GTAm

Hi Watchman. There are several reasons. These cars have hardly made any actual money for the two companies. Of course it lifted their profiles sky high, but the volume selling models of both Subaru and Mitsu have been too ordinary to sell well enough despite the spill-over effect. Subaru was on the verge of collapse and thanks to a rescue from Toyota they have got a new lease of life. The BRZ is rocking in the US and Subaru is wondering which direction to take as a company. Both they and Mitsu are far too small to survive independently long term. Mitsu is in bigger trouble, sales-wise and financially. Their US sales have plummeted to insignificant levels and their range is ancient. They will require a strategic alliance at least if not a full take over by a larger company. The Japanese govt. may intervene but The Chinese must be circling like hawks! The other problem with these cars are the ever toughening emissions laws. There has to be new tech to develop new engines to meet these requirements. They just don't have the money to develop. In EU for example the emissions are tied to tax. So keeping a polluting car on the road is very expensive for the owner. So basically they have been rendered dinosaurs. They will have to re-invent the two icons but that means loads of money. I can see a AWD STi Subaru because of Toyota and their recent success. But Mitsu is in a bit of a sad situ.

Ha ha that's a good one blame the Suddahs. That's really frustrating MD. Are you coming tomorrow for the run?

Yes machan. They were taken off at our office in Kotahena where all my old parts are kept. The driver recalls taking the bumpers to the Tinker. The tinker disagrees. I am afraid that someone jumped into his place and burgled him. It has happened before. But he's a stubborn mule and will not agree. The scarier situ is if it got lost inside our office. That would mean there is an in-house burglar. Which means I will have to go and kick some butt. Anyway I have not given up hope fully. Will search ever nook and corner before giving up and making a decision to import them, which is going to cost an arm.

Facing a scary problem. I am unable to find the two bumpers of the car as well two rear suspension arms. Searching everywhere. I hate to think someones pinched the two SS bympers but how can such a large item go missing is the question.

Another update. Our man has slowed down a bit. That could be because he's been working on very difficult areas of the car. Here are some pics. Front right door done. Right side rear door completed. Note - That pillar has to be very hard to fabicate. Some other random pics of hard to make areas. This is one of the old door skins. Scary no?

As Alonso himself says it will take a few miracles for him t snatch the championship from Vet. Maybe it should rain to add some drama.

Share price dropped but from a very high level. Anyway I am amazed that Tesla is rocking the charts against all odds. It has just ousted the Golf's numero uno roost in Norway! - http://europe.autonews.com/article/20131008/ANE/131009874/teslas-model-s-overtakes-vw-golf-as-norways-best-selling-car Whatever next?

They should have had Hillman Hunters back then . Anyway the books sounds an interesting read. Must try to get a copy.

Any classic/collectible car WILL only appreciate in value as long as import restrictions are in place. There simply is too much demand with only a trickle of supply. But some people will get greedy and want to inflate prices and profit no doubt. But as always "Caveat emptor" (Let the buyer beware). It was the same story in the stock market. As long as there are suckers out there the fraudulent minded will attempt to cheat. And they are still doing it with the blessings of the regulators (unlike the Classic car scene which does not have one). Contrary to Gordon Gekko's BS - Greed is not good.

Rata haddanama baha neda? .

Nice work so far. This is the pre-facelift. What year is it?

BTW I meant to post it earlier but forgot. There is a bumper-less orange-ish Mk1 Capri regularly at the Nawam Mw car park with a for sale board on it. There seems to be a thick layer of make up covering ugly skin underneath from what I can see. But it has to be a reliable runner as I see it often. If any Ford fan is interested I can make some inquiries. Let me know.

I always thought that they had a whistling sound..... !? Maybe the VW workers were whistling while they worked on them, the car may have caught the "bug"

Rave reviews for the 4C http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car-manufacturers/alfa-romeo/10334710/Alfa-Romeo-4C-review.html http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/alfa-romeo/4c/first-drives/alfa-romeo-4c-first-drive-review http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=47&i=28496

Nice to see another resto project. @rangerover, how good or bad is the body? This is the most critical part of a restoration. I don't know much about the parts supply of classic Pug parts, but if you want "almost concours 'd elegance" levels then try to buy brand new trim, handles and locks instead of trying to repair them.

Max age is 2 years. And all depends on the valuation the SL Customs accepts. The whole industry knows that BMWs come in with unrealistically low valuations and hence they are able to under cut their rivals by a huge margin. So it's entirely possible to get a BM at a relatively low price.

Great to see progress Hoonigan. By the sounds of it I would say, expect the worst but hope for the best! The same attitude to have when asking a girl who's a bit out of ones' league for a date . It's amazing what you do find under cataloy these days. I've found fibre glass matting holding pieces of rust together and even pieces of aluminium on a steel body. But don't let your discovery, even if horrific discourage you. Slow, steady and doing it properly is the key to classic heaven. Quarter bumpers will look great imo. Btw what are those horrible wheels? 80's Jap?

Neither of the above. Buy a cheaper petrol or better still diesel car and keep the change. Just my opinion. I believe what you save today with a hybrid, you will lose tomorrow and a bit more. Anyway it's just my view. I've also heard that the battery cooling on the Insights are inadequate for SL.

Nice. Congrats. I always liked the styling of the S60. And the ride comfort must rank very high too.

News about Renault's engine - http://www.carscoops.com/2013/06/renault-details-2014-f1-16-liter-v6.html

True true. However that was only because of that stubborn man called Enzo was around. He thought that they should never develop anything other than V12s. He did not like turbo charging or even lessening the number of cylinders so how could his engineers perform in confidence. My point is now Ferrari is part of the Fiat Group and they have extensive experience in Turbo charged engines and no inhibitions, both in road cars and race cars so the situation is very different. Definitely a very big power difference will be advantageous to Mercedes but I can't imagine Ferrari and Renault being very far behind considering how evenly technology is matched in the automotive industry. Anyway looks like it's shaping up to be a very exciting season.

What's the mileage on the Volvo?

I doubt the turbo engine will be any problem for Ferrari this time round. FPT is a master of Turbo charging making some of the most powerful and cleanest road cars turbo engine. Besides Ferrari designed and build turbo charged V8 and V6 engine for the two new Maserati Sedans not to mention it's own California. If at all I would predict them to have the most powerful engine on the grid. Then there's the new duo of Rory Byrne and Allison working together next year. The last time these two worked together they comprehensively beat Adrian Newey. Who is undoubtedly the other half of R*D B*LL being unbeatable....

It's been a problem with the car IMO. The Ferrari 1. Could not get heat into the tyres fast enough, 2. Performed badly with full load of fuel. The only positives were that it performed better and better when the fuel load came down (by the time they were matching or even beating the Bull's the race was almost at the end) and had a blistering launch from the grid. Which helped them make up a couple of places. Right now the car seems better but then R*D B*LL could not have been standing still. At least Vettel's bull is a couple of steps ahead of the red cars.

Parts are quite expensive by other Euro brand standards so give priority to condition over everything else. Service history is imperative.