Simanaitis Says
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C&SC’S LUST-WORTHY CLASSICS PART 2
YESTERDAY WE BEGAN SELECTING FAVS from Classic & Sports Car’s “29 Sexy Cars for the Masses.” We continue here in Part 2 with others from its list, also accompanied by personal comments.
Fiat 124 Coupé. “In the late 1960s,” C&SC recounts, “there was no shortage of handsome coupés you could choose from Fiat’s line-up, yet the 124 was the one that found by far the most buyers. Its huge appeal came from a blend of keen pricing, a true 100mph top speed and nimble handling, which made it a hit with many drivers looking for something sporty that wouldn’t bruise their bank balance.”
1966 Fiat 124 Coupé. This and following images from C&SC.
Wife Dottie had a 124 Coupé and always admired its sporting attributes—dohc engine, 5-speed gearbox, and disc brakes— as well as its roominess for carrying pal Max around.
Image from R&T.
Datsun Z. C&SC notes, “The Datsun 240Z famously became the world’s best-selling sports car, though this does include figures from the 260Z and 280Z that arrived after the original had ceased production…. It’s easy to understand the lure of the 240Z when you see its classic long-bonnet, short-rear stance. This is backed up by the feisty six-cylinder engine and rear-drive layout that made it good for 125 mph and 0-60 mph 8.3 secs.”
1969 Datsun 240Z.
It was around 1980 that R&T sent Joe Rusz, rest his soul, and me to Bondurant’s Sears Point facility for its 5-Day Competition Road Racing program. Eventually, students worked up to pilot Datsun 260Zs.
My school drive for the 5-lap race was the longer-wheelbase, slightly heavier 2+2 version.
I recall Bob Bondurant’s sense of humor in our race debriefing: At one point he asked, “Who was in No. 14?” Both Joe and I sorta saw this coming.
“I was,” Joe replied, more than a little tentatively.
We all laughed, Joe included, when Bob said, “You looked a little squirrelly out there.”
“And who was in No. 8?,” Bob asked.
Ha. Mrs. Simanaitis didn’t raise no dumb kids; maybe one. In any case, I kept my hand down.
But Bob got me either way: He responded, “Well, whoever you were, you looked really smooth.”
Again, we all howled.
Mazda MX-5. “The Mazda MX-5,” C&SC claimed, “may not have been mechanically radical, but it reinvented the low-cost roadster and caught the rest of the automotive world napping.”
1989 Mazda MX-5.
When I initiated SImanaitisSays back on August 13, 2012, I picked the “1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata” as my first topic.
A prototype MX-5 at Mazda’s Miyoshi Proving Ground, October 1988. Image from R&T.
Mine is the same color, and I still enjoy driving it. A good call, C&SC. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025
Simanaitis Says 
Of the many, MANY cars I’ve owned in my wastrel, dissolute life, you’ve picked three of my faves. All had their charms, and flaws … the Miata’s mostly in storage/occupant size limits.My Sport Coupe was a 1438cc, zingy, and fun to throw about, only with a cam belt that HAD to be changed at frequent intervals to forestall engine Armagedón. While on a trip, the starter bolts backed off enough to make the Bendix engagement chancy. Putting it on a gas station lift (yep, most had them then!), I found them inaccessible! Calling the dealer, they said they pulled the engine for a starter change! Getting it home, I managed to line up 6′ of rachet extensions, and feed the socket past the diff, down the driveline tunnel, past the trans and onto the bolts! Stubborness pays off.Had several of first year Z’s, which I loved, but they started rusting the day they left the plant, and woe if you got one that went across the Pacific as deck cargo!Yes, Miata’s patterned the Elan, correcting most of its flaws/quirks, but its size is the bane of those over 6′ or for a wife with more than one bag on a weekend jaunt. However, I did take a polio aflicted friend off for a getaway in the first year model, and by carefully packing, her folding chair fit in the trunk, wheels behind the seat, and didn’t affect the top operation.If I can hijack from a previous blog where you dealt with Lord Lucas, the Prince of Darkness, I’ve dealt with more Brit rolling stock than any normal being. I agree that equipment suffers more from QC than design, but their early points/pulsing diaphragm fuel pump would go tango uniform at the worst times. I got home more than once when the points fused by wiring the turn signal flasher to the pump and lashing the signal lever over.
Bstorck, Dennis did indeed pick three winners, tho’ i really liked the Fiat 124 coupe’s 131 replacement, which came with four doors as well as two. It was renamed Brava 1980-on. Famed stunt driver Remy Julienne liked them.
Their slogan circa 1978-79, “Nothing drives like a Fiat,” was true. Slick five-speed overdrive, roomy for 5′ 15″ guys with size 13 feet. More so than my girl’s ’01 Miata NB. But once ensconced, handles like a go cart.
Yeah, too bad Datsun’s rustproofing akin to Fiat’s, and Ferrari, for that matter. Nada.
Sounds like you were around for the “All parts falling off this car are of the finest British craftsmanship” bumper stickers. I think they were the child of Dave Brownell, editor of the much-missed Special Interest Autos, published by the late Terry Ehrich’s Hemmings Motor News, and Dick Langworth, longtime editor of the Packard Club’s award-winning quarterly as well as Finest Hour, quarterly of the International Churchill Society, garnering him a CBE in early 1998. Both suffered a conga line of Lucas equipped English cars as well as more reliable old domestic barouches.