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Video: Car Talk/Cars.com Fiat Spider Up for Auction

05:14 min
By Cars.com Editors
September 1, 2010

About the video

Cars.com senior editor and new-car reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder, in connection with the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program, is selling a 1979 Fiat Spider formerly owned by Tom Magliozzi, co-host of Car Talk from National Public Radio. All proceeds will b

Transcript

Hello! My name's Joe Wiesenfelder. I'm a senior editor and new car reviewer for Cars.com and currently, I'm the keeper of this 1979 Fiat 2000 Spider, which I bought from my dear, dear friend, Tommy, from NPR's Car Talk.
And I drove from Cambridge to Chicago, shocking myself and the Car Talk listeners by making it the whole way without breaking down. (car door slams) Now Tommy's Fiat is available on the used car section of cars.com. In connection with Car Talk's vehicle donation program, it is available to the highest bidder. All the proceeds will go to my NPR affiliate, WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio. Now, I'm gonna give you some of the high points and low points. The high points, the high points, uh, here's one, I got one, the rear window in a car this old can be frosty, foggy you know? It's actually quite clear, not bad for a car this old. Another one, the top seals pretty well. That keeps water out. What else could explain 30 years worth of grunge? Now, the car has 91,000 plus original miles on it. I have no reason to believe the odometer was ever tampered with. For what it's worth, 1979, the car was kind of advanced, four wheel disc brakes, a brake proportioning valve, and the engine's a two-liter four-cylinder. It actually has double overhead cams. You know, GM just discovered overhead cams like a year ago. (hood slams) Some other selling points, new tires, nothing has fallen off in at least a week, speeding tickets, impossible. It actually has a very low carbon footprint because it spends most of its time in the shop. There's an old joke that Fiat stands for "Fix It Again, Tony". I used to think that was really funny. Now there are other downsides to the car. For one, there are a lotta little dimples and dings around the body, actually pretty well masked by the cream paint color. There are also some rust bubbles, other blemishes, actually the worst is probably right here. Now, Tommy told me when I bought the car that this was similar to the Hopi Indians weaving imperfections into their blankets because they know when they reach perfection, they will die. This is rust. I know that now. The way I look at it is, the more the car rusts, the lighter it gets and the easier it is to push. Now, Tommy's Fiat is in roughly the same condition he kept it in, which is to say, appalling. I've made a couple of upgrades though. He warned me before I came to Cambridge that the radio didn't work so I brought along this Deluxe AM-FM Delco Stereo from a 76 Oldsmobile. It's held in place by one of my best bungees. Now here's a feature you usually only see a new cars. You can connect your iPod to it. For example, this ought to be interesting. (car engine purring) Didn't expect that. Here we go. (banjo music playing) Yuck. Get me outta here. (beep) Here's some more extras. You get two wheel covers and a spare. Pick your three favorite wheels, dress 'em up. Now this is a small fire extinguisher. I've never needed it, but probably not a bad idea. This sign, you might need that. Now, this bottle of antifreeze was gifted to me by Ray before I left Cambridge. It has been good luck. Never been opened. Other bottles, yes, just not this one. And then there's this, this Fiat Spider Service Manual. You are going to need this. And finally, if you get the car, you get some other crap that has fallen off previously. This housing, never seemed to need it. Some other things here, a sun visor. It's a convertible, pointless. This seems to be an extra. I think these used to hold something on, doesn't seem to be very important. And these, I have no idea. Look, if you like Car Talk you clearly have a screw loose. This car has lots of screws loose. You were made for each other. So why not consider, even if you don't live in Chicago, becoming a member of Chicago Public Radio, making a donation or even making an offer on Tommy's Fiat. First of all, it's a good cause. Second, you could get this wonderful... You could get this car. We good? Alright, that's a wrap. Cool. Can you give me a hand with this thing? All right on three. One, two, three. Think we have time for lunch? <v Man>No, we have that meeting. <v Joe>What the Swislow meeting? <v Man>Yeah. <v Joe>Well, that's not gonna happen. We're going to lunch. All right. don't want to block that driveway.

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