San Francisco Street Sighting - 1962 Magirus-Deutz Mercur 125A Fire Pumper

Over the last few years I've noticed a mysterious influx of German fire trucks in San Francisco. One was a Mercedes-Benz 508D which last I checked was owned by Make Magazine. Someone found an old Opel fire truck in the Sunset District and now we look at this 1962 Magirus-Deutz Mercur 125A fire pumper which hails from the same general area.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1970 Fiat 125 Special

In the US, a lot of people seem to forget that they used to be able to buy Fiats outside of a Chrysler dealership. Those who did buy them, either seem to still have them, or got rid of theirs after they got tired of fixing it. There's a reason why Italian cars have a crummy reputation in the States and why none of the mainstream Italian brands have been sold here for about 15 years. In an amusingly ironic twist, Fiat now calls the shots at Chrysler.

I'd guess that the average American could look at this Fiat 125 Special and mistake it for a Russian Lada. That's understandable, I suppose, since if you watch movies taking place anywhere in the former Soviet Union, you're bound to see a Lada or five. Or ten. The Lada (VAZ 2101) is a licensed version of the older Fiat 124.