Fiat 128

The Fiat 128 is a small family car which was manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1969 to 1985. The bodystyles were a two- or four-door sedan, three- or five-door station wagon as well as two- or three-door coupé. With engineering by Dante Giacosa and engine design by Aurelio Lampredi, the 128 was noted for its relatively roomy passenger and cargo volume—enabled by a breakthrough innovation to the transversely-mounted front-engine, front-drive layout which became the layout "adopted by virtually every other manufacturer in the world" for front-wheel drive. Fiat promoted in its advertising that mechanical features consumed only 20% of the vehicle's volume. The 128 running gear and engine, reconfigured for a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, were used in the Fiat X1/9 sports car. Named European Car of the Year in 1970, over three million were ultimately manufactured. In 2012 automotive journalist Jamie Kitman called the 128 a "pioneer of the small cars we drive today."