hls wrote:
>
> "dsi1" <dsi1@spamnet.com> wrote in message
> news:jtNwm.221416$cf6.208145@newsfe16.iad...
>> hls wrote:
>>>
>>> "Otis" <rev_otis_mcnatt@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>> news:1f20ce7d-cd39-4208-920c-08032814acbb@37g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
>>>> Over the years, the inevitable subject of worst cars ever comes up,
>>>> and the Vega
>>>> is always at or near the top of the list. I've seen it a hundred
>>>> times. I feel I should
>>>> put in a good word for the little car.
>>>
>>>
>>> That is, I believe, the car with the silicon/aluminum alloy
>>> engine...That thing
>>> went out for most people very quickly.
>>>
>>> Now, believe it or not, I have seen Yugos still on the road. Even
>>> the worst
>>> automaker allows a good one to slip out occasionally.
>>
>> Yugo = Fiat 128
>
> Maybe the equality is not quite right, but similar.
> Fiat also put Russia into the car business, IIRC.

My guess is that they were pretty similar. I was thinking at the time
that it might be possible to bolt-on a Yugo engine and maybe the entire
drivetrain of a Yugo into a Fiat X1/9 although I've not heard of anybody
doing this.

>
> We have owned three Fiats...a 131 Mirafiore, a 128, and another I cant
> remember. The engines were okay, but the bodies tended to rust out
> very badly on some of them.

The engine on the 124 sports models were fine. It was the first
belt-driven double overhead cam design engine used in a mass production
car. Rust was a big problem in the states. I'm guessing that it doesn't
rain or snow in Italy and Europe. :-)