1979 Fiat Strada Custom from North America - Comments

The car is rusting very badly. Also, has trouble starting in the extreme cold.

I own a 1979 4door custom strada in orange. I used to own a fiat dealership in toronto and bought this demo as soona s the strada came out. Today I am probably the only person who owns a strada in all of canada. This car didn't succeed in north america because it is designed for europe and not for the north american climate. Infact, in italy this car was produced until 1988 and is still in circulation. In my opinion the body should have been treated to withstand our north america winters, as well as make an engine with a little more kick then the one they came out with. I still start my strada every now and then, but it is in no shape to drive, I'm actually embarassed to, ha, ha.

Please email me at f_modena_1982@hotmail.com, if you still own a fiat strada in north america, I would love to see some pics.

I would be surprised if you get even one email. Even when they were being sold here new they were a rare sight on the road. It's a shame the build quality was so bad, it was an interesting, unique car. I haven't seen any used ones for sale for more than 15 years...

Hi! My name is Mike and I am writing from Rhode Island in response to the Fiat Strada topic since it brought back some awesome memories! I was searching the web for info regarding Fiat 124 Sport and I came across this site!

Sometime in the early 80's, around 1983/84, I believe, I purchased a 1979 Fiat Strada from a used car dealership. It had 49,000 miles on it. God how I loved that car! It was lime green with flat black trim-to this day, I will never forget it! I do not care how cold it was outside, that Fiat would always start up on the first shot. I maintained that car religiously--everything the owners manual said to do, I did when it was scheduled to be done! To the best of my knowledge, that car never failed me, it never left me stranded, etc. I did have one problem with it--rust did something to the front portion of the unibody--I had it repaired and re welded, and it was fine! I believe it had 220,000 miles on it when I finally had to retire it. If I could find one today--I would restore it and use it as a daily driver!

Feel free to write anytime at the_talwin_guy@yahoo.com.

Mike.

Hello:

In January 1981 my family bought new a left over 1980 Strada. Orange with a beige/brown interior. It was a great car to drive and to this day I love that car. Unfortunately, I was a teenager and drive the life out of the car and it died at 80,000 miles - I killed it. The body was badly rusted, the window cranks broke, the heater almost never worked and the dash lights quit at 25,000 miles. Despite the various issues with the mechanics of the car, it was a great car. I'd buy one tomorrow. FYI - they were made in Spain by SEAT.

I agree - the Strada was a car much better suited to Europe than the U.S.

Robert.

Back in 1979 I purchased a new Strada; drove it out of the showroom. Lime green, 4-door hatchback, 5 on the floor with A/C. I used the car for work and travel. On the highway I was averaging 48 miles to the gallon. Never checked for city driving. Draw back was electrical, had problems with the fan motor. Fuses kept blowing, until I replaced with an in-line fuse. Also had to replace front struts every so often. But, seats were so comfortable use to do 420 mile trips (one way) without fatigue setting in. It was a fantastic road car. Never had a problem with rust, drove it through snow and ice storms had good traction. Always started in cold weather, it was very dependable not like the "Fix It Again Tony" stories heard about this make car. In 89, had a major accident was told the car rolled three times, but I was able to walk away. The cab held up, although the paint was scrapped off the sides and roof, hood and hatch back were bent. The car was totaled. It was a great road car, got great mileage.