Topic: Hello from Montreal

[canbra]

Hello there,

I have been lurking around for quite some time (been reading since Canadian Driver days) but became active in the forums just few days ago. I guess since I have always come to the forum through the articles, I had never really navigated around the forum's index until now. And then I missed this 'Welcome Wagon' section and failed to introduce myself.

So I have been living in Canada for slightly over a handful of years, always in Montreal, after I moved in from Brazil. Although always a somewhat avid reader of auto news back there, I had never really had any hands-on experience with sports cars. Cars are outrageously expensive there and the most powerful ride I had ever had was a 102-hp Chevy Corsa (subcompact class, by North American standards, I guess).

But since arriving here, I had a chance to drive a Mustang V8, a Ferrari F430 and a formula car, all around tracks, and it was awesome. Every. Single. Time.

Looking forward to being able to afford a weekend driver, RWD and sportier than my Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (ok, doesn't take much beat that on sports category... ). Today, the ones on the list are an MX-5 or maybe a BR-Z. In a few years, those in used form I am hoping to be doable.

Cheers!

[Snowman]

Welcome to the madness 

[canbra]

Thanks! 

[ipolski]

Welcome! I've noticed Uno as your first car. My first time behind the wheel was in a Fiat 126p, 23HP.  Just tin foil, no cardboard body. 

[canbra]

The 147 was the first Fiat manufactured in Brazil by that automaker, in the late 70s, and it made Fiats earn reputation of being unreliable cars. Fiat became the target of jokes like "Fiat" was an acronym that meant something like "I got scammed; now it's too late" in Portuguese. Much like people in North America joke about "Ford" being "Fixed Or Repaired Daily".

That bad reputation was slowly overcome and lasted until probably early 2000s, when they finally became the biggest producer (beating VW, the leader since forever) and proved themselves pretty much as (un)reliable as everyone else.

Here is the original Fiat 147:

http://wp.zap.com.br/autos//2009/12/fiat-147-o.jpg

Out of which they made a sedan, a wagon and even a mini-pick-up (compact-car-based pick-ups are very popular there and still exist):

http://wp.zap.com.br/autos//2009/12/pickup-147.jpg

Mid to late 80s they started producing the Uno in Brazil but it was not until late in the 90s that they lobbied successfully for a tax break for cars of 1.0L or less and launched the Uno Mille, the cheapest car in the market. Partially because of lower taxes, but partially because of cheapskating heavily on convenience items and quality of materials, the car's low entry point made a huge hit there. And got Fiat into a streak of successes through the 2000s, taking them where they are today.

Searching for pictures of a car similar to mine brought me to this classified ad from Peru. Mine was exactly like this guy's:

http://www.todoautos.com.pe/attachments/f64/103515d1297245728t-fiat-uno-mille-1992-img_0668.jpg
http://www.todoautos.com.pe/attachments/f64/103517d1297245728t-fiat-uno-mille-1992-img_0660.jpg
http://www.todoautos.com.pe/attachments/f64/103518d1297245728t-fiat-uno-mille-1992-img_0663.jpg

(Please note I post the above as a pure act of nostalgia. Although it did get me to and from university and driving it surely beat riding on a late and crowded bus, I hated that piece of crap and would surely understand if nobody else cared even enough to follow the links and check these horrendous pictures out.    )

[ipolski]

Fiat 147 looks almost identical to our Fiat 127, the predecessor of Uno.

EDIT: Yes, Wikipedia confirms that.

[canbra]

Yep. Just saw it now. 147 was the Brazilian designation for the locally-manufactured series II 127. Didn't know that.

[Bubba]

Welcome aboard!

[Blueprint]

...and hello from Montreal too!

[random006]

...and hello from Montreal too!

Ditto! 

Welcome.  We don't bite (much) but do tend to bark a bit.     Regardless, we're all harmless.