I still drive one! It is a 1976 model and still runs well. Those straight cut gears and the steering column gear shift, wonderful. The only thing that is a pain is trying to source an oil filter since the old models have the bypass filters and not the screw on types.
My Grandfather had a sky blue Fiat 1100 (Millicento) in 1964 in India; probably the first batch that came directly from Italy. The car lasted till 1990's when my uncle decided to put a diesel engine into it. It was an exact replica of this car, just blue. The dash, the plastic floor covers, brings back memories. The car had a lot of pep for its day! I remember very vividly as I was in my early teens.
My dad still has his Fiat. We have Astons and Bentleys but he would still pick this car over any other car. Its truly amazing how the older generation of people smile when they see the Fiat on the road.
There were two main car brands in India in the 1960's and 1970's. One was the Morris Oxford re-badged as the Hindustan Ambassador and the Millicento known just as the Fiat (the later model Fiat 1100 D was sold as the re-christened Premier Padmini). Most families with cars owned either one or the other and there would be regular fights between their kids as to which one was better! My Dad owned a black Millicento so no guesses as to which side I was on! Thanks Jay, for bringing back lots of memories of trips to restaurants, far away places and other magical ones with this car.
This is why Leno is the world's favorite car collector. He has the million dollar supercars and then he has just super cars that don't get the attention they deserve.
We had this India, but it was called Premier Padmini. Came with the same 1100cc motor initially. If you ever visit Mumbai, you can still see many plying as taxis. Reliable machines.
It's just so cute, looking like a baby shoebox Ford. Just imagine this with a Punto turbo engine under the hood, mated to a Mazda Miata transmission, but looking like a straight restoration.
Dimensioni: lunghezza 3,94 m, larghezza 1,46 m, altezza 1,47 m, peso a vuoto 895 kg Pneumatici: 5.20 - 14 Serbatoio carburante 38 litri, riserva 4,5 - 7 litri Prestazioni: velocità max 130 km/h Consumo: medio 7,7 litri/100 km
My sister owned a Fiat 1100 in 1965, we used to pack her 4 kids in the back seat and go to the drive-in movies in Albuquerque NM. The open air theater had a playground under the screens so you could watch the kids while you enjoyed the movies. Those days were tough but we now call them the Good ol days. I loved the 4 speed shifter on the column and later I owned a Nash Metro that used the same shifting pattern. In house days we could whip by MacDonalds and get a whole meal for each of us for less than a $1 each, and the kids had to share. This was before the Happy meal as we all were happy to have this cheap meal under the stars watching a good John Wayne movie. Thanks Jay!
The 1962 model of Fiat 1100 which looked similar to one in the video albeit without suicide doors was manufactured in India till 1989. I grew up with these. It was nostalgic to view this video. Thanks Leno
Remember those Frederico Fellini movies, La Doce Vita etc. This is one of my favorite Fiats, and in the day were seen on the roads of Egypt and other North African nations, Somalia, Spain and many more. Many don't know but Italian engineering is right up there in par with Germany, France, Japan and USA, and have produced amazing, quality products.
That made a lot of memories came back to me! my grandfather used to own one millecento when i was a kid. these are very special cars and they deserve to keep rolling down the streets and roads of all the world.
I had two friends with these Fiats when I was a teenager. I had a Honda motorcycle and would swap for the night so my friend could ride a bike and I could drive a car! These were a four speed on the tree. Great little cars.
Yes, but we can't have new cars like this because big daddy government says that you're too stupid to decide whether or not the car is safe enough for you & your family, so big daddy government has mandated under threat of arrest & theft at gunpoint that companies must add hundreds of pounds of "safety" equipment. Of course, big daddy government accepts no responsibility for the deaths caused by mandatory gen 1 airbags or automatic seat belts or "antilock" breaks or "traction control" systems, or any of the other various things big daddy government mandated long before they were safe (well, at least less unsafe). It's kinda like 5g & wind turbines. Big daddy government mandates their widespread use, long before the long term (& even short term) health & safety effects are ever considered, let alone tested. Speaking of ecological considerations, I lived not far from a wind turbine "farm," and 2/3 of them were inactive within 5 years, after causing massive ecological damage to install them. If you get the chance to go see them being installed, take a look at the size of the hole they dig & fill with concrete & steel just to hold one of them upright...
Have any idea how much safer and more comfortable a Prius, let alone any modern car is? If you don’t want Hybrid, a Mirage from Mitsubishi is 10 grand new. A very decent car.
But you want air conditioning, state of the art exhaust fumes cleaning which requires a fuel injection and a catalytic converter, state of the art safety features, a big stereo, and if it only wasn't so darn loud. Oh and let's not forget, you can't drive a stick.^^ I remember what the cities smelled like in the seventies with a quarter of the cars in the streets as nowadays. I love these cars, but there ain't no going back for 99% of the people.
Seeing the column shifting brings back a lot of memories ,Jay is so lucky he gets to still drive every outdated and unused transmission type car ever made,the 3 speed on the tree is my all time favorite vehicle's to drive.
I was living in Rome at that time as a kid (dad was stationed at the US Embassy) and I remember those Fiat Millecentos very well. That and the 600 Seicento were the two most common cars you’d see on the streets-besides all the Vespas and Lambrettas!
Great little car. Brings back good memories of when I used to work on these in the 1960s early 70s when I was a technician at the Fiat dealership..Thanks for sharing Jay..
Dear jay Having litterally grow up inside a FIAT1100D station wagon 1964 model I can't thank you enough for this video I learned driving with this car (wasnt much easy!) and travelled with it, watching this video has brought too many memories I can say that it was a hell of an experience to drive it,rear wheel drive ,drum brakes that didn't really stop the car above 50 mph but still it had its own personallity Thanks again for the ride
As a kid I grew up in the little town of Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). There was a very active Fiat agency in the country, before we did the naughty of declaring independence from the UK in 1965, and sanctions shut of supply of most European cars. My parents had friends in Salisbury Rhodesia who we would occasionally visit. The family loved Fiats and had 2 of them, this model 1100, and the "big" family car, was a Fiat 2300. At the tender age of 13 or 14, I remember thinking what a wonderful car that 2300 was ......Moving on 4 or 5 years, when I got in my teens in the late 60's, most of the 17 and 18 year olds had either motorcycles, as did I, or small cars. There were a lot of BMC Minis and 1100's, older Morris Minors and Austin A40 Farina's, but strangely there were two teens at the school who had Fiat 1100's - one the exact paint scheme of this car you reviewed, and the other red (Roso). This piece you did was a real flashback to my childhood and early adult life in that wonderful country, that is so sadly destroyed and neglected now.Thank you !Moving on a few years by the way, putting cars, engines and motorcycles in the sitting room of a house seems to be a peculiarity of a lot of gearhead bachelors. Around 8 years ago I went with a friend to view a pair of motorcycles that a sadly ill health owner had in the house in North Illinois. And these were no ordinary Nortons, they were both Manx's ! He had two , a 350 and a 500 that he ordered from Norton in the days when they were almost beyond the peak of their competitiveness. He rode the 350 at a local club race, and scared himself so badly that he never rode it again - he just put it in the sitting room of his house, and that is were it was when we viewed it some 50 years later ! Now here's the best part of the story - the 500 was still in the packing crate in the entry hall of the house having never been run. We were stunned .............Thank you so much for this great series of programs.Peter Pentz
Lovely Millecento. Quite popular here in Argentina. First generation with a more rounded rear end was imported from Italy, second gen just like this one was locally produced. Very reliable piece of machinery!
Jay mu family had a 59 1100, it was known as the mountain goat because of the extra low gear in 1st. We could go up icey Cincinnati hills in winter passing stuck VWs.
"1959 Fiat Millecento. A mid-century Italian family car with the same MPG as a Prius" And so much more personality, character and charm. Without the pretense and idiocy.
Or hypocrisy, look at the countries that produce the components and all the diesel fuel used to create a finished car. The hybrid car thing is a scam within a scam.
@@insolentstickleback3266 With the exception of the Hyundai Sonata (solar paneled/hybrid) and the Transit hybrid I feel the same, over complication to achieve a small amount .
Personality, character and charm is great and all, but if you had to pick this vs. a Prius as your daily driver, most people would go for the Prius. Much more space, much more reliable, much safer, much quieter, etc.
My first car was my Dad's 59 Fiat Millecento I got it from him in 1970. The 59 Australian version was a little different slightly more fins front and rear lights different grill and it had a thottle control on the dashboard next to the choke..1959 cruise control nd the badge said Millicento. It was a great little car and my first Italian love affair.... my next was a Fiat 850 😊
Andrew Hunter thk you for sharing these beautiful memories Andrew. It's amazing to see how far and wide across the globe these little cars have gone. Cheers from Italy mate🍷
My mother bought an 1100 in 1959. IT WAS A PERFECT CAR TO LEARN TO DRIVE WELL. It HANDLED, BRAKED AND GAVE GREAT JOY. MY DRIVING TALENT .improved so much, because of that car. THE Australian CARS of that era were crass and unrefined,, in comparison.
Tks a lot for this Jay! We've had tons of FIATs in our family, 500s, 600s, 850s, 124s, 128s, 131s, Unos, Puntos, a Tempra SW, a 1996 Coupe Coupe and yes, a 1100. Fiats are truly amzing!
Back in 1967, my first car was a 1957 Fiat Millicento - yes the one with the light in the centre of the grill. Very similar car to the one shown here. I taught myself to drive with it, in fact.
Now that is what I call a survivor! Love the suicide doors and the little wind protector on the front doors. A lot of drag racers used the Topolinos as race cars during the 60's and 70's. This one of the few Ive seen in its original state. Nice.
I just purchased a '59 SIMCA Aronde 4 door with a Webasto sunroof as a project. It has a fair amount in common with this Fiat. Thanks for showing us this car Jay!
Sorry Rohan, the Premier Padmini was not the name given to this model, but its successor, the Fiat 1100D, which was introduced in India in 1964: ranwhenparkeddotnet.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/fiat-1100-d-2.jpg
My FIAT500L had it as well: it's not a gauge, but a red pilot lamp that lighs up when the engine is idling, to confirm that the dynamo is not charging the battery.
Bellissima! Thanks to Jay's passion we can see such cars on RUclips, which even though very popular at their time, are very few left in this condition.
The 1st gear whine, sooo Mini sounding, the Austin Metro did that but it had Mini running gear, the BMC 4-Speed manual always had that first gear whine and I think alot of older cars like Morris's, Austin's who knows it's an older age of motoring as Richard Hammond once put it. Great car Jay keep em up nice to see such a rare car preserved soo well even here in Britain you never see these. Even the original Fiat Panda's are like hen's teeth now.
First gear is straight cut that's why it whines. No such thing as CNC machines back then, so helical cut gears were expensive to make. Many manufacturers went with a non-syncro, straight cut 1st gear to reduce cost.
It was my father's car, we were a famili of 6. That car remember me the late '60 trip for the summer holidays... 8 hour trip to reach our vacation town. What memories.
The horn was the most important device in Italy and still is in many cities. In Italy cars are taxed by engine size, and because streets are narrow making the maneuvering of e.g a Chev Impala difficult, big cars are expensive and impractical. A top speed of 70 mph was common for cheaper European cars back in the day. Those Fiats were manufactured in many countries from Germany where it was called a Neckar ( the predecessor of NSU ) to Argentina and India where it was called a Premier Pandini and made until the year 2000.
It is not a bad idea to put a small car in the living room. The way HD TV's are as big as a 90" inch screens. Why not make a drive in movie theme room complete with drivable car.
I have one of these, only it's a '62 Millicento Super Select. Not very different from this, but, being the Super Select, it had cruise control, and a fuel pump that would overheat and lock up on a hot day! I last drove it 10 years ago, and it's been in storage ever since. Maybe I should take it for a drive one of these weekends...
Nah *****, I've put it in long term storage after taking the proper precautions. Not the first time I've kept it in storage and used it after many years, it's just a matter of ensuring it is protected against the elements.
Back in 1962 my father imported this FIAT 1100 to Pakistan and kept driving the same car till 1985. Later I used it till 1990. Afterwards it was occasionally used and had started to rust. In 2011 we sold it off to a restorer. As of today its fully restored and looks great with changed colour scheme. I really love this car.
Now that's a amazing story! I think back then finding the right mechanic to do the work was important. They usually rusted into the junk yard here in north east. Glad you now own it. I had a 59 Hillman looked very similar to this.
Hay Jay!!! did you know that these Fiat 1100 were made under license in India as the Premier Padmini, I know that it is a face lifted version but it is still basically the same Fiat 1100, only they also had a Diesel version. They are the most common Taxi in Mumbai but they are going to phase them out officially because they pollute more but also because the trend in India is to make everything look new and shiny. You should get one in the Indian taxi version, you can probably get it cheap, aside from the shipping container and shipping agent.
True. The premier padmini name came a couple of models down the line once they were fully made and assembled in Bombay. The first ones to come in 1955 were the 1100's without the fins on the tail and they had a grill with three horizontal metal chrome pieces which made up the grill face. The speedometer read in Mph and not in Kph as we are used to, beautiful round gauges which were directly in the dashboard. The next line had the fog light of sorts in the middle of the grill. After that came the model which looked like the Millicento that Jay has (albeit with a right hand steering) and was called the Super select in India. Then if I'm right, came the Fiat 'president' and after that, the name change to Premier padmini, the president onwards would have fallen under the Fiat 1100D model range. I happen to have one which was bought in 1976 and still use it around town! :)
I had one of those. It was my first ever car. It cost me $35, plus I did a valve job. Fiats handled so well back then compared to the others. I later fell in love with 600s.
This Fiat reminds me a little of the '66 Volvo 122S my grandfather had. He bought it new, drove it just around town for many years, willed it on to my mother who drove it for more years. I really, really, wish that car was still in the family, but alas, it was totaled years ago. This little Fiat is great. It makes a lovely sound and it looks like a lot of fun to drive.
My dad bought a '65 1100 Wagon, new for $1800. It looked a lot like yours. The paint on yours is just like the '59 600 with sunroof. When six of us piled into the 600 in was real treat.
I had a Fiat 1100D. It was the noisiest car I have ever owned. At speeds above 40 mph, conversations were,impossible! The diff would just scream. My car had a single piece drive shaft. My understanding is that this earlier model had a two piece shaft with a center bearing. Apparently that was a quieter system. When you opened the trunk, there was a one inch layer of asphalt, overpainted with body paint from the factory, while under the rear seat there were two different sound proof pads glued to the floor. Funny story, I had it in college. Couldn't afford good oil. I used to buy reprocessed oil, in 5 gallon containers made buy a company called "Oil City" once while driving from New York to Concord College in West Virginia during a downpour, the wiper blades stopped. The cross-over arms which connected the wiper arms to the the wiper motor were all worn out. I had to keep reaching under the dashboard to free them up. Finally, I pulled over and tied the shoe lace of my sleeping passenger to the lower cross arm of the wiper assembly. For the next half hour, as I drove in the rain, my passenger's left foot would go up and down, under the dash, until he woke up and removed his shoe, leaving it to continue it's up and down motion under the dashboard.
1. Exactly. ''In English'', not in talian. The name of the car is not ''Undici centinaia = Eleven hundred'' but ''Millecento' = OneThousand one hundred'' . Is it clear now? It's a name, not a number.
My Dad had a 1965 1100 D wagon back in the 60s he used to commute to work. It was the car I learned to drive in. 4 on-the-tree. Great little car. It wasn't the chick magnet Jay talks about though.
I recall a carpool where the guy showed up driving a 1964 1100 and yeah, 6 American men shoehorned into that thing. None obese though. It was 1972 and we were all doing physical outdoor work. I liked it and bought it from him.
I love it! Ya know, it reminds me a little of my grandfather's Volvo 122 sedan. I so wish I had one as a weekend fun car! I love seeing all of these old classics, the descriptions, the details and seeing and hearing them on the road.
Sorry, the Premier Padmini was not the name given to this model, but its successor, the Fiat 1100D, which was introduced in India in 1964: ranwhenparkeddotnet.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/fiat-1100-d-2.jpg
Of course tis the same make! But different MODEL! Fiat 1100 came in atleast 4 different models in India, and the last - 1100D- was remade as the Padmini. Hope tis clear now.
For the past two weeks my thoughts were mostly about this car; not weird since I have always thought about cars. Last month was tiring and sad and I was bored, thought I would quit my job, go back to my beautiful village in India and set up a little garage at home and this was the car I thought I should have, a later weirder model with three lights, in blue it would look perfectly nice in my tiny village; but then I will miss my knackered Alfa and the big comforts that hot little Dubai offers.
I drove a 1961 Fiat 1100 in high school and college. Found it at a yard sale for $75 around the corner and my dad and I pushed it home. He loved tinkering and ordered parts from Laros(?) catalog. Loved it until the crank shaft broke. That was in the mid-1970s . Loads of fun!
Yeah, to my knowledge helical gears were introduce because they're smoother and quiter, but race gearboxes still have straight-cut gears, and thus still whine! :)
BTW this was the number one selling car in India. Later the name was changed from Fiat to Premier. It sold as Premier Padmini till the 1980s. Even now it is the dominant Taxi cars in Bombay.
I have to say, as easy as Jay can make it to dislike him, he's actually a really funny guy, and he knows history very well. You really should respect that.
Yep, have driven this in India. This was being manufactured there until 1971 and then got some modest upgrades in 1972 and got rebranded as Premier, the Indian JV partner of Fiat. Low maintenance car except for a scare onetime when the gear stalk came off the housing when I was changing gears!
CRIMONY !! has it already been 8 years since this video came out !? I remember seeing this video and thinking how old Jay looked in it compared to when he hosted the Tonight Show and now he looks young and invigerated compared to his most recent vids, where did the last 8 years even go?
Good video. We Indians just love our FIATS and this was my family's first car. Hats off to Jay Leno for this superb video.
I still drive one! It is a 1976 model and still runs well. Those straight cut gears and the steering column gear shift, wonderful. The only thing that is a pain is trying to source an oil filter since the old models have the bypass filters and not the screw on types.
Dukkar fiat 😄 makes me a kid everytime i see one
Fiat Padmini
@@toolzshed premier padmini
I was six years old when my dad bought one of these. It shaped my love for cars forever. Miss my dad and his beautiful red millicento
My Grandfather had a sky blue Fiat 1100 (Millicento) in 1964 in India; probably the first batch that came directly from Italy. The car lasted till 1990's when my uncle decided to put a diesel engine into it. It was an exact replica of this car, just blue. The dash, the plastic floor covers, brings back memories. The car had a lot of pep for its day! I remember very vividly as I was in my early teens.
It's amazing how well these little old Italian cars perform on steep, bendy and narrow mountain roads. As if they really are in their element there.
Just don't try to start them on a rainy day! lol
what a surprise, Italy is basically made of ONLY narrow mountain roads!
They are! That's what a lot of Italy is like.
@@arx3516 yeah, for the rest we have hills and some beach around
@@Momo_Kawashima and some plains too, how can we forget the plains of Agro Pontino and above all Pomezia, the most beautiful city on earth?
I'm Italian and happy to see such a great appreciation of old-school Italian cars. Thank you Jay!
My dad still has his Fiat. We have Astons and Bentleys but he would still pick this car over any other car. Its truly amazing how the older generation of people smile when they see the Fiat on the road.
There were two main car brands in India in the 1960's and 1970's. One was the Morris Oxford re-badged as the Hindustan Ambassador and the Millicento known just as the Fiat (the later model Fiat 1100 D was sold as the re-christened Premier Padmini). Most families with cars owned either one or the other and there would be regular fights between their kids as to which one was better! My Dad owned a black Millicento so no guesses as to which side I was on! Thanks Jay, for bringing back lots of memories of trips to restaurants, far away places and other magical ones with this car.
i use to fight with our neighbor. an ambassador owner
This is why Leno is the world's favorite car collector. He has the million dollar supercars and then he has just super cars that don't get the attention they deserve.
We had this India, but it was called Premier Padmini. Came with the same 1100cc motor initially. If you ever visit Mumbai, you can still see many plying as taxis. Reliable machines.
It's just so cute, looking like a baby shoebox Ford. Just imagine this with a Punto turbo engine under the hood, mated to a Mazda Miata transmission, but looking like a straight restoration.
Yeas
This is not the padmini. 1100 is its name in India too
it was called the 1100 or millicento in india too
@@Veenadevan-gq1rj the fiat car in video was Taxis in mumbai during 60s 70s
I rode in the Millecento in 1969 going from Italy to Switzerland and took 11 hours.Bringing back memories>>5 people!
My father had this car when I was a kid. The engine sound and the gear shift sound made me nostalgic.
My dad a similar one in India when I was a kid. Brought back a lot of memories.
Dimensioni: lunghezza 3,94 m, larghezza 1,46 m, altezza 1,47 m, peso a vuoto 895 kg
Pneumatici: 5.20 - 14
Serbatoio carburante 38 litri, riserva 4,5 - 7 litri
Prestazioni: velocità max 130 km/h
Consumo: medio 7,7 litri/100 km
Bella machina....quella de lo Zio Vittorio era Bianca...come questa!
My sister owned a Fiat 1100 in 1965, we used to pack her 4 kids in the back seat and go to the drive-in movies in Albuquerque NM. The open air theater had a playground under the screens so you could watch the kids while you enjoyed the movies. Those days were tough but we now call them the Good ol days. I loved the 4 speed shifter on the column and later I owned a Nash Metro that used the same shifting pattern. In house days we could whip by MacDonalds and get a whole meal for each of us for less than a $1 each, and the kids had to share. This was before the Happy meal as we all were happy to have this cheap meal under the stars watching a good John Wayne movie. Thanks Jay!
These cars we common in Calcutta till the mid-eighties. The engine sound is so nostalgic! Thanks to Jay Leno for the down memory lane ride.
Calcutta???
I thought Calcutta had Ambassadors.
The 1962 model of Fiat 1100 which looked similar to one in the video albeit without suicide doors was manufactured in India till 1989. I grew up with these. It was nostalgic to view this video. Thanks Leno
This car is actually a tank
We had a factory in Egypt
in the sixties assembled this car it can last forever.
My father bought a 1200 (Mille-e-due) in 1960 that he kept for six years, trouble-free and fun.
Remember those Frederico Fellini movies, La Doce Vita etc. This is one of my favorite Fiats, and in the day were seen on the roads of Egypt and other North African nations, Somalia, Spain and many more. Many don't know but Italian engineering is right up there in par with Germany, France, Japan and USA, and have produced amazing, quality products.
That made a lot of memories came back to me! my grandfather used to own one millecento when i was a kid. these are very special cars and they deserve to keep rolling down the streets and roads of all the world.
I had two friends with these Fiats when I was a teenager. I had a Honda motorcycle and would swap for the night so my friend could ride a bike and I could drive a car! These were a four speed on the tree. Great little cars.
I grew up in this beautiful car which my family owned from 1960 to 1987 in Delhi, India. The sound of the engine just took me back to my childhood 😢.
This is a far more ecologically sound car than a Prius. Similar mpg, but requires far fewer resources to build and maintain.
Yes, but we can't have new cars like this because big daddy government says that you're too stupid to decide whether or not the car is safe enough for you & your family, so big daddy government has mandated under threat of arrest & theft at gunpoint that companies must add hundreds of pounds of "safety" equipment. Of course, big daddy government accepts no responsibility for the deaths caused by mandatory gen 1 airbags or automatic seat belts or "antilock" breaks or "traction control" systems, or any of the other various things big daddy government mandated long before they were safe (well, at least less unsafe).
It's kinda like 5g & wind turbines. Big daddy government mandates their widespread use, long before the long term (& even short term) health & safety effects are ever considered, let alone tested.
Speaking of ecological considerations, I lived not far from a wind turbine "farm," and 2/3 of them were inactive within 5 years, after causing massive ecological damage to install them. If you get the chance to go see them being installed, take a look at the size of the hole they dig & fill with concrete & steel just to hold one of them upright...
Its a death trap
DeadEye Duck u r on the money mate!
Have any idea how much safer and more comfortable a Prius, let alone any modern car is? If you don’t want Hybrid, a Mirage from Mitsubishi is 10 grand new. A very decent car.
But you want air conditioning, state of the art exhaust fumes cleaning which requires a fuel injection and a catalytic converter, state of the art safety features, a big stereo, and if it only wasn't so darn loud. Oh and let's not forget, you can't drive a stick.^^ I remember what the cities smelled like in the seventies with a quarter of the cars in the streets as nowadays. I love these cars, but there ain't no going back for 99% of the people.
Seeing the column shifting brings back a lot of memories ,Jay is so lucky he gets to still drive every outdated and unused transmission type car ever made,the 3 speed on the tree is my all time favorite vehicle's to drive.
I was living in Rome at that time as a kid (dad was stationed at the US Embassy) and I remember those Fiat Millecentos very well. That and the 600 Seicento were the two most common cars you’d see on the streets-besides all the Vespas and Lambrettas!
This very same model was also produced by Fiat Argentina during that time. Very reliable machine. Regards!
Great little car. Brings back good memories of when I used to work on these in the 1960s early 70s when I was a technician at the Fiat dealership..Thanks for sharing Jay..
My grandfather had one of these and he would pick me up from school in it. Thanks Jay for keeping it alive...
The fiat millecento is the first car that my grandpa sold in his garage :) years later he bought it back and we still have it :D awesome car
Dear jay
Having litterally grow up inside a FIAT1100D station wagon 1964 model I can't thank you enough for this video
I learned driving with this car (wasnt much easy!) and travelled with it, watching this video has brought too many memories
I can say that it was a hell of an experience to drive it,rear wheel drive ,drum brakes that didn't really stop the car above 50 mph
but still it had its own personallity
Thanks again for the ride
As a kid I grew up in the little town of Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). There was a very active Fiat agency in the country, before we did the naughty of declaring independence from the UK in 1965, and sanctions shut of supply of most European cars. My parents had friends in Salisbury Rhodesia who we would occasionally visit. The family loved Fiats and had 2 of them, this model 1100, and the "big" family car, was a Fiat 2300. At the tender age of 13 or 14, I remember thinking what a wonderful car that 2300 was ......Moving on 4 or 5 years, when I got in my teens in the late 60's, most of the 17 and 18 year olds had either motorcycles, as did I, or small cars. There were a lot of BMC Minis and 1100's, older Morris Minors and Austin A40 Farina's, but strangely there were two teens at the school who had Fiat 1100's - one the exact paint scheme of this car you reviewed, and the other red (Roso). This piece you did was a real flashback to my childhood and early adult life in that wonderful country, that is so sadly destroyed and neglected now.Thank you !Moving on a few years by the way, putting cars, engines and motorcycles in the sitting room of a house seems to be a peculiarity of a lot of gearhead bachelors. Around 8 years ago I went with a friend to view a pair of motorcycles that a sadly ill health owner had in the house in North Illinois. And these were no ordinary Nortons, they were both Manx's ! He had two , a 350 and a 500 that he ordered from Norton in the days when they were almost beyond the peak of their competitiveness. He rode the 350 at a local club race, and scared himself so badly that he never rode it again - he just put it in the sitting room of his house, and that is were it was when we viewed it some 50 years later ! Now here's the best part of the story - the 500 was still in the packing crate in the entry hall of the house having never been run. We were stunned .............Thank you so much for this great series of programs.Peter Pentz
Peter Pent
Peter Pentz f
Lovely Millecento. Quite popular here in Argentina. First generation with a more rounded rear end was imported from Italy, second gen just like this one was locally produced. Very reliable piece of machinery!
A great little car indeed. A piece of Italian history!
Fantastic classic timeless design. Beautiful in white. Of all the cars in Jay's collection, this is the one I'd like to own.
Jay mu family had a 59 1100, it was known as the mountain goat because of the extra low gear in 1st. We could go up icey Cincinnati hills in winter passing stuck VWs.
Finally a car in Jay's collection I could afford and actually like to drive and take care of. Thanks for preserving it, Jay.
I love watching videos on this channel, helps with my anxiety issues, I hope to restore classic cars one day, starting with a DeLorean DMC-12.. :)
"1959 Fiat Millecento. A mid-century Italian family car with the same MPG as a Prius"
And so much more personality, character and charm. Without the pretense and idiocy.
Or hypocrisy, look at the countries that produce the components and all the diesel fuel used to create a finished car. The hybrid car thing is a scam within a scam.
@@insolentstickleback3266 With the exception of the Hyundai Sonata (solar paneled/hybrid) and the Transit hybrid I feel the same, over complication to achieve a small amount .
Personality, character and charm is great and all, but if you had to pick this vs. a Prius as your daily driver, most people would go for the Prius. Much more space, much more reliable, much safer, much quieter, etc.
My first car was my Dad's 59 Fiat Millecento I got it from him in 1970. The 59 Australian version was a little different slightly more fins front and rear lights different grill and it had a thottle control on the dashboard next to the choke..1959 cruise control nd the badge said Millicento. It was a great little car and my first Italian love affair.... my next was a Fiat 850 😊
Andrew Hunter thk you for sharing these beautiful memories Andrew.
It's amazing to see how far and wide across the globe these little cars have gone.
Cheers from Italy mate🍷
SpaghettiKillah growing up my father had a $59 chento and the 64 Nintendo Deluxe they're both excellent cars
My mother bought an 1100 in 1959. IT WAS A PERFECT CAR TO LEARN TO DRIVE WELL. It HANDLED, BRAKED AND GAVE GREAT JOY. MY DRIVING TALENT .improved so much, because of that car.
THE Australian CARS of that era were crass and unrefined,, in comparison.
Tks a lot for this Jay! We've had tons of FIATs in our family, 500s, 600s, 850s, 124s, 128s, 131s, Unos, Puntos, a Tempra SW, a 1996 Coupe Coupe and yes, a 1100.
Fiats are truly amzing!
That is sweet! It is amazing to me how Jay can find the good in about any car and honestly make it cool!
Back in 1967, my first car was a 1957 Fiat Millicento - yes the one with the light in the centre of the grill. Very similar car to the one shown here. I taught myself to drive with it, in fact.
Now that is what I call a survivor! Love the suicide doors and the little wind protector on the front doors. A lot of drag racers used the Topolinos as race cars during the 60's and 70's. This one of the few Ive seen in its original state. Nice.
I just purchased a '59 SIMCA Aronde 4 door with a Webasto sunroof as a project. It has a fair amount in common with this Fiat. Thanks for showing us this car Jay!
I always saw those cars in India, where it was also built there, known as the Premier Padmini.
Sorry Rohan, the Premier Padmini was not the name given to this model, but its successor, the Fiat 1100D, which was introduced in India in 1964:
ranwhenparkeddotnet.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/fiat-1100-d-2.jpg
Actually it was called, ambassador
no
@Cosmo the Hindustan Ambassador was a Morris Oxford
@ firedup643 So you mean a MK2 1100 which is still a Fiat 1100 and was still called the Premier Padmini in India
Damn, I love Jay's Garage. It's like watching Top Gear but with an unbiased review that specializes at one car at a time.
Dynamo gauge. That just sounds so cool. Great little Fiat, Jay. Amazing condition.
My FIAT500L had it as well: it's not a gauge, but a red pilot lamp that lighs up when the engine is idling, to confirm that the dynamo is not charging the battery.
The 850 sports spider the girls loved that one summertime top down .
Grazie dall'Italia Jay per i tuoi bellissimi video sulle auto italiane, thank you ;-)
Bellissima!
Thanks to Jay's passion we can see such cars on RUclips, which even though very popular at their time, are very few left in this condition.
The 1st gear whine, sooo Mini sounding, the Austin Metro did that but it had Mini running gear, the BMC 4-Speed manual always had that first gear whine and I think alot of older cars like Morris's, Austin's who knows it's an older age of motoring as Richard Hammond once put it.
Great car Jay keep em up nice to see such a rare car preserved soo well even here in Britain you never see these. Even the original Fiat Panda's are like hen's teeth now.
I have the same whine in my 83 Mitsubishi cordia
First gear is straight cut that's why it whines. No such thing as CNC machines back then, so helical cut gears were expensive to make. Many manufacturers went with a non-syncro, straight cut 1st gear to reduce cost.
It was my father's car, we were a famili of 6. That car remember me the late '60 trip for the summer holidays... 8 hour trip to reach our vacation town. What memories.
"In fact i don't want any wemon jumping in my cars, cause then I lose half my cars" HAHAHA
+xXJAKMACKXx And his wife too.
The horn was the most important device in Italy and still is in many cities. In Italy cars are taxed by engine size, and because streets are narrow making the maneuvering of e.g a Chev Impala difficult, big cars are expensive and impractical. A top speed of 70 mph was common for cheaper European cars back in the day. Those Fiats were manufactured in many countries from Germany where it was called a Neckar ( the predecessor of NSU ) to Argentina and India where it was called a Premier Pandini and made until the year 2000.
It is not a bad idea to put a small car in the living room. The way HD TV's are as big as a 90" inch screens. Why not make a drive in movie theme room complete with drivable car.
I really miss those 3-on-the-trees.
Pretty interesting story behind the Fiat.
Another great video, Jay. Thanks for sharing the car with us.
I have one of these, only it's a '62 Millicento Super Select. Not very different from this, but, being the Super Select, it had cruise control, and a fuel pump that would overheat and lock up on a hot day!
I last drove it 10 years ago, and it's been in storage ever since. Maybe I should take it for a drive one of these weekends...
I doubt you'll be going anywhere if it's been sitting for 10 years. Good luck with that lol.
Nah *****, I've put it in long term storage after taking the proper precautions. Not the first time I've kept it in storage and used it after many years, it's just a matter of ensuring it is protected against the elements.
Cruise control? On a '62 Fiat??
Very nice ! I have driven such a car when i was 18. (I'am over 70 today). Many thanks "Don Leno..ne".
Everything is more fun than driving a Prius.
Have you ever driven a Prius?
I agree.
And almost everything is more fun than driving a car with automatic transmission.
Back in 1962 my father imported this FIAT 1100 to Pakistan and kept driving the same car till 1985. Later I used it till 1990. Afterwards it was occasionally used and had started to rust. In 2011 we sold it off to a restorer. As of today its fully restored and looks great with changed colour scheme. I really love this car.
I got a 1957 fiat 1100 ..... Feelings lucky.... Needs major restoration
How is the restoration going?
Very nice ... I have driven two of these and can say they are super sweet drivers ... quite roomie for the size and very fun !!!
Jay is the coolest dude around.
I just bought a used Fiat Sport - never had any thoughts about Fiat before but I’m hooked: they have personality and charm
There was this guy who lived next door to my old house, and he kept a full sized 1950's Airstream in his living room.
I love our 1100 D, it was fun to drive. Not fast, not best handling, just a honest good daily driver.
So, in Italy buy this car and a cat and instant babe magnet.
I guess it just works in the U.S., here in Italy those are cars that are used by grandpas (honestly I would love a Topolino that's even older)
My friend Victor Rajme owned a light green one, he called it the "Milque Mobile." Drove it everywhere, never missed a beat.
I can totally see Sophia Loren stepping out of one of those cars ❤
Most beautiful car...perfect balance of weight/hp to get u from A to B with ultimate driving pleasure. Perfection in motion! Love it Jay 😁
What a pretty little car! I would love to drive it.
Now that's a amazing story! I think back then finding the right mechanic to do the work was important. They usually rusted into the junk yard here in north east. Glad you now own it. I had a 59 Hillman looked very similar to this.
Fiat made cars for the people, made cars in eastern germany and russia as auto-vaz. Still a staple in modern developing countries.
Look at that little rubber bag for windshield washer fluid :) Even my '96 Polonez (based on 1960's Fiat 1500) still got it.
Hay Jay!!! did you know that these Fiat 1100 were made under license in India as the Premier Padmini, I know that it is a face lifted version but it is still basically the same Fiat 1100, only they also had a Diesel version. They are the most common Taxi in Mumbai but they are going to phase them out officially because they pollute more but also because the trend in India is to make everything look new and shiny. You should get one in the Indian taxi version, you can probably get it cheap, aside from the shipping container and shipping agent.
They were also made in Germany as Neckar..
Cool i did not know. Thanks mate :-)
True. The premier padmini name came a couple of models down the line once they were fully made and assembled in Bombay.
The first ones to come in 1955 were the 1100's without the fins on the tail and they had a grill with three horizontal metal chrome pieces which made up the grill face. The speedometer read in Mph and not in Kph as we are used to, beautiful round gauges which were directly in the dashboard.
The next line had the fog light of sorts in the middle of the grill.
After that came the model which looked like the Millicento that Jay has (albeit with a right hand steering) and was called the Super select in India.
Then if I'm right, came the Fiat 'president' and after that, the name change to Premier padmini, the president onwards would have fallen under the Fiat 1100D model range.
I happen to have one which was bought in 1976 and still use it around town! :)
I had one of those. It was my first ever car. It cost me $35, plus I did a valve job. Fiats handled so well back then compared to the others. I later fell in love with 600s.
I'd love to own this car, and that 3 on the Tree is awesome :)
My first car was a 66 1100D. Loved that little blue jewel. 4 speed on the tree, red interior. Put an 8track in it in 1975. Wish I had a pic of it.
Great ad, great car
This Fiat reminds me a little of the '66 Volvo 122S my grandfather had. He bought it new, drove it just around town for many years, willed it on to my mother who drove it for more years. I really, really, wish that car was still in the family, but alas, it was totaled years ago. This little Fiat is great. It makes a lovely sound and it looks like a lot of fun to drive.
excellent car
My dad bought a '65 1100 Wagon, new for $1800. It looked a lot like yours. The paint on yours is just like the '59 600 with sunroof. When six of us piled into the 600 in was real treat.
It's Giacosa not Giancosa :)
I had a Fiat 1100D. It was the noisiest car I have ever owned. At speeds above 40 mph, conversations were,impossible! The diff would just scream. My car had a single piece drive shaft. My understanding is that this earlier model had a two piece shaft with a center bearing. Apparently that was a quieter system. When you opened the trunk, there was a one inch layer of asphalt, overpainted with body paint from the factory, while under the rear seat there were two different sound proof pads glued to the floor. Funny story, I had it in college. Couldn't afford good oil. I used to buy reprocessed oil, in 5 gallon containers made buy a company called "Oil City" once while driving from New York to Concord College in West Virginia during a downpour, the wiper blades stopped. The cross-over arms which connected the wiper arms to the the wiper motor were all worn out. I had to keep reaching under the dashboard to free them up. Finally, I pulled over and tied the shoe lace of my sleeping passenger to the lower cross arm of the wiper assembly. For the next half hour, as I drove in the rain, my passenger's left foot would go up and down, under the dash, until he woke up and removed his shoe, leaving it to continue it's up and down motion under the dashboard.
1. "Dante Giacosa", not "Giancosa".
2. "Millecento" means One thousands and one hundred, not "Eleven hundred".
Nice video, thanks.
lol in English saying eleven hundred is the same as saying one thousand one hundred
1. Exactly. ''In English'', not in talian. The name of the car is not ''Undici centinaia = Eleven hundred'' but ''Millecento' = OneThousand one hundred'' . Is it clear now? It's a name, not a number.
My Dad had a 1965 1100 D wagon back in the 60s he used to commute to work.
It was the car I learned to drive in. 4 on-the-tree. Great little car.
It wasn't the chick magnet Jay talks about though.
You could carry 6 people in this car?
3 in the front, 3 in the back??
Not 6 typical Americans you wouldn't!
Americans were skinnier 60 years ago...
At least 2 kids out of the 6, or a driver and 5 midgets!
@@RonJohn63 Also 3 inches shorter as well.
I recall a carpool where the guy showed up driving a 1964 1100 and yeah, 6 American men shoehorned into that thing. None obese though. It was 1972 and we were all doing physical outdoor work.
I liked it and bought it from him.
Until 1959 (when the new Codice della Strada - Road Law - was issued, there was no homologated number of passengers in cars in Italy.
I love it! Ya know, it reminds me a little of my grandfather's Volvo 122 sedan. I so wish I had one as a weekend fun car! I love seeing all of these old classics, the descriptions, the details and seeing and hearing them on the road.
These cars were made in India in the 1970s under the name Premier Padmini. They still run as taxis and are owned by man in India. You can google it.
Sorry, the Premier Padmini was not the name given to this model, but its successor, the Fiat 1100D, which was introduced in India in 1964:
ranwhenparkeddotnet.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/fiat-1100-d-2.jpg
firedup643 its the same make more or less
Of course tis the same make! But different MODEL! Fiat 1100 came in atleast 4 different models in India, and the last - 1100D- was remade as the Padmini. Hope tis clear now.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_1100
1100 is called Millecento in Italian...Just checked it out.
For the past two weeks my thoughts were mostly about this car; not weird since I have always thought about cars. Last month was tiring and sad and I was bored, thought I would quit my job, go back to my beautiful village in India and set up a little garage at home and this was the car I thought I should have, a later weirder model with three lights, in blue it would look perfectly nice in my tiny village; but then I will miss my knackered Alfa and the big comforts that hot little Dubai offers.
Premir Padmini!!
I drove a 1961 Fiat 1100 in high school and college. Found it at a yard sale for $75 around the corner and my dad and I pushed it home. He loved tinkering and ordered parts from Laros(?) catalog. Loved it until the crank shaft broke. That was in the mid-1970s . Loads of fun!
6:59 It's funny because it sounds like he's in reverse gear but the car goes forward. That's how short the first gear is.
+Tuppoo94 That's because straight cut gears have a distinctive whine :) I've driven one of these, it's not that short
+Bhoothnath Phoenix So that's why it whines. Didn't realize that.
Yeah, to my knowledge helical gears were introduce because they're smoother and quiter, but race gearboxes still have straight-cut gears, and thus still whine! :)
BTW this was the number one selling car in India. Later the name was changed from Fiat to Premier. It sold as Premier Padmini till the 1980s. Even now it is the dominant Taxi cars in Bombay.
Mr.Jay,l owned a FIAT 600,and for very few times l stopped to a fuel station.
I have to say, as easy as Jay can make it to dislike him, he's actually a really funny guy, and he knows history very well. You really should respect that.
Prius owners must be the most terrible people in the world. Everyone just seems to hate them.
Yep, have driven this in India. This was being manufactured there until 1971 and then got some modest upgrades in 1972 and got rebranded as Premier, the Indian JV partner of Fiat. Low maintenance car except for a scare onetime when the gear stalk came off the housing when I was changing gears!
Small european cars are the best.
PJM: Best what? Best hazard on the freeway? Crappola....
Jack Beanstock: Oh? How so? I doubt you're old enough to drive...
go home Dennis you have awful taste
Awful taste in what?!? Dimbulb...
Idiot...
CRIMONY !! has it already been 8 years since this video came out !? I remember seeing this video and thinking how old Jay looked in it compared to when he hosted the Tonight Show and now he looks young and invigerated compared to his most recent vids, where did the last 8 years even go?