Where has the progress gone - the Fiat Panda from 1980
03/17/2011
In 1980, Fiat launched the cute Fiat Panda on the market. With its flat body and glass surfaces, it was not a design icon, but a compact, versatile car that was trimmed for practicality.
Equipped with a two- or four-cylinder engine, it had everything young and old people needed to drive. It was compact and, at 3.4 meters long and 1.4 meters wide, smaller than a Mini from the BMW era; at the same time, it was around 400 kg lighter than today's Mini.
Despite these small dimensions, it offered enough space for four adults and, with 6.5 to 7.5 liters of petrol per 100 km in the four-cylinder version, it was also exemplarily economical. Its interior was more versatile than many modern compact vans and the whole thing cost around 10,000 Swiss francs or the equivalent in DM. This makes you wonder where progress has gone.
The fact that the Panda was still fun to drive was ensured by its reasonable temperament and the retractable roof with a view of the sky. But where have they gone, the first-generation Pandas with the asymmetrical radiator grille and the large gray plastic surfaces?
