Trademarks! These sneaky little filings for the rights to various names and designs are the closest things to an automotive crystal ball we have outside of spy photos. (And our own reporting, of course.) Sometimes, the trademarks are meaningless placeholders. Sometimes, they're big-time clues. Fiat has just filed two applications for the 124 and 124 Spider names, and we have a sneaking suspicion that they're the real deal—as well as which car will get the names.
The 124 name isn't new to Fiat, but it hasn't been applied to car since the early 1980s, when the 124 Spider roadster fizzled out of existence in a heap of rust and garish black-plastic bumpers. There also was a 124 family sedan and a coupe, but, at least in the U.S., the Spider model is the most well known. With Fiat-Abarth definitely getting a version of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata—Alfa Romeo will now create its own roadster in-house—we can't help but figure the 124 name will be applied to that car. It would seem tough for Fiat to pass up the nameplate's history, given its love for historic badges—witness the 500 lineup.
- 9 Things You Need to Know About the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Cup Race Car
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- Fiat 500 Research: Full Pricing, Specs, Reviews, Photos, and More
To go further down the speculation rabbit hole, Fiat's trademark for 124 sans "Spider" could point to a coupe variant of the automaker's Mazda-based roadster. Again, a hardtop 124 has precedence in Fiat's portfolio, and it is a variant of the Miata that Mazda itself has never officially offered. Or it could just be a trademark covering a shorthand version of the Spider's name. Either way, a preponderance of small, rear-drive sports cars—whatever they're called—is a good thing by us.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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