GTAm

A bit rude but couldn't help myself posting this

Oh I wish .... But with the current economic climate, I might have to sell the 156 and go for that restored Corti and add a gas converstion

Ahhhh I wish they stuck with the mid-engined layout . The styling doesn't looks promising to me...."seen it before" theme.

The Mito was launched yesterday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLn8aG2zREE...&start=4775

I guess it will not matter. Enzo's long gone and you do need to change with time. And Ferrari are doing it. They are stepping up production, a few years ago Luca Monto went on record to say they'll never produce more than 3500. Now he knows that the world has got a lot bigger and is likely to grow even faster. Then there's the new Califonia......the first true "everyday Ferrari"! WHich is good IMHO. Maybe a large GT car like the 612 can be offered with a 4WD option, but I wonder if its really worth it. For road cars a few tenths lost due to a smidgen less traction around a track is hardly an excuse to add weight and inertia. That said after the current recession if the US market requires they'd have to build one ! For track days they have the Scuderia and occassional stuff like the 'Enzo' and FXX for the super rich. For all Lambo's kudos they hardly have an ounce of Motorsport heritage. So Ferrari can afford to "know better". I was just thinking with Lambo going 4WD, it's like they going back to their rootes.......tractors I love Lambos but given the budget I'll go for the equivalent Ferrari in this current range. Its so much more "special" IMHO. The Lambos for all their greatness the image of Lambo has a bit of posing/bimbo-pulling/penis/brain size compensater......etc. more than Ferrari. With the current energy crisis it will be interesting to see how super cars adapt. Just read that hybrids outsold Ford F series in the US ! So weight is going to be a more important than ever.

Daihatsu Leeza?

Heh heh welcome to the world of Italian (mis) management pre-Sergio Machionne. They probably forgot to register rights to the name. Or Bertone owned it and Lancia forgot to buy it..... Luckily that guy who owns Fenomenon is the biggest Statos maniac on the planet. He owns several cars including some of the Gr4 rally machines. He also has a mind boggling collection of scale models and Stratos memorabilia. So I'm sure he'll not sell the name to Toyota for example, and give Lancia the 1st pref. I recall some American car called Stratus!!??? can you remember? A Dodge or Chrysler I think...... Ferrari did have a 4wd prototipo in the late 80s bt they probably thought it too impure for their cars and it never saw the light of day...... It's hard to imagine that this new Stratos will make it on the the Rally scene given Fiat's current motorsport policy. If at all it will be a Fiat or Abarth that will make it to WRC. But they probably will think well instead of simply busting everything they earn as in the past. Alfa will return to WTCC someday when they are profitable. Maser will stick to ALMS and Le Mans I feel. I mean you can imagine their problem....So many sporting brands with serious motorsport heritage!!! Lancia is the last brand in Machione's turnaround plan. So Lancia returning to motorsport is still a dream. There was a recent rumour suggesting that Ferrari wants a B-team in F1 and will buy STR and re-badge it Lancia. A load of bull I'm afraid. DZ think about that classic you mentioned about.........

Yes it looks a bit of a mistake, but Europe (except UK) seems to like it. And the rest of the aging range have been keeping the brand afloat with this grille......... The Ypsilon which is actually based on the old Punto still sells very well! Then there's the Phedra which is also ancient, and the soon to be killed Thesis. With these dinosaurs they sell the same number as Alfa Romeo (who have a much newer range and sell in RHD markets) each year. Which means lots of people like luxury and that chrome grille Unfortunately Fiat Spa has too many sporting brands in its portfolio. And so Lancia is now the luxury arm. This actually pleases the purist Lancisti as well, because before the Fiat take over Lancia was a highly engineering oriented maker of luxurious GTs and Saloons that mixed with the likes of Mercedes. It is said that the cars were over-engineered as Vincenzo and later his son Gianni were obsessed with quality. So it makes sense even that their going back to their roots, even if to us Lancia means Delta grales, S4 s and Stratoi(?). Last weekend I borrowed a few Classic and Sports car mags and in one of them was a twin test between the Aston DB2/4 and a Lancia Aurelia B20GT. The writer says that the Aston feels almost vintage while the Lancia feel won't be out of place in the 70's. Both cars are from the 1950s............and the mag is Bitish. So you can figure out how well engineered and advanced the cars were... There's good news too. Apart from the Fulvia and the Stratos (this I won't believe untilI see an official press release), there's a new car that will be smaller than this Delta which is quite large with that long wheel base. It's nick-named Deltino and could spawn a high performance 4wd twin turbo model. After all 10 WRC titles cannot just sit in files can it? And it was the Integrale that gave the definitive template to the WRXs and EVOs that are around today. Imagine a WRX/EVO that looks truly elegant, has a classy interior, spunds better than a Ferrari and some latin soul !!!!!! In the meantime they should offer a no-extra-cost black mesh grille option Right?

Yes the pic is the old show car done by Fenomenon who owns the rights to the "STRATOS" name. So the new one could look much different. DZ don't forget that it could be based on a Ferrari platform I think it has to be as the Stratos needs to be mid-engined. Mind you that would be perfect as the original was powered by the Ferrari Dino V6 engine! More exciting though is the new Fulvia which could come sooner based on the Alfa Mito platform.

We could end up another Brunei . Imagine the car collection of the Sultan of SL!!!!!!

Yep the Lancisti are quite furious with the British reaction - typical, they all want a fire spitting Integrale when the company is limping out of near death. I mean Subaru had to make the Impreza a hatch for a similar reason. Autocar thrashed it - They are so inconsistant anyway that I can't take them seriously. CAR was kinder and gave it 4 stars out of 5. I don't like the chrome grille but the rest of it is really classy from the pics for a comfy, spacious, luxurious family car, which is exactly what it is meant to be.

Hard in the most private place ! Will these car loving models show us their Ladas and Volgas?

Yes this is the tricky part.... If they anyone/party acquires more than 30% they trigger off the SEC's mergers and aquisition code. Which means they (the buyer/s) have to offer all the other shareholders the right to sell their shares at the same price by a stipulated date. But IMO these buyers don't have that kind of cash.....So they will need a partner. And the only way it will make sense for a potential partner is if there's going to be expansion and change in the company that can make the company grow fast - Like say an aasembly plant for example. profits have been falling in the motor sector in general, so its a tall ask right now.........

I know....there's no way I'll even consider paying half that. I mean they are really good "illustrations" but not the greatest piece of car art I've seen to command that kind of price. That said they are originals and not prints. Anyway it's nice to know there are talented Sri Lankans around....

More news on the TG Alfa Feature..... They had to talk about the rust I just knew it. Every British review of the new Lancia Delta had the word rust too http://www.topgear.com/content/news/stories/2951/

Yep its a hot topic in the market. Good move by Heyleys, holding D*MO which is in a declining industry does not bring any real benefit to the group. And Hayleys core biz strategy is manufacturing and enterprise that are very beneficial for the country. I believe the agreement means that there's can't be a rival bid even if it is higher. On the face of it, it looks like sell D*MO, Hold Heyleys if you've got any shares!

Wow great!

KLM when exactly was the Chicanes added? Did you notice how the Pugs were blisteringly fast when dry but were equal to Audi on the wet track?

You're right. But the the thing is the Disco feels that extra 4.5mill while the Commander felt like it was overpriced IMHO. Actually the Jap SUV interiors, like the current Montero feel a lot better than the Jeeps. As for the panel gaps....... in the gulf there you can hide the 4.5mill .......Well maybe not but you know what I mean.... When I sat in the Range I really felt that the price can be justified. Well you can't justify any car's price in SL but when your mind adjusts......................You know the Range Rover/Sport and the Disco are really quality objects. They look good from every angle and the whole vehicle oozes quality. I'm not an SUV or Offroader fan but the LR products have desirability that Jeep seems to lack. And that's a shame as Jeep has a fantastic image, as good as if not better than LR. It's sad that American manufacturers have a history of building some great cars but they seem to be lacking it now as they fall deeper and deeper into trouble. Chrysler have a few great products the latest of which is the Dodge Challenger which was developed under Daimler. But I'm afraid it's their more mainstream cars that really need to improve.

I'd take the Rottweiler over the Commander anytime ! The Commander simply does not look visually balanced - nothing extreme except its extremely ugly to my eyes. The Grand Cherokee looks better IMHO. Did not know about the LR reliability issues, I'm surprised as Jaguar have been rated so high on reliabity surveys recently and they share quite a bit common parts. In SL none of these can be ever considered a work horse when you check the fuel consumption. The guy who owns it complains that its worse that all the other cars he's owned - dropping down to very low single digits often. And he's had quite a few big engined cars. "... it's not for every body.... " - I can only say it should've been for many considering Chryslers financial plight.

Heh heh yes. He should've done cricket or something instead. Calling Audis - Ordees and Porsches - Por-Shays .

Well there are a few older (50's) ones like the Stratochief that was at the Motorshow.

From - http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/ Against relentless and strong opposition from Peugeot during 24 hours, Audi wins the 76th running of the 24 hours of Le Mans 2008! The Ingolstadt based marque secured their 8th victory in 9 attempts, this time thanks to the trio Kristensen-McNish-Capello. The Danish driver, Tom Kristensen also celebrates his 8th personal victory in this classic race which establishes a new record. Peugeot completed the podium by putting two of their 908 HDi FAP models into second and third place. While LM P2 was won by the Porsche Spyder, Aston Martin’s DBR 9 successfully defended its LM GT1 title, Ferrari taking revenge by scoring a fabulous 1-2-3-4 in LM GT2 class.

Yep they were at the Miniature show at Mount and at the disasterous motor show at the BMICH.