This is a further Knock-Off of the iconic #Fiat #124. Perhaps the most agricultural variant. A closer look reveals that the 118NE is based on the facelifted #Seat 124. I suspect that the tooling for the Seat 124 was simply shipped to India. However, Premier only used the shell – technically they used the A12 engine from Nissan including the powertrain. The NE allegedly stands for Nissan Engine.

That was probably already the best thing about the whole car. The built quality was criminally tacky, indicated at the sharp edges of sheet metal or the rather cheap interior. The first cars must have been built between 1985 and 1987. Against the cheaper and better #Maruti 800, a version of the #Suzuki #Alto, the 188NE had little to oppose. The production ended in 2001 – not without a story to be told here. The question is, how the hell did a 118NE get to the Czech Republic? In the early 1990s a Czech importer had the idea of bringing a cheap car onto the market – the Premier 118NE. The car was presented at the 1992 Auto Show. Three problems arose directly. First: the car was shown somewhere in the entrance area, second: it was a right-hand drive and third: the questionable quality was visible at first sight. In addition, after the show surfaced another problem – missing homologation, of which the importer would not ask. The car in the picture finally went into private hands, where it was converted to a left-hand drive. I would like to thank the Retroautomusezum for opening the bonnet for me!

Der Beitrag Ever heard of the Fiat 124s Indian brother? Here we have the Premier 118NE. erschien zuerst auf petrolpunx.

Double round headlights were then available in the slightly better motorized versions. I like this one as the owner, an older gentleman, decorated the interior… One could also say that here just about everything in kitsch and clutter was thrown into this humble Fiat.

Some more #Mirafiori. German race car driver Walter Röhrl won the 1980 Monte Carlo on a Mirafiori – of course an #Abarth. In the picture a Series II “Supermirafiori”. In 1978 a “Racing” was available, and I think this is what we can see here. Out of the showroom this made 180 kmh (110 mph) and probably rusted with the same speed.

Here we have a Series 1, a 131S Mirafiori – and I’m pretty sure it’s a US-Spec. You can already see that from the absurdly large bumpers. In 1971, the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard “Standard No. 215” and that required new automobiles to sustain a 5 mph front end or 2.5 mph rear end collision without causing damage to the lighting equipment or fuel delivery system. And that led to absurd huge bumpers on a lot of cars. By the way, the 131 was offered in the USA as “Brava” from Series 2 onwards. It was not successful. In the “Popular Mechanics” Magazine the 1979 Fiat 131 was located in the category “Overall Worst” after surveys of persons in the USA who actually drove a 131. ⁠

Der Beitrag Some Mirafioris! erschien zuerst auf petrolpunx.

A #Ford #Fiesta 1.4 GLX. Pretty 1980s look. Only real with white hubcaps. In principle the MKII was a MKI with a strong facelift. Built from 1983 to 1989. And today as good as extinct.

A #BMW 5 Series. Series E28. Probably a petrol engine, which obviously has the best time behind it.

And a #Mercedes Van, a “DüDo”. They were called that because they were built in Düsseldorf. Built from the 1960s to the 1990s. Long before the Sprinter van era, these were still old working machines that were seldom to be found in the fast lane.

Are there still #Seat Marbellas on the streets? Here a “Besito” in blue. Seat built #Fiat models under license for a long time. First the Fiat #Panda, which was originally also called Seat Panda. The Marabella was a further development. A car with nothing for little money.

And last. A #Citroen #2CV. According to the writing on the doors, the car belongs to a healer who has all kinds of charlatanry to offer. After all, it’s a pretty car.

Der Beitrag Carspotting Part 1: Spanish Lovesongs and a Fiesta in Marabella erschien zuerst auf petrolpunx.