नमस्ते दोस्तों! एक और महान फिएट! : 1963 Fiat 1100 D Europa

If you don't understand the title above written in Hindi ( in English : "Hello Friends! Another Great Fiat!") then apparently you are not among Barnfinder's latest and greatest audience- Fiat lovers in India!

1963 Fiat 1100D Europa

Ever since our first posting of a Fiat 1100D Premier Padmini way back in February, website hits from the country of India have far outnumbered any other country except for the U.S. . All we apparently had to do to gain such an intrigued audience was to mention Bombay or Mumbai or Premier Padmini and it became an overnight sensation. Apparently there are many folks in India who go into work, log on to their computers, and waste time searching the Internet for photos of weird Fiats. Just like America!

Here is another great multicultural Fiat: a German built Neckar Europa, living in West Jordan, Utah. (One can only wonder what great Google feeds could come from that sentence alone!) We are starting to piece together the anecdotal case that the Fiat 1100 series may well be one of the world's most enduring and numerous automobile models in history. License built 1100s came from almost every country: France (Simca), Russia (Lada), India (Premier), Spain (SEAT), Argentina (Fiat Argentina) and on and on.

But we digress: This particular car was built by NSU/Fiat in Heilbronn,Germany at the former NSU plant near the Neckar river, hence the Neckar Europa designation. Like other licensed products like the Fiat 500 and 600, the Europa was personalized a bit and thus more luxurious and sporty than domestic Italian production Fiats. Alas the run was relatively short lived, as the higher workforce costs in Germany forced the closing of the plant in 1971. German car fans will be quick to contend that build quality in turn was superior.

This particular car has among its more sporty features a great looking sunroof. The interior of the car looks freshly restored, and the paint and mechanicals all seem very tidy. This car has the great looking factory steel wheels which resemble Fergat wheels used on period Lancias. NSU/Fiat dog-dish hubcaps have to be rare; these look in great shape.

The seller has a "Buy It Now" price of $6900, which seems optimistic- but given the condition and global appeal of this charming car- perhaps obtainable. With Fiat coming back to the United States, renewed club activity will generate new interest in these old bangers. And dare we say this car has crossover interest from the NSU cult. Let's watch and see what happens.

Lest we cause a global recession in workforce productivity: रोक Fiats देख रही है और वापस पाने के लिए काम करते हैं!  (Stop looking at Fiats and get back to work!)