Fiat 124 Spider base-price announced!

WOW Really Paul? wrote: The fwiw 1.4L should easily outlast a Miata engine, a 12 valve SOHC engine with an iron block and stout rotating assembly kind of remind you of that pesky Mazda engine that displaced .8L more and otherwise was unkillable.

That's a completely random statement right there. There's nothing in either engine's fundamental design that should indicate potential lifespan.

And BTW, I think it's in the internet rules that you have to use "boat anchor" as a prefix to any mention of an iron block

i wonder what the one with a LSD is going to cost, plus i wonder what USDM power is

It's shaping up favorably to me.

Keith Tanner wrote:

WOW Really Paul? wrote: The fwiw 1.4L should easily outlast a Miata engine, a 12 valve SOHC engine with an iron block and stout rotating assembly kind of remind you of that pesky Mazda engine that displaced .8L more and otherwise was unkillable.

That's a completely random statement right there. There's nothing in either engine's fundamental design that should indicate potential lifespan. And BTW, I think it's in the internet rules that you have to use "boat anchor" as a prefix to any mention of an iron block

This is true, it is also true that the 1.4 has proven to be very tough. Last I heard eurocompulsion is still trying to blow one up....on purpose that is.

cool color

It's disappointing that all the colors are some kind of gray and they you have red and this blue is only a special edition

So they carried that over from the Mazda too then. All the shades of grey you could possibly want. Remember when sports cars came in fun, bright colors?

To us, it might not be a valid comparison, but to ordinary folks a convertible is a convertible. No way this will MSRP for less than a 500c.

funny.. all my fiat 124s have been red or blue..

EvanR wrote: To us, it might not be a valid comparison, but to ordinary folks a convertible is a convertible. No way this will MSRP for less than a 500c.

Which is why is was briefly very exciting.

WOW Really Paul? wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote:

WOW Really Paul? wrote: The fwiw 1.4L should easily outlast a Miata engine, a 12 valve SOHC engine with an iron block and stout rotating assembly kind of remind you of that pesky Mazda engine that displaced .8L more and otherwise was unkillable.

That's a completely random statement right there. There's nothing in either engine's fundamental design that should indicate potential lifespan. And BTW, I think it's in the internet rules that you have to use "boat anchor" as a prefix to any mention of an iron block

This is true, it is also true that the 1.4 has proven to be very tough. Last I heard eurocompulsion is still trying to blow one up....on purpose that is.

Need more info on this

Keith Tanner wrote: So they carried that over from the Mazda too then. All the shades of grey you could possibly want. Remember when sports cars came in fun, bright colors?

Yes. Because I have a sports car in smurf blue right out in my driveway. Japanese tuning shop LEG Sport has an ND that they painted in Mariner Blue and it looks amazing, why can't Mazda do that from the factory?

Keith Tanner wrote: So they carried that over from the Mazda too then. All the shades of grey you could possibly want. Remember when sports cars came in fun, bright colors?

Ummm, Fifty Shades of Sports Car Grey...? Somebody should make that movie.

NickD wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: So they carried that over from the Mazda too then. All the shades of grey you could possibly want. Remember when sports cars came in fun, bright colors?

Yes. Because I have a sports car in smurf blue right out in my driveway. Japanese tuning shop LEG Sport has an ND that they painted in Mariner Blue and it looks amazing, why can't Mazda do that from the factory?

I don't think the ND would look great in bright primaries like the NA did - the body shape doesn't lend itself as well to it. The color would hide the details in the shape. But something like Lexus Ultrasonic blue would look killer, showing off those chines and curves. If I buy an ND of my own, there's a very good chance I'll end up doing that.

The 124 might be better suited to the bright, solid colors.

Keith Tanner wrote: So they carried that over from the Mazda too then. All the shades of grey you could possibly want. Remember when sports cars came in fun, bright colors?

frankly this color of blue needs to be available for me to want to buy this car.

I'm not buying a red or gray car no matter how good it is. I'm fairly disappointed here. Seriously what is wrong with them, how boring can they get? If I were buying now I would want that blue above or like racing green.

I'd consider the red only if it's like that two tone abarth colors like the original 124.

As long as the FM Ls3 swap works with the FIATA, not much else matters.

Yup, price has gone back to 'coming summer of 2016' I dont' see how this can be priced less than the Miata. Still can't wait to see the Abarth pricing.

I'm with Joe on the styling. Not bad, but definitely not an improvement on the ND which is much more forward thinking. Also, the proportions and lack of slope to the fenders make it look like the 124 is based off the NB. The motor is interesting though...

Same disappointment on the colors.

Anyone else hear an echo?

Keith Tanner wrote:

NickD wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: So they carried that over from the Mazda too then. All the shades of grey you could possibly want. Remember when sports cars came in fun, bright colors?

Yes. Because I have a sports car in smurf blue right out in my driveway. Japanese tuning shop LEG Sport has an ND that they painted in Mariner Blue and it looks amazing, why can't Mazda do that from the factory?

I don't think the ND would look great in bright primaries like the NA did - the body shape doesn't lend itself as well to it. The color would hide the details in the shape. But something like Lexus Ultrasonic blue would look killer, showing off those chines and curves. If I buy an ND of my own, there's a very good chance I'll end up doing that. The 124 might be better suited to the bright, solid colors.

I dunno, looks pretty good to me.

I think in base form the Miata looks better than the base Spider, but I think the Abarth shown a couple of weeks ago really improved the Spider. The new nose really helps the car. The one thing I really dislike about the Abarth is the quad tail pipes, the damn car only needs one, maybe two for tyle, but three is just dick stocking.

Not all are my favorite color. But I'm glad they made them all. Wish Mazda would do something like this

LuxInterior wrote: Not all are my favorite color. But I'm glad they made them all. Wish Mazda would do something like this

YES, this would be great.

I often go to the Lotus color palette when looking for NB/ND Miata colors. We have one Laser Blue car in our fleet as well as a darker blue that's not in the above picture. I've also got a Chrome Orange Locost. Lotus has a tendency to use a lot of metal in their mixes, which highlights the shape of the little cars - they're rarely solid colors. Chrome orange, for example, has a bright yellow/gold highlight and Chili Red is an amazing color with gold highlights over Ardent Red. They'd look good on an ND, as the cars share similar body features.

BTW, when we had a Q&A with some of the Miata designers and stylists last October, they got HAMMERED for the color choices. I think it's fair to say the feedback has been passed along.

The smurf blue pops, but it doesn't accentuate the car's shape. Here's the Lexus blue on a car with similar curves and edges, look at how it highlights.

Exactly. The metal in the Lotus colors brings out the shape. The Elise in a solid (non metallic) like Ardent Red: not great. The body shape is lost in all of that solid color. I'd love to be able to walk into the Mazda dealer and order an ND in Lotus Laser Blue or Krypton Green.

I don't understand why more colors aren't available on most cars. Is it a cost thing? A marketing thing? Do they have to "license" each color somehow? Home Depot can mix paint into any color I want, why can't Mazda/Fiat/whoever?

I'd take the fiat in white with red accents, or just take the abarth edition.

I'd put the ND very near the bottom in the looks category of every small two seat sports car ever made, so it doesn't really matter the color.

In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:

I would guess it's a combination of line stoppage/color changeover time and cost, logistics of painting a bunch of parts for one car on a bunch of different paint lines so the color changeover is even more of a PITA, and a whole lot of "typical car buyers don't need more than 10 colors to choose from" supported by market research and junk. So we get a few boring colors and a few bold colors and that's it.