…but sometimes it echoes.
CC Outtake: Karmann Ghia, Fiat Abarth – History Doesn’t Repeat Itself
– Updated on August 2, 2023
…but sometimes it echoes.
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Nice find. I think I see more KG’s on the road than the Miata Fiats. And the 500’s, which for a time seemed very popular, seem less common, or perhaps just less noticeable because they’re not a novelty anymore. The one Fiat dealership in our county seems to have dropped them to focus on the domestic (US) Stellantis brands.
With the last Fiat sold in the US being the 2021 500X crossover, and FCA bought by PSA and now known as Stellantis, I can’t imagine there being any more Fiats coming to the US for 2022 or beyond.
Ah, I didn’t know the revival was over. Realistically, setting aside whether Fiats deserved their US reputation established in the sixties and seventies, the products they chose to market here were aimed at younger buyers who likely didn’t know much about Fiats good or bad. I think the whole thing was flawed. Sure, not many current VW buyers had much exposure to air-cooled Beetles, but they’ve probably seen the Love Bug movies and maybe had parents with a gen-4 Golf or Jetta.
It is my memory that the whole reason for bringing Fiat here was in reaction to the Carpocalypse of 2008-09 when gas was really expensive and small cars were hot – and Chrysler US had nothing to offer smaller than the woefully uncompetitive Dodge Caliber. When Fiat took over Chrysler, the solution seemed obvious. But the process took long enough that by the time the 500s were here at the end of 2010 high gas prices were coming to an end. They still sold as a novelty. For awhile.
Same here. Saw a KG just last night, though not as nice as the one above; it’s been months since the last Fiat convertible sighting.
Just been shopping in my daily driver Karmann. Fun per hp ratio is tops! Here it is in the work car park…
KGs are hilariously small compared to modern vehicles…..
KG, MG, Austin Healey , Morris Minor are the PERFECT size. “Modern” vehicles? Thirsty throwbacks from racing pigeon to triceratops, hilariously humongous. That green is seriously cool, Huey. Lovely machine!
Thanks James! I’ve had some pretty nice cars in my time, but this one gets more compliments than all the others put together – from all types and ages of people, too. I guess it’s small, kind of cute and unthreatening.
It’s my only car here and gets used for everything – going to work, trips, transporting my mountain bike, etc. It’s just so useable – not fast by any means, but fun to drive nevertheless. Parts are available and one can maintain it fairly easily. I can’t imagine ever selling it….
“Poor man’s Porsche” was an agnomen most unfair. This model K.G’s contemporary Porsche Super 90 & its overdue for retirement forebears were no more powerful than a Kombi-derived 2 litre Transporter of a few decades on. The Ghia was far prettier than a Porsche popped out by Grannie’s 2nd best jelly mould, handled little worse, and slid into the lives of decent working people under the elitist big-buck barrier. A delightful Netherlands couple I knew had a sky blue KG. They loved it. His Tram-driving prowess had won him the title “The Flying Dutchman” at Camberwell Depot and throughout the far-flung ferrovie of the MMTB.
Very sharp! I rode in a KG once back in the late ‘90’s. My manager had a baby blue convertible, and it was a fun ride even from the passenger seat. It was a ‘73, and he said they’d bought it as a rusty, barely running basket case before getting it fixed up. Strictly a nice-weather toy, though – they don’t skimp on the salt here in Toronto, and he also had a Toyota to drive for the rest of the year.
I’ve owned and saved a few ‘Ghias, they’re fun little cars but have poor ventilation in hot weather and the very same heater that keeps a biiger Beetle toasty warm doesn’t seem to work as well .
I await the details of the Abarth, it’s cute .
-Nate
I have loved a couple of K-Gs too, but do not ever get T-boned in one; you will likely not live to regret it. I am not even sure there’s a way to retrofit any kind of side-rails, either. Don’t know about any recorded accident statistics, but the mother of one of of my wife’s schoolmates was killed in a quite low-speed collision, and I could never bring ANY Volkswagen into the family stable for that reason alone.