiat punto myself, my commute is about 2 km (4 km round trip)

i have had many jobs, none of them further than 20 km away from home.

my car gets 42 miles to the gallon (1 liter per 18 km)

and yeah, i'd like a sportier model too, but this'un drives like a dream, and is nice and cheap.
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The_Bollocks
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by The_Bollocks »

I think the 5-door Fiat Brava looks shit in my opinion, even more so than the Bravo:

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1982 Ford Escort Mk3 1.3 L (restoration project)
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Hairba11
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Hairba11 »

they're still all better than the pontiac aztec *shudder*
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Carboy717
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Carboy717 »


Fugly?!

Heh, once again, Americans proving they have no sense of style when it comes to a cars design - if it's not big and square, it's not good looking :P

----


Good thing im not American, THANKS MUCH.
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Hairba11
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Re: Something rare for American roads...

Post by Hairba11 »

not necessarily, I loved my little metro, my little round toy paseo is fun. I had a beautiful porsche 914 for a while. (well I think they are beautiful) If I could afford a '67 shelby cobra 427sc, or a '54 merc benz 300sl or a '37 cord 810 I would, and none of those are square either.

but I do like DeLoreans, they're square, and I love my wagon, and it's square.

Image

I did hate the F-150 body style from '98 up. it looked like they put the 92-97 in the oven until it melted a little. it was a little better, but the new superduty looks like a schoolbus.

I had a camaro, 3rd gen, it was pretty square, It was also the yard car till it died. As Opal said when we took it to her yard, "Oh, Honey, there's not much of this thing left."

Image

but the 4th gen wasn't. actually the paseo almost looks like a 3/4 scale 4th gen camaro.

I love the subaru 360, and fiat 500, and bmw Isetta, and messerwitt, and a lot of the little bubbles. I almost bought an MG MGB GT after the porsche, but managed not to. I'm looking at a midget now, but i don't have the time to keep it running.

Oh, well, I just felt the need to defend myself if not some others. right now carma is loaded with vw's and econohoopties, and the '67 chrysler wagon, and the d-15 dozer and a yellow subaru 360 I hacked with the diesel engine note, and 9 tonnes @ 7 power and 0.0001 hardness sliding friction is up 1, traction is up 1, so as long as a wheel is on the ground it is like instant handbrake and you don't slide around corners. I lowered the c.o.g. to the street and it is a rocket powered sledgehammer on rails.

and so cool to go golfing with. 328mph into the escort and FORE! slam on the brake and watch the wreakage fly.

If it runs, drives, stops, has a title, AND is under $300, I'll take it!
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