"I’ve been a fan of the looks of the Delta ever since I saw it unveiled by Fiat boss Marchionne. It has to be the most original and distinctive looking car in the Golf-class. And it has been distinguished from its Fiat Bravo sister car through the use of an extra-long wheelbase. The rear space is just huge.

But looks and space aside, I’m not sure what else the Delta brings to the party. It’s not likely to be up there with the new Focus and current Golf for driving ability and Chrysler doesn’t have much of a track record in this market.

Even so, it’s curiously satisfying to see Lancia back - the Ypsilon supermini isn’t far behind the Delta - in the UK. It’s a long time since the company built a really competitive car, but there’s something about the brand, to my mind, at least - that still appeals." Hilton Holloway, Autocar

I'm sure some will sell because I've heard people say they'll buy one and turn back into being a Lancia. Hmmm..............I must get some Lancia badges to sell on ebay!

This whole "re-badging/bade engineering" topic makes me wonder what the legal implications would be of mass re-badging. Civil disobedience, stage 1, for the masses? Is it technically an offence to re-badge a car? If an Irish driver sells his Opel in the UK but first changes all the badges, wheel trims, engine covers, etc. to Vauxhall, would the BiB have anything to say about it? What if an Insignia driver one day wakes up and decides he prefers to have a Buick Regal parked in the drive?

Were there ever cases of otherwise respectable home counties doctors and schoolteachers "upgrading" their humble Morrises or Autsins to Rileys or Wolseleys, or, bolder still, promoting a humble Hillman Minx to a Singer Gazelle? (Once referred to IIRC as a "Hillman Minx for the cravat-wearer"?)

Just wondering...

I wonder if Chrysler will be to Fiat what HBOS was to Lloyds. The Dodge name carries some weight in the US, chiefly because of the Ram 1500 pick up, and to a lesser extent the 300. The brand has little cachet in Europe.

But, over here, Chrysler has been pretty toxic for some time.

So the Dutch can have it as a Lancia, so why on earth not the UK. Chrysler / Fiat really have flipped their corporate lid.

Short lived Group B rally cars have little relevance.

Avant, I would have thought Holland already has a Lancia netwirk of dealers. As we don't, the bosses at Fix it again tomorrow want to save money, and market Lancias as Chryslers, in the UK. These people quite clearly haven't a clue as to what a Lancia is/was/should be.

Edited by 475TBJ on 30/08/2011 at 08:47

That may be the problem.

As I recall, during that period Lancia didn't only mean fire-breathing group B rally cars. In the non-rally world it meant "tarted up FIAT, less reliable, more rusty".