Have you owned a Merc A-class, Tiffx19?
Three years ago we bought one in the face of stiff criticism from the in-laws who thought we were mad. Two weeks ago we sold it to them rather than trade it in - they were that keen to keep a good car in the family.
They originally thought I should have bought SWMBO a nice sensible Focus, but even if I'd taken the px price then the A-class would still have been cheaper over the three years than a Focus. And it suited SWMBO down to the ground over that time.
Now, Merc do a very tidy business in A-classes and Audi have to date also done so with the TT, although its not my cup of T(T). Lancia couldn't sell enough to justify their existence. Looks suitably democratic to me.
Bye bye Lancia.
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I think you miss my meaning,The A-Class had the famous elk test thing,and the TT was flying off the autobahns backwards a few years ago, Its done these companies no harm.Lancia had a rust problem and admitted it(quietly) and duly bought back all the affected cars. Looks are a purely personal thing,I think the A-Class is a horrible looking car. I haven't owned one,but I look after one for one of my customers,and I find the build quality very poor,and its very unappealing to drive.AND its a pig to work on.
But I guess I like unusual cars.My current fleet is a Fiat X1/9,a SAAB 900T16S and the Dedra-(which is actually the wife's-she couldn't wait to get rid of the Xantia to get back into a Lancia)also a previous owner of an Alfa Giulietta,VW Santana GX5,Citroen XM,Vauxhall Senator,and many,many other "unwanted"cars
Just 'cause everybody buys them,does not mean they are good!-Why are Vectra's so popular? Have you driven a GM SAAB 900? HORRIBLE!
Each to his own,but sometimes it pays to be different,you may be surprised!!!
If Fiat had any sense,they'd use their brands better,like VW does.
Fiat=family cars
Alfa=sports cars
Lancia=luxury cars
Ferrari=cars to read about
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Lancia had a rust problem... with the Fulvia, the Beta, the Gamma, the Y10, the Thema , the Monte Carlo,the Prisma, the Delat....
and not many cars have a rust problem with the gearbox supports after 2 years or less as the Beta had...
Lancia incompetent engineering and marketing at its best..
and what successful model ranges.. bet you all recognised them all..
Some things are best buried and Lancia is one of them.
madf
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OK, I give up...You guys stick to your Vectras and Mundanos...Leave all the wierd stuff for me!
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First thing I would do if I won the lottery (after phoning my first wife to gloat) would be to track down an Alfa Giulietta GTA and a Lancia Beta Montecarlo. Oh, and a nice warm, dry barn to store them in when I'm not driving them. Love those cars.
Although I run an Alfa now I do find myself looking at the current Bored Mundano and thinking "that's not a bad looking car" and I know they are well built but......
It will be a cold day in hell before I buy one!
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I've had a few Lancia Betas and a Fiat X19 which I absolutely loved.
It was, if I remember correctly, the Betas around the time when it changed from MK1 to MKII which were the real rust problem. Perhaps around 1976 or thereabouts ? Other than the rust, an absolutely great car.
I still get a tingle thinking about the country roads around a village called Checkendon, sun roof open, SuperTramp (Breakfast in America) on the [rubbish] stereo - those were the days.....
I loved the engine in the Beta. I was always a little confused by the pull out lever that looked like a choke. It was actually a throttle stop which, in common with chokes, would lock when twisted.
I assumed it was a type of crude cruise control, although it was clearly lethal since the only way to release the throttle was to untwist the knob and let it shoot back in.
The sun roof had this lever that you pulled open allowing the roof to drop and then you forcibly slid it back - they never sealed closed properly and there was always a wind whistling going on - especially if it had suffered from the "Mark-I-can-fix-this" syndrome.
Fast as anything (esp. if you were used to a Ford Anglia and a knackered Triumph Toledo).
Loads of dials, lights and switches, heater hot air blowers in the back, flash standard seats - oh I thought I had really made it.
Other than owning shares in Isopon,it was a very happy time.
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You lucky lucky lucky Pink Fluffy Dice.
At times I can really go off people.
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I can't beleive that people on a motoring forum are pleased at the demise of Lancia. The world's gone mad....
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I agree Owen. Something not right there.
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And a friend of mine had a Beta Spyder. I hated him quite a lot.
The first one I had contained a 1300cc engine would should have been boring, but wasn't. Then I had the 2000cc.
Bearing in mind that this was a time when my peers were drivign MkII Cortinas with the occasional MKIII, imps, minis, Fiat 128s, Escort MK1s & 2s and the like. The Beta was in a different world.
Thinking about it I believe it was the MK1 Beta with the engine dropping out problem which was because they went through a phase of being stored upto their axles in wet fields. That problem went away fairly quickly into the MKIIs - to be fair though, they never did solve the horrendous front wing rust issue - but they were bolt-ons and it wasn't a big issue to fix. Especially if you were a wlder, which I was, and could sort out the inner wing.
Complicated though - wheel bearings were a nightmare and one time when I had to change one of the front hubs the thing was on blocks for weeks.
While my friends were putting in stick-on oil gauges and fancy gear knobs and other delightful extras, the Beta had them as standard.
If you've never owned a Lancia, you really missed out.
You've really started something now, damn I loved those cars.
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It's an italian car thing. People seem to find it hard to believe that people love them when they can be so unreliable. But reliability is only one reason to choose a car. If it was the only one we'd all drive toyotas and no other marque would exist!
I nearly bought an X/19 once, metallic blue and just under £2k from a dealer. Ended up buying my vitesse instead.
Apparently around 20,000 italians said they would put a deposit down on a new fulvia so I am struggling to understand why they aren't going to build it. Personally I would have them produce the fulvia and maybe one or two other limited edition models that could be sold for higher prices as they would have a degree of exclusivity. Competing in the mass market would be pointless for lancia as fiat and alfa manage it so much better.
teabelly
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Trouble is, Lancia's natural place is rather too close that that currently occupied by Maserati. They would have to really go some to get the level of sales needed to justify the brand continuing.
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>>My current fleet is a Fiat X1/9,a SAAB 900T16S and the Dedra-(which is actually the wife's-she couldn't wait to get rid of the Xantia to get back into a Lancia)also a previous owner of an Alfa Giulietta,VW Santana GX5,Citroen XM,Vauxhall Senator<<
Tiff having owned only one of those (X/19) I take my hat off to you - that list is truly "character building"
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And if you ever want to sell that X1/9, do mention it here.
And my first "luxury" car was a Vauxhall Viceroy. Straight six engine and built like a tank.
I'm looking out the window at a Vauxhall Omega and getting depressed........
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X1/9 What a mad mad mad mad car that is. Fantastic.
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::: Waves at Mark :::
You may want to look here.....
cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2474...3
And he'll take payment by credit card. How tempting is that?
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Not so good if you are after a MonteCarlo
search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?MfcISAPIComman...o
The only bits for sale are singularly lacking in metal content.
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Fiat have managed the Lancia brand appallingly of late. When I go to Italy, I'm always horrified to see grotty diesel superminis with Lancia badges.
Why haven't they used it as a niche badge for stylish coupes and/or luxury barges?
Admittedly it's a lot more angular than the awesomely pretty Beta, but perhaps the Fiat Coupe would have made a good Lancia?
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The replacement for the 166 would be a natural for the Lancia marque. Not sure about the Fiat Coupe (hmmm, Bangle....), I think the proposed Fulvia was pretty much spot-on as a Lancia.
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When are people going to stop banging on about rusting Italian cars? it's pathetic, it's like always banging on about '66 ( or whenever it was :-) )
*ALL* manufacturers had a rust problem in the 70's *ALL*. it was because *ALL* manufacturers were buying dodgy russian steel.
IT was FIAT that put it's house in order FIRST, they were offering 8 year anti perforation warranties long before any other brand!
The demise of Lancia is a sad thing.... the demise of any historical brand is a sad thing.
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At last,reinfocements arrive! Mention Italian cars,and the word "character" isn't far away.Thats what I want in a car,cars to me are more than mere appliances.I don't polish my fridge....
I'm a tech advisor for the X1/9 club,and there are more of them around than you think.Know of a good few for sale,and once youv'e driven one,your hooked.They were good enough for Toyota to copy them,and the original MR2 probably rusts worse than the same age X1/9!
I'm on my second-rolled first one at Knockhill-and have 2 spares cars that may be awaiting restoration....My current one was bought for forty quid,250 in parts and stuff,and its used every day,rain or shine,and has never ever let me down...And its thrashed to within an inch of its life every time its out....
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forums.delphiforums.com/evoforum/messages?msg=1108...1
Perhaps you should buy one of these and up your character quotient!
teabelly
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I think you miss my meaning,The A-Class had the famous elk test thing,and the TT was flying off the autobahns backwards a few years ago, Its done these companies no harm.Lancia had a rust problem and admitted it(quietly) and duly bought back all the affected cars. Looks are a purely personal thing,I think the A-Class is a horrible looking car. I haven't owned one,but I look after one for one of my customers,and I find the build quality very poor,and its very unappealing to drive.AND its a pig to work on.
Fair enough - I did miss your point. But the A and the TT had one-off problems which were promptly sorted. Now, I can't claim to have been around for all of Lancia's, err, difficult times but it does seem that their problems were a bit consistent. Nor was Fiat's warranty that good - the family Panda (bought new on a C-plate) failed its first MOT for a number of serious issues and was already rusting.
And we did like our A-class! (didn't meet any elks though)
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And don't forget the Grand Prix heritage of Lancias - didn't Ferrari take over the Lancia D 50 and turn it into a very successful GP car driven by the likes of Collins and Fangio? And didn't Ascari do some early research into the effects of salt water on Lancias in Monte Carlo Harbour? Pity to see such a marque go to the wall - they were one of the "exotics" of my youth and always remember a ride in my uncle's Beta, seemed rather different to dad's Austin A55. And along with an Alfa Guilietta Sprint GT I always fancied a Fulvia (and later an Integrale)
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