Yesterday we saw my Fiat-Abarth 131, which by any objective measure is a toy worthy of admiration. The funny thing is, I don’t remember playing with it as a child. But I do remember this orange 1977 Tomica Fiat X1/9. In fact, it was my favorite matchbox car, and that might explain its slightly less beat-up appearance. The doors open, but I suppose that Tomica figured that no one wanted to peer under the engine cover at the horrors lurking within, as the engine cover is fixed in place. It’s one of the more detailed ones I have, with an impressively tiny injection-molded interior and a minuscule “X1/9” in relief on the decklid. Unlike the real thing, it hasn’t fallen victim to pervasive tin-rot as soon as it was exposed to air … it’s survived 33 years, solid as ever. A survivor!