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#1
Seeing the best and all car threads, might as well go to the other end of the spectrum.
For me, there is one clear winner, unlikely to be ever unseated. My 1982 Fiat Strada, in maroon, a colour very much associated with the era.
Just about everything that could go wrong went wrong. Particular highlights were the alternator failure one winter weekend while in Donegal, facing a 90 mile evening trip back to Belfast, some of which was managed with next to no lights. The petrol tank rupture also led to a short term fuel consumption of 0.1 mpg, as I had to drive around a country road while the petrol leaked out. On another occasion, I braked while going downhill and heard a metallic clang. That was one of the brake callipers failing onto the road.
And one particularly NI thing. The manual window winder in the driver's door seized, so the window was stuck in the up position. I was then stopped at an Army road check and when I opened the door rather than wound the window down, the soldier asked me why I did that, so I explained. He swiftly concluded that must mean I had the door filled with explosives or something, so he knelt down and started tapping the door like a doctor examining a patients chest. After a few moments he realised this looked rather stupid, partly hinted at by the people in the car behind laughing, so let me go on.
Many other problems, electrical, of course a particular specialty, like the horn sounding off you turned the wheel too far. On one occasion, I drove it to the dealer where I bought it and told them I was leaving the [redacted] piece of [redacted] and they could fix it or bury it in a hole in the ground, I didn't care which.
Have not had a Fiat since, and never will. Fix It Again Tony, as they say.
For me, there is one clear winner, unlikely to be ever unseated. My 1982 Fiat Strada, in maroon, a colour very much associated with the era.
Just about everything that could go wrong went wrong. Particular highlights were the alternator failure one winter weekend while in Donegal, facing a 90 mile evening trip back to Belfast, some of which was managed with next to no lights. The petrol tank rupture also led to a short term fuel consumption of 0.1 mpg, as I had to drive around a country road while the petrol leaked out. On another occasion, I braked while going downhill and heard a metallic clang. That was one of the brake callipers failing onto the road.
And one particularly NI thing. The manual window winder in the driver's door seized, so the window was stuck in the up position. I was then stopped at an Army road check and when I opened the door rather than wound the window down, the soldier asked me why I did that, so I explained. He swiftly concluded that must mean I had the door filled with explosives or something, so he knelt down and started tapping the door like a doctor examining a patients chest. After a few moments he realised this looked rather stupid, partly hinted at by the people in the car behind laughing, so let me go on.
Many other problems, electrical, of course a particular specialty, like the horn sounding off you turned the wheel too far. On one occasion, I drove it to the dealer where I bought it and told them I was leaving the [redacted] piece of [redacted] and they could fix it or bury it in a hole in the ground, I didn't care which.
Have not had a Fiat since, and never will. Fix It Again Tony, as they say.
