Put Up Or Shut Up Challenge: Fiat 131S Mirafiori Climatizzata

Murilee Martin
by Murilee Martin

Nobody rescued the low-mile ’66 Coronet from its date with The Crusher (though as far as I know it’s still alive), but now we’ve got a new Put Up Or Shut Up Challenge!

When was the last time you saw a car with “Climatizzata” badges? Not many 131 s were sold in North America (the later ones were badged as Bravas), and this is a complete, rust-free example of that rare Italian steed. Its history? Ran when parked.

OK, a semi-orphaned Malaise Era Italian car that’s been sitting for years sounds challenging. But just look at what it could be!





Murilee Martin
Murilee Martin

Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.

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  • William Penney William Penney on May 05, 2011

    Price or location?

  • Dino Dino on May 06, 2011

    I bought a 131s Mirafiori with 12k miles on it (I think a '74?). It was champagne yellow (sounds terrible but looked quite good), 2 dr. auto with yes Climatizzata. It also had this brown vinyl upholstery that really looked like leather (it fooled several people). I bought it from a Sales Mgr. at a Pontiac/Buick dealership. He was selling it for his brother who used the Fiat as a 2nd car (their fist car being a Benz) The 131s was roomy, got decent gas mileage and also handled fairly well. It was one car that loved tune-ups. It was truly a Jekyll and Hyde experience. It would be running like crap but after the tune-up - fantastico! what a difference! The engine loved to rev. I also liked the upright seating position. The outward vision to this day was amongst the best I've ever experienced. Very much like the BMW 2002 I got later on. It was actually quite reliable, not bullet proof but pretty good. I sold it when it had 75 k miles. Other than normal wear & tear items (tires, plugs, belts etc.) I only replaced a water pump and a A/C hose. One other thing. I had the catalytic converter removed by a less than scrupulous muffler shop. That was a magical day in the car's history. It ran much better, and got much better gas mileage to boot.

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
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