Wednesday 17th April 2013

Fiat Strada: PH Ad Break

"Handbuilt by robots" - a tagline that's gone down in legend and even spawned a spoof

---

Ahh, the late 70s – a time when technology was going to solve our every problem. We might have been deep in the midst of an oil crisis, but people kept telling us that the future was worth looking forward to. Digital this and electronic that were going to pave the way for a better life, and if Fiat was to be believed, higher-quality engineering standards.

Strada is released from the robots' claws

Hence this homage to its spangly new Robogate robotised setup at its factory in Cassino, installed to produce the Fiat Strada (or Ritmo, in non-English-speaking markets). It was hailed as something of a groundbreaking ad in its time; the first ever to fill a whole News At Ten break, at two minutes long, and unusual in that it celebrated the Strada’s production process rather than showing off the car itself. That said, Fiat couldn’t resist a little bit of the latter toward the end, with a spot of de-rigeur formation driving and that rather elegant transporter stunt. Set to a rousing Rossini soundtrack, the result was quintessentially Italian – as, indeed, was the car it advertised. OK, it never lived up to the quality implied here, but still provided a spirited driving experience, especially in rorty 130TC form.

Indeed, so well-known did the advert become at the time that it actually spawned a spoof, courtesy of Not The Nine O’Clock News. Even if it did feature Vivas instead of Stradas, its subject was made plain by the footage of a socking great Fiat sign in its midst. Enjoy!

 

 

[zilspeed]

RIP OSC973Y, Strada 65Cl. Complete with a set of alloys from a 124 Sport, bought from the scrappy and an X1/9 steering wheel. Revved it to at least 8,500rpm. 65 throbbing horses.

What was I thinking ?

[truck71]

My first and second cars were Stradas. Great engines, ste everything else.

[bimbeano]

The 'Ritmo' as we use to call this Fiat was pretty cool ... .
The add must be the most ridiculous one i have ever seen, 'Figaro Figaro ' with some electronic noises from the eighties (or seventies ?) ... :-)

[Silver940]

Always wanted a 105TC

[chrisjpartridge]

Build quality could be worse...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU-tuY0Z7nQ

[FlossyThePig]

article said:

or Ritmo, in non-English-speaking markets

It was called Ritmo in Ireland.

[dinkel]

FlossyThePig said:

article said:

or Ritmo, in non-English-speaking markets

It was called Ritmo in Ireland.

As it was called Ritmo in The Netherlands.

In 1988 my gf had a Istanbul Taxi yellow Ritmo.

The car had rust everywhere and it was not old. Production: 1978–1988


Looks a treat.

[ZesPak]

Robots sounding like R2D2 that's brilliant!

[JeffC]

dont suppose it will still be around now but it used to make a great noise and was faster than most of the hot hatches back in the day. 85 130 tin can , keep having a look on the bay but havnt seen a one come up for sale in a good while, to be fair rewind 20 odd years ago and it was as rotten as a pear back then :-(

[vincegail]

zilspeed said:

RIP OSC973Y, Strada 65Cl. Complete with a set of alloys from a 124 Sport, bought from the scrappy and an X1/9 steering wheel. Revved it to at least 8,500rpm. 65 throbbing horses.

What was I thinking ?

You could have bought a ZIL?

[900T-R]

dinkel said:

As it was called Ritmo in The Netherlands.

Better known as 'Rotmo' though.

There's only so much robots can do with Russian recycled steel, obtained in exchange for building a whopping big car factory that kept churning out Fiat 124-based transportation devices for the next 40 years. Someone got a raw deal there, and it wasn't the commies.

[P2BS]

dinkel said:

FlossyThePig said:

article said:

or Ritmo, in non-English-speaking markets

It was called Ritmo in Ireland.

As it was called Ritmo in The Netherlands.

I think the point made by Flossy above is that Ireland is a RHD English-speaking market, but we had Ritmo's, not Strada's. NL (despite the excellent English spoken there) is not an English speaking market!

I remember those ads vividly, hand built by robots indeed LOL

By the way, a set of Mk3 Supermirafiori 2000TC steel wheels will foul the arches on the back of a Ritmo/Strada, as my Dad found out one morning after I swapped the wheels the night before. DOH!

Edited by P2BS on Wednesday 17th April 14:50

[Justin Cyder]

Silver940 said:

Always wanted a 105TC

My mate had a 105 TC & let me have a hoon in it, neglecting to tell me the brakes didn't work. 85-5mph via the handbrake & 4th to 1st in record time. I was shaking as I handed it back to the bd.

It really did go though.

[Stuart]

Obscure magazine based fact; when Haymarket acquired the magazine which morphed into the Classic & Sports Car we know and love, the magazine's assets were delivered in a fudge coloured Fiat Strada. I know because the bloke who picked them up in it still works here, and when we celebrated our 25th anniversary a few years ago we found one, and invited it to our birthday party.

If we were shooting the biopic of Classic & Sports Car, one tends to think we'd want to choose something a little more appropriate for that scene...

[omgus]

chrisjpartridge said:

Build quality could be worse...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU-tuY0Z7nQ

I love that.

[Carnnoisseur]

Wow, had two of these back in the day, 75 CL (CEB 31V), my first car, swiftly followed by, the cabriolet (A223 GPD).

Great memories....

[Paul O]

dinkel said:

Looks a treat.

Wahay!! My Mum and Dad bought a Fiat Strada brand new in this colour. E reg. I loved it, had no idea it was a cheap car at the time. To me as a young 'un it was just a brand new, medium sized Fiat and I liked it.

I remember going to the showroom to pick it up with the family - and my Dad rejecting it because the seats were faulty lol. A week later, we got it though.

My Dad also got a free LP "Fiat Hits" or something like that.

[Trevor450]

My mum had a V reg 65CL in baby blue. I was only four but I seem to remember it being pretty terrible and it didn't last long.

[dickyt]

My second car in the late eighties, 75CL in a rather fetching Burgundy colour. Reverse gear would constantly pop out, so I got very good at one handed reversing with the left hand firmly holding it in gear.
I also learned the art of bodywork on this car - complete rotbox. I remember the tops of the doors near the windows suffered badly & having to build them back up - the window seals must have trapped the water in. Built by robots using cheap steel?

[newdogg06]

zilspeed said:

RIP OSC973Y, Strada 65Cl. Complete with a set of alloys from a 124 Sport, bought from the scrappy and an X1/9 steering wheel. Revved it to at least 8,500rpm. 65 throbbing horses.

What was I thinking ?

Me too! And the same X1/9 steering wheel from a scrappy but with the spokes painted white. Put big Cibie round spots on home-made brackets above the number plate but because that's all plastic they wobbled all over the place! Crap car, but it was my first!



(Sorry, photo of a photo!)