How many Xs are still on the road?

I

it_mike

True Classic
I've been digging through the search tool, but apparently lack the proper combination of words.

I know we've lost a lot to rust, accidents, and abuse. Any idea how many of our beauties are still on the road today?
 
it_mike said:
I've been digging through the search tool, but apparently lack the proper combination of words.

I know we've lost a lot to rust, accidents, and abuse. Any idea how many of our beauties are still on the road today?
Click to expand...

There are quite a few X19s still on the road but the rest of them have made it home.:laugh:
 
Thanks Rogerthat, but it looks like they were asking the same question and getting the same questionable data. It's a shame we didn't see the follow through on querying each state's DMV.

I've got the query into the SC DMV, but will have to pay for the programming time to track a specific model. They're putting together an estimate now.

My real query is how many are still plated for driving on the road. I know we'll never capture all the 'barn queens' out there, but have we really become that rare? I had a wonderful conversation with a British/Fiat enthusiast locally who says he hasn't seen one in the Charlotte area in over 20 years (which lead to this curiosity).
 
it_mike said:
My real query is how many are still plated for driving on the road. I know we'll never capture all the 'barn queens' out there, but have we really become that rare? I had a wonderful conversation with a British/Fiat enthusiast locally who says he hasn't seen one in the Charlotte area in over 20 years (which lead to this curiosity).
Click to expand...

For what's it worth: I have not encountered a single X1/9 on the road (as opposed to at a gathering) in more than twenty years. My daughter spotted one in Madison WI last year and considered it unusual enough to write to me about it.
 
Not counting mine or my friends, I have encountered two X 1/9's in the wild in the last year driving on the road. A silver one in Winnipeg and a red one in Edina, MN. It is a thrill to see one. If you travel the streets of Grand Forks, ND you will see one every day, that is between April and October anyway.
 
Mike, I saw an X leaving Cars & Coffee in Charlotte last month. I've seen at least one other here. Mine's on the west coast so I'm not counting that! (But it is registered and on the road).
 
I have three on the road...

In Knoxville, there are probably about 3-4 not counting mine driving around.

Very uncommon to see one though.
 
Hadn't Realized

I hadn't realized just how seldom these are seen on the roads any more. Given that the car I owned when I got my driver's license at 16 was an X1/9, they have always been on my radar, so it was a surprise to me to encounter so many people in my neighborhood that had never seen one before. The older people remember them, but to the younger ones they are completely 'new' to them. The responses have all be very positive, though, and kids love them!
 
it_mike said:
but have we really become that rare?
Click to expand...

Very rare for sure.
Funny last w/e I was gassing up close to the shore and all at the same time a TR7 & Fiero + the X1/9 were at the same gas station.
the TR7 guy wanted nothing to do with the conversation but the Fiero guy was jaw dropped impressed.
Guess who had the best ride..:grin:
 
Was this a US only thread?

Any idea how many of our beauties are still on the road today?
Click to expand...

The stats for UK registered cars can be seen via the catchy titled site:
http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/

If you drill down the standard and VS models you'll see there's approx 3 times as many cars with SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification ie registered but off-road) as there is on the road. The cars have dropped off year on year, but have plateaued slightly in the last 2 or 3 years. There's going to be more cars about than the figures show as the SORN idea only came in 2005(?) and if the car was not on-the-road at that time, there was no requirement to SORN it. I have a car (or 2) like that, but equally a couple that are SORN'ed and the current road legal one so the figures are only a guide :)

For reference, the last quarter of 2014 had 259 licensed for the road and 760 off road. You can see from the figures that in Q2/Q3 the on road figures go up for "summer" and in Q4/Q1 the respective SORN figures go up for winter - you can see that about 2/3 of owners are die-hard all-year-round drivers :worship:
 
Xs are so uncommon

in the greater Sacramento area that - I am ashamed to admit - after having seen one traveling in the opposite direction on I-5, I had to check to make sure I hadn't soiled myself in my excitement. It was a bright yellow X (looked prepped for racing) on a flatbed truck.
 
I was talking to some guys at my local Fabrication shop when one of them asked me "why an X 1/9?" I told him because it was different and unique just like me. Then I said "when was the last time you saw an X 1/9?" These guys are all in their 20s to early 30s, and they all replied that they had never seen one in person besides mine. This surprised me as I don't have the only X 1/9 here in Austin and these guys go to car shows all over the place. It did make me realize that our X 1/9s are probably more rare than most of us realize.
 
Well I live in Eastern Ontario Canada and have owned my X for 23 years. With exception of attending Fiat freak out in 2009, I've only seen one other X in my entire life and it belongs to the guy who sold me mine. I've had the only plated X in my 200,000 person city in the last 20 years. I've been competitively showing my X at huge car shows for more then a decade and it is very rare when anyone looking at my car even knows what it is. Prior to Fiat re-entering North America 99% of people I met didn't even know who Fiat where. It's unfortunate that the rarity isn't reflected in the market value. I don't think it has anything to do with it being a Fiat, just being an X.:sigh: Fiat Spider's in terrible condition bring $10,000 + regularly and it's hard to get that kind of $ for an X. None of any of this makes me love my X any less. I'll take her to the grave with me.:grin:
 
"Fiat, huh... Who makes those?" That's the most common...

statement I get from most folks here in LA-LA-LAND...

So I tell them... Chrysler!

HAHAHAHA!

I also like to point out to new Dart, Chrysler, and especially Jeep owners... that their Multi-Air engines are actually designed by FIAT, the PARENT company of Chrysler!

Reminds me of Mr. Iaccoca back in the late 80's telling us to BUY AMERICAN...

Hmmmm... I thought... Does he want us to buy a brand new Chrysler New Yorker with the Mitsubishi V6 engine (just like the Korean Built Hyundai) built in Mexico and the chassis assembled in Canada? That AMERICAN car?

Thank God we have a REAL Italian running this American company nowadays...
 
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