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Author Topic: So, just when is the chairman going to write that letter?  (Read 9964 times)
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Paul Greenway
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« Reply #15 on: 12 November, 2012, 11:15:51 AM »

Fact is-the Ypsilon is an awful car


I too am relieved that the Ypsilon is here as a Chrysler, from experience (we had a 1.2 Looker's loan car for a period)they do not like UK roads with too much rattle & roll even in town and the centre console is angled towards the left. Whilst different they look odd and have none of the charisma of the first two series and also are priced a little too high, although I understand dealers have been given green light to slash prices on the whole Chrysler range (see latest What Car?) between £2k cheapest Ypsilon & £6k 300C.

If people have purchased the Ypsilon and like it that's great- You pays your money & takes your choice- however unless you get a 100 year warranty with free servicing and a realistic resale value (ala Kia & Hyundai), it will never appeal to the masses in the way a Fiesta, Punto, Clio, Corsa, 500, Polo etc do.

Lancia would have fallen flat on their faces with this car in the UK and done irrepairable damage, especially teamed up with the Delta which is a great car but would have been 3.5years old at UK launch, so for those reasons I am happy they arrived as Chrysler.

Sadly Lancia no longer make fantasic or even intriging cars anymore, under Marchionne's control they are neglected and with Fiat trying to push "executive" brands like Alfa, Jeep & Maserati if they persist with Lancia continuing with products such as the latest Ypsilon (especially with the ultra bland non descript horizontal slatted front ends), they will become an embaressment and it does not need JC to tell us that.
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1972 Fulvia Sport 1600


Previous- 78 Montecarlo, 83 HPE VX, 88 integrale, 89 Delta GTie, 90 Y10GTie, 90 Dedra 2.0ieSE, 91 HF Turbo, 91 integrale 16v, 09 Thesis Centenario, 12 Delta 2.0M-J
the.cern
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« Reply #16 on: 12 November, 2012, 07:09:47 PM »

Just seen that my earlier post has appeared without a photograph, yet another cock up.

Hope fully I'll do better this time !!!

                              Andy



* photo(10).JPG (115.25 KB, 640x478 - viewed 342 times.)
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Parisien
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« Reply #17 on: 12 November, 2012, 07:22:41 PM »

Yes........Andy....is that for the Australian market??!!....Wink


P
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Frank Gallagher
Paul Greenway
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« Reply #18 on: 12 November, 2012, 09:13:03 PM »


In today's economic climate even Lady Penelope and the Pink Panther have to downsize!
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1972 Fulvia Sport 1600


Previous- 78 Montecarlo, 83 HPE VX, 88 integrale, 89 Delta GTie, 90 Y10GTie, 90 Dedra 2.0ieSE, 91 HF Turbo, 91 integrale 16v, 09 Thesis Centenario, 12 Delta 2.0M-J
Martin D
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« Reply #19 on: 13 November, 2012, 10:50:36 AM »

Yes........Andy....is that for the Australian market??!!....Wink


Yes, I understand you do get some horrible things running across the ceiling in Australia !

MD

« Last Edit: 13 November, 2012, 10:53:02 AM by Martin D » Logged

1972 Fulvia Coupe 1.6 HF
1984 Montecarlo
Martin D
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« Reply #20 on: 13 November, 2012, 10:54:49 AM »

 
Very good grip from those tyres though.

MD
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1972 Fulvia Coupe 1.6 HF
1984 Montecarlo
lancialulu
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« Reply #21 on: 13 November, 2012, 12:57:08 PM »

Its on for the girlies.... Saw a Fiat 500 in same colour and it is certainly eye catching!! Grin
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Its not the winning but taking part! or is it taking apart?
Lancias:
1955 Aurelia B12
1967 Fulvia 1.3HFR
1972 Fulvia 1600HF
1972 Fulvia Sport 1600
1983 HPE VX
1988 Delta 1.6GTie
1998 Zeta 21.  12v
DianaW
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« Reply #22 on: 13 November, 2012, 05:42:33 PM »

There is a pink Fiat near us which has eyelashes!

Diana
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fay66
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« Reply #23 on: 16 November, 2012, 09:36:51 PM »

Well, I just thought that on this ocassion JC was right about the Ypsilon.
Peter,
Difference of opinion here.
Ypsilon voted car of the year 2012 in Greece
http://www.autoedizione.com/lancia-ypsilon-car-of-the-year-2012-in-greece/
And 3rd best selling car in Italy.


Brian
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Own 1966 Fulvia 2C Berlina since 1997, back on road 11-1999.Known as "Fay"
2006 Renault Megane 1 5 Dci Sports Tourer
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peterbaker
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www.retro-speed.co.uk


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« Reply #24 on: 16 November, 2012, 10:21:46 PM »

Hi Brian. Greece have made quite a few serious mistakes recently. And would you trust any figures issued from Italy? In Italy you can have any car you want as a best seller, allegedly. Seriously though, it is only my opinion. 
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1961 Lancia Flavia 1.5 Berlina. FIAT Abarth. 1954 Daimler Conquest. 2003 MG ZT-T 135. 1998 SAAB 9-5 3 litre turbo.
Thotos
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Theo Kyriacou


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« Reply #25 on: 16 November, 2012, 10:37:26 PM »

Greece have made quite a few serious mistakes recently.

That's OK, us Greeks invented mistakes (just like we invented most other things  Grin) so we make good use of our invention  Wink

Seriously though, I told you the Ypsilon was a great car, so the Greeks' choice has been confirmed by a Greek  Grin Grin
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Theo Kyriacou
Parisien
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« Reply #26 on: 07 January, 2013, 10:16:33 AM »

I see we have drifted on this thread......

Having just read Geoff Owens book....."Turning back the clock"....55 yrs in the motor trade. You do get an insight as to how things developed and changed over the post war period to almost the present day.

The number of people he worked for who only saw selling cars as a way to make a large amount of money and didn't know a thing about cars, how to really sell them or look after the customer is breathtaking. The 60s was a period of truly dreadful quality British made cars, but their dreadful defects ( as bad or worse as the series 1 Beta problem ) were in effect glossed over or hushed up.....only a few years later a xenophobic media leapt on an issue arising with the Beta and effectively delivered a coupe de grace to the marque ..almost as if they'd repelled "invaders"!

Geoffs book clearly states his own personal experiences of both owning and selling said cars....extremely reliable and great to drive. He was even granted a meeting with HQ in London, such was his success and passion for the cars. So much so he was the ONLY beacon of hope in a network of MDs who'd lost faith in the product and in relaity had given up on the marque.

Geoff Owen stood alone.

I don't know if Geoff is still alive, but I'd like the LMC to recognise his efforts during these years and send him a letter of acknowledgement or even make him an honorary member of the LMC.


Maybe this was done back in those distant days, but perhaps someone who knows could post on here or put this proposal forward,


P

« Last Edit: 07 January, 2013, 10:34:17 AM by Parisien » Logged

Frank Gallagher
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« Reply #27 on: 07 January, 2013, 11:17:34 AM »

Doing a trawl through the media section of 2008 I find this post up by eyore.....................



 Sunday Times Clarkson 15th June
« on: 15 June, 2008, 12:37:36 PM » Quote 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How about this from Clarksons article in todays Sunday Times   

" If I were to walk round a modern-day motor show featuring all the latest cars with all their clever electronic gizmos,there might be one, or maybe two, that I'd think seriously of buying.
While walking round a field in Leicestershire recently, I found about 200 cars that I'd gladle swapped one of my kidneys for. There were a few I'd have swapped my heart for.
It was the Auto Italia festival, an event at which thousands of car enthusiasts spend the day demonstrating who is best with a vacuum cleaner. They even have a competition to see who has the cleanest car. It is ridiculous.
If you delve behind the preposterously laquered paint and Mr Sheened dashboards, however you are left with acre after acre of machinery that will leave you breathless with desire,I wanted everything.
And i'm not talking here about fields full of Ferraris. Mostly they were crummy 348's ,which had wooden tyres and suspension made from old pianos. Nor was I overly bothered by the Lambos either. Owning a Countach or a Diablo is just another way of saying that you are deformed.
No, the stuff that blew my trousers off was the humdrum 1970s cars from Fiat,Alfa Romeo and most of all ,suprisingly Lancia.
Let us begin our romp down the autostrada of yesteryear with the Lancia Montecarlo. Early models were plagued with a tendancy to
lock up their front brakes and so Lancia took the unusual step of removing it from production while the problem was addressed. A year passed and everyone assumed the little sports car had gone for good. But no. Lancia then re released it, saying it had cured the problem by removing the servo. In other words, it has simply made the back crakes perform as badly as those at the front.. Brilliant.
Providing you never want to stop, you can buy a Montecarlo these days in the UK ,in good condition for about €6,500. And for that you get a 2 litre twin cam mid engined sports car with if you want it , a canvas folding roof,tweed seats and looks that could melt a girls face. I decided after 10 minutes that I didn't want one at all. I needed one. It was even more pressing than my next breath. I even started offering one owner some money and then when that didn't work, some quiet threats. Look, I whispered,This car will be no good to you if you have lost your legs. And you will sunshine, if you don't sell it to me.
His dignity was saved because,while threatening to burn his house down, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a selection of Fulvias. By modern standards, the Lancia Fulvia is not much to write home about. It has carthorse suspension at the back, a setup thats weirdly complicated at the front and a 1.6 litre V4 engine thta,in the HF develops just 115hp. Fast? Well yes, but only if you are a visiting Victorian or used to driving a Motability shopping scooter.
However ,they are balls achingly pretty and one of the show cars belonged to an old mate . hello John ,I said cheerily but with a hint of Stanislavski menace, Would you like to sell me your car or would you like me to stab you in the throat and get the crowd to cheer as you gout arterial blood everywhere?. because those are your only choices.
Happily,from his point of view, I realised that I was actually leaning on the bonnett of a Delta Integrale at the time. And I decided that  what Ireally  wanted , more than anything in the world,was this ludicrous , left hand drive superstar from the original Sega Rally machine.
Of course people with blazers will explain that Lancias are old rot boxes and fellto pieces long before anyone had a chance to drive them to the shops. But having driven across Botswana in a Beta last year I can assure you this is bunkum.
A classic Lancia will have no more problems than a classic Mercedes. Automotive time is a great leveller."




I can't highlight properly at work the last three lines......am getting them tattooed on my chest!


P
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Frank Gallagher
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« Reply #28 on: 07 January, 2013, 03:42:41 PM »

An excellent find Frank !!!

It really does prove that Clarkson, most of the time, will come out with anything to get a reaction and rarely means a quarter of what he says. That of course could be said to apply to this article, but for once, there does not seem to be nothing outrageous concerning the cars themselves. He reserved the stupid stuff for the threats to the various present owners of the cars over which he lusted.

So, maybe we should suggest a Top Gear special based around these Lancias from Auto Italia with perhaps a follow up devoted to earlier classics such as the Lambda, Aprilia and the Aurelia.

Or ......... do we want to keep mum, keep these special cars our own selfish little secret Huh?

                                                                Andy
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