Lancia Motor Club

Only reached the bottom of page one and already Im confused. I have never heard of a Brooklands September Revival for example. Am I wrong? And does one 'week' out fakes? Maybe they do. Also its disappointing that no AGM report appears even though Jack was there.   

Mine has just arrived, I will look through it for your contribution.
Jai

Sorry not to have contributed, too busy organising the LMC Cotswold Economy Drive, forty four entries so far plus a dinner for fifty five. We have five places left if you would like to join fellow enthusiasts. Last issue included my cover picture, this issue carries one of my Degrada shots. Motor Sport Magazine and Octane have been on the phone tonight plus two free lance. I am sending in my entry for the 2009 Mille Miglia. What else should I be doing?

Writing an article for Viva Lancia!  ;D

I have just finished reading Julian Maddison's feature on Lancia. What a pleasure, it neither fawns nor condemns, in fact it gives a very balanced view, the optimism suitably tempered by realism. He is right to state that to succeed in the UK the Delta needs support from other fresh Lancia models, something I'm sure Fiat understand. With this in mind surely Lancia will not appear in this country until there is a convincing model line up of at least three cars: small, medium and sports. In other words, not before 2010. This also gives the company time to complete the restructure and upgrade of its dealer network. Julian is quite right when he says Lancia is a brand above Fiat, similar to Volvo, who are a brand above Ford. I do not make this reference casually as Volvo is as close a company to Lancias predicament as you will find. Both sharing a non-stop confidence crisis from it's parent. Why they say, do we keep churning out new models that are in essence no different from the competition and in most cases no different from other cars in the model line up. Coming back to Lancia Julian is in favour of re-using old names, I think this a fantastic idea in marketing terms but fraught with danger, once Aurelia reappears on a car, good or bad, there is no going back. Incidently, Alfa Romeo intends dropping numbers after the 149 launch, the next 159 being called Giulia. Had the new Delta been called Flavia, the next and larger four door Ypsilon would have been a natural Delta, leaving space in the lineup for a MiTo size derivative to carry on the Ypsi name. But its too late.
By 2010, because of increasing enviromental issues the industry will have changed almost beyond recognition. Government will have more control over what we drive because alternate fuels and electricity mean less dependence on foreign oil. Stability, energy control and taxation being the name of the game. Of course this is a global experience and it puts pressure on manufacturers including Fiat to change fast which in turn means forming alliances and spreading costs. They will need to move production nearer the emerging markets of China and India. In other words diluting its Italian roots. More important to us, any new Lancia we drive after 2010 will probably not be Italian built and will reflect buyer demands not of Kensington, Turin or Guildford but the middle class residents of Bejing and Delhi. Not by co-incidence did the Indians buy Jaguar. And this is where the real chance to invigorate the brand lies, Lancia without its historical problems being continually reiterated can go head to head with BMW/Audi and other premium brands but undercut them on price. 
I say the future of Lancia looks very bright, at least, after 2010. Ends 

Cue complete collapse in the credibility of Lancia to deliver to promise.  They need to be here in 2009 as planned and promised.

Your probably right Chris, Im just thinking through the logic. Would you launch with just one car? Then again, we are talking about Fiat. Hope you are ready for the weekend. Regards

I agree that they need not just one model, but as far as i believe the plan is to re-launch with Delta, then introduce the 2009 Ypsilon, followed by maybe a new Musa in 2010, & a new RWD "Fulvia" later in 2010.

Although i'd love to see Lancia aback in 2009, i believe if they have to take until 2010 to get the re-launch right, then so be it, no point coming back half baked!

I think Fiat Ireland are thinking about 5, maybe 6 dealerships, & have started looking into it.