1968 Fiat 850 Spyder Convertible review from North America

This car had no power, even on flat roads at sea level. 850cc is not enough. The cheapest Harley road bike has 883cc's. Imagine trying to safely keep up with traffic on the freeway with an 850cc car.

This Fiat suffered from "bump steering" -- the same thing that killed the Corvair. The rear suspension was designed to rotate inward rather than longitudinally. When you hit a bump, the rear end suspension geometry would the direction that the car was going and could result in an accident from loss of control. A car with this type of defect would result in $billion$ dollar law suits today. If you got into an accident in or with one of these today, you might still be able to sue Fiat, or the parent corporation GM. Fortunately, there are almost none of these things on the road today.

This car is NOT a classic, but a shameful piece of garbage that should have stayed in Europe.

I could barely keep this car on the road because of the wacky rear suspension and the fact that most of the weight was on the rear wheels, leaving the front wheels barely touching the pavement. The rear end would swing out at the slightest provocation. I took a smooth corner at 30 mph one day an spun out over the side of steep bank. Trees caught the car and saved me.

This was the second car I owned in my life (1970) and my last Fiat. It is no wonder that they are in bad shape today. The smartest thing that Fiat ever did was to rope (a dope) GM into a buyout of the failing car company before 2004.