European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 20, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pogo 10 the stars and stripes monday june 20, 1977 Corner a he put 131 Mira Ioni successor to the very popular 124 More than four million 124s were produce has gained an excellent reputation since its introduction More than two years Ngo and has established itself solidly on both the european and american markets. And with Good reason. The 131 is of clean design a car with a definite air of Quality and tone. A strictly no nonsense family Sedan but with handling characteristics that make it a sports Sedan the 131 scats five adults in Comfort and offers trunk room capacity 25.4 cubic feet that rates High even by american standards. In America the 131 Falls under the com pact heading but in Europe it s a full size Sedan. The designation depends on your  italian manufactured Fiat 131 Mira Fiori is offered in 1300cc and 1600cc engine versions in Europe while the . Model is equipped with just the 1 Mcc 107 Midi overhead Cam unit roughly equivalent to the 1600 when the emission bit comes in. Ride Comfort stressed the 131 is a much larger Rar than the old 124 it s about 7 inches longer and there s mon.1 room inside. Along with being larger there s More emphasis on ride co Rotfort Bui despite the family ear image the 131 Cir. Be driven hard tossed around turns with verve and pushed All out on the autobahn. In All cases Road holding is one of the car s Virtues. Driving the Fiat 131 is a pleasure the car or pending predictably and precisely to the turn of the wheel the steering arrange ment of rack and Pinion design. Steering is Light and gives a solid feel of the Road at average and High speeds but then becomes a bit too heavy at the slow Mark in heavy traffic on the open Road the 131 is stable and not in the least affected by High winds. Visibility is outstanding with no Blind spots anywhere. The test car i had from Fiat s German subsidiary in Heilbronn cruised along at to Miles an hour on the autobahn with ease and topped out at just under 100 Mph. At80, it had plenty of Reserve Power. Time from Zero to 62 Mph was 12.8 seconds. Good fuel Economy the test car. Nicely turned out in a metallic Silver color was the migration Spe Cial in Bocc engine with four Speed Gearbox. A five Speed is optional on euro Pean models but Standard if ordered with . Specs i be also driven the five Speed Model the fifth gear strictly an overdrive unit for fuel  it is the four Speed car returned about 27 Miles per gallon on average including High Speed runs on the autobahn. The movement of the gear shift lever in both four and five Speed versions is Light and precise while the pedals Are arranged properly for Heel and toe driving. L Nike the 124. Which had discs All around the 131 employs the front disc rear drum arrange ment and Good braking is one of the car s Best features. The Interior of the 131 is conservative with Many functional features including leather pockets on each door for maps and other items grab bars for passengers and a first Rute ventilation system with four separate outlets or either fresh air or warm air when the Heater is used. Instruments on the dash Are arranged Well and they re easy to read. Tie steering wheel with tilt Standard on the 1600 and . Ver Sions was a bit too Large for my tastes. Driving position is about right and an Over six footer would have no problems with the 131. Getting in and out of the four door Model is easy and there s plenty of head and leg room both front and Back. Anti rust action Fiat has gone a Long Way to solve its rust problems a major woe on the 124. Zinc bonded paints Are used on All joints before the 131 s body panels Are welded. Next comes phosphate no electrophoresis paint ing of the Interior of the Box sections then a series of protective coat applications to the body below the Belt line. This includes dipping spraying and the additional application of a heavy thick material. A visual inspection Here will show you How much work has gone into the process one that certainly was necessary after the rust disasters on the 124. Summing up the Fiat 131 Marafioti is a very civilized family car fun to drive and Good value for Money with the . Four door version pegged in the $4,500 Range. A four door station Wagon version is also available both in Europe and the unite states. Consumer guide Magazine by the Way. Rates the Fiat 131 As the Best imported car buy in compacts edging the German made Audi Fox and japanese produced Mazda Cosmo in that order. I still Don t think of the 131 As a compact by any Means and with All the emphasis now to save Energy the 131 could Well be the full size car of the future. No reason Why not. In Barth Competition form the cars Are also being used in world championship allies. A Fiat 131 won the 1,000 lakes rally of Finland last year in its debut then the cars began rallying on a full time basis this season. So far this year. Fiat Barth 131s have finished second in Monte Carlo fourth in Sweden and Greece and have won the portuguese and new zealand world championship events. Any car must be basically sound for con version into a serious Competition machine and the italian Fiat factory has entered the 131s into Competition to emphasize just that Point. \ porsche Parade he porsche company of Zuffer Hauseh Germany held a Celebration this month when its 250,000th sports car a 911 coup left the final Assembly  depicts porsche since production began in 1949. Foreground right porsche 356. Produced Between 1941 and 1954 next to it the successor the porsche 911. In background the latest cars. Porsche928 right and924 left. Pacemaker7 porsche has reasons of cheer Randy Barnett the world famous porsche firm had double reason to celebrate this month a Victory at the 24 hours of be mum and the production of its  car. Del  led the final Assembly line less Ihan three dec Ades after production began in 1w9the 200.000th sports car from the German firm in Zuffan Hauson near Stuttgart was a porsche 911 Coupe the car that succeeded the first porsche sports car the famous 3s6  250.000 cars Over a period 28 years is strictly Small volume porsche Points out that being a producer of exclusive cars with relatively Low production figures the company is very proud of  in numerous instances the German firm said porsche has been a Pioneer demonstrating time and again that the sports car. Because of its functionality and sophisticated engineering has assumed the role of pacemaker for automotive de Velnp meals one example being the fit Ting of All models with Long life  in reaching its 250.000 production figure porsche gave the following breakdown on various models the porsche 356, manufactured from 1949 through 1964, totalled 75,972 during its 15-year production run. Next came the porsche 911/912 models with 154.501 produced and the 911 series still in production. The new porsche 924 accounted for 19,168 models and the latest porsche the 928, just 33. Outright racing cars totalled 326 to make a grand total of250,000. . The hat 13t Mirafiore Sedan the italian manufactured 131 mirafiori4-door Sedan feature a clean design with sweeping outward vision provided by a wide expanse of Glass the Side windows Angling upward into the Roo lines. Competition versions of the Flat 131 Are contesting the world rally championship this year with two victories scored thus far. A Soboto