Talk:Lancia/Archives/2014

Return to US

Will Lancia ever return to the US? Maybe after Alfa returns in order to compete.

Lancia image found on commons

Is this a new production model? (image posted for inclusion by article editors as appropriate) - Leonard G. 05:03, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Prototype for the new Lancia Delta it would seem from Google; http://www.italiaspeed.com/2005/cars/lancia/07/delta/0707.html Alastairward 15:37, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Corrosion issue

I asked my Dad (a Fiat and Lancia owner in the 70s and 80s) if his 124 Sport and Beta Coupe rusted any quicker being Italian. He answered no and actually remembered his Lancia, bought before the big scare in the UK, rusting more slowly than previous British cars he had owned. Does anyone have a cite beyond the usual "Russian Steel" reason stated in car magazine for unusual corrosion in Lancias? They were made from the same stuff as Fiats, but Fiat has been in the UK for quite some time now. I read a magazine article that put Lancia's PR problems down to bad design of the engine bay of the Beta Saloon model (my Dad had the coupe which was nowhere near as bad) Alastairward 10:17, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

The section on corrosion in the Lancia in UK section badly needs citations and references. 193.243.131.123 11:43, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

I have explicitly cited the July 2007 issue of Classic & Sports Car. I don't know if this article I took my information from is available online. There is, however, a complete and utter lack of ANY sources and references that can verify the alleged use of Russian steel on Fiat/Lancia and Alfa Romeo cars of the time.Elp gr 21:24, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Furthermore, even if indeed Fiat and Lancia were indeed using the much-ballyhooed Russian steel - and again, let me repeat and stress that all those people who claim that this was the case have been mysteriously unable to procure even the slightest evidence - , Alfa Romeo was not under Fiat ownership during the '70s, so it was certainly not bound by such a contract.Elp gr (talk) 10:42, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

I have edited the whole "Lancia in the United Kingdom" section so that it now gives the real lowdown on the whole rust scandal libel campaign. Also, I would like ANYONE with solid and real proof that Fiat and Lancia were using "Soviet" or "Russian" steel in the '70s to provide it. Unverified claims have no place in Wikipedia. Elp gr (talk) 18:40, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

This is the first time i hear of the russian steel issue. As far as i know mid 70's italian cars had a rust problem mainly because the Italian government pressured car manufacturers like Alfa-Romeo to open factories in the south of the country (as a way to force the region's development). This factor gave birth to one of Alfa-Romeo's greatest mistakes, the "Alfasud". The poor bucket of screws was described as beginning to rust before it even got sold. This was a major contribution to Alfa's demise in later years. Maybe something similar hapenned to Lancia.Southwestsoul (talk) 22:44, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

The Alfasud was an excellent car, but it was plagued by the fact that the Italian south was - and still is - run by the Mafia, which never liked the idea of a factory "robbing" it of personnel. So, they sabotaged it by using people they planted in the workers' unions. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Elp gr (talk • contribs) 11:12, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

More info maybe

For such an important an iconic brand, I think Lancia deserves more information. Maybe more should be put into the sections on groundbreaking models such as the Aprilla and the Stratos. TMore mentio of motorsport could bde made. A note about its position nowadays, in terms of sales, brand image and market share may also be useful. These are just ideas. Oh, and I heard that Abarth was to tune future Lancias! A modern day Intergrale anyone? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.142.234.48 (talk) 23:05, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Regarding Abarth tuning future Lancias, I wouldn't hold my breath on that. In fact, I'm not quite sure Lancia wants to be trapped again in the all-out race car image that was given to it by the Delta Integrale. Successful and iconic as the Integrale was, it created a false image for Lancia that had absolutely nothing to do with its history; Lancia has always been a maker of very well-designed luxury cars that also happened to handle very well, thanks to their advanced mechanicals, and an active party in races, with some special versions that performed well and won races, but did not overshadow the "normal" range in the way the Integrale did. The Integrale did much to give Lancia a boy-racer image, turning it away from its traditional clients and giving it new ones that the factory never really wanted to have. How many people today remember cars like the Fulvia, the Flavia, the Flaminia, the Aurelia, the Thema, the Kappa? All of these were superb cars, yet, today, everyone keeps babbling about the Integrale and the Stratos - the homologation specials - and expects Lancia to produce cars like that en masse; in fact, almost everyone says "oh, if Lancia doesn't make even the base versions of its new cars at least as gung ho as the Integrale, I'm not buying, because they're not going to be real Lancias". Such expectations are preposterous, to say the least. Elp gr (talk) 22:19, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

What's so great about Lancia nowadays? All of them have that hideous Jag S-Type-esque grille, slab-sided bodywork, and front-wheel drive. Chaparral2J (talk) 00:30, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Nothing. It has become a mere brand name used for marketing exchangeable cars with more of a face but still no soul. The article doesn't emphasize much on that, it's very quick in selling the current FIAT platform based models as heirs of the legend on the other hand. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.171.136.114 (talk) 11:24, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

There seems to be quite a lot in the Italian and German Lancia entries, in case anyone has time and inclination to distill same for the English speakers. If the person (or anyone else) who kicked off on this issue doesn't have mother tongue Italian, you can still do a crude google translation and then reword the more comprehensible bits into recognizable English. I guess relatively few English speakers come across a lot of Lancias because ever since the early Betas got a reputation for rapid rust, and Lancia lost interest in exporting to right hand drive markets, we don't see too many Lancias sold in Britain. And the US market has never been too welcoming to sub-exotic Italian cars. In Britain you have to be seriously middle aged to remember the popular (to look at - too expensive in post 1967 devaluation Britain for most folks to buy) Fulvia coupé from the late 60s. (Lancia's loss of interest in right hand drive markets carries an added irony if you remember than in the 1920s and 1930s, quite a lot of Lancias sold even in Italy had the steering wheel on the right side of the car - as though for a left hand drive market.) Charles01 (talk) 05:23, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

The article needs proper historic section. The rust "scandal" seems to be very UK centric, I havent heard such problem in other European countries and its still mentioned in many Lancia articles.... And yes the brand hasnt been in many markets over 10 years, we got it back in the end of 2007. --— Typ932^{T | C}  08:27, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

UK-centric perhaps, but no less a valid comment on the manufacturing quality. Traditionally, it's been understood (in motoring press articles) that the rust problem would have affected Lancias sent to other markets, had they been subjected to British weather! The survival rate in Italy is immediately, visibly higher than the rest of Europe because of the weather, and also because they sold far more of them at home, where people were loyal. But they still rust pretty badly compared with, say, a comparably-aged galvanised Audi! – Kieran T ^(talk) 14:05, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

The structural rust problem afflicted Series 1 Beta berlinas (not coupes or other versions) built from 1972 to 1975. At that time, no car manufacturer galvanized its cars'. OK, so Alfa Romeo did galvanize the chassis of the Montreal from 1971 onwards and Porsche galvanized the 911 from 1975, but mass-manufactured cars didn't enjoy this kind of rust protection. Audi introduced galvanizing in its Neckarsulm plant only as late as 1985, quite some time after Matra began galvanizing the Murena (the incredibly rust-prone Bagheera's successor). And don't get me started on german cars and rust... Even in sunny places like Greece, I've seen Mercedes-Benz cars from the '70s whose metal has rusted till it's almost see-through; or the BMW "Neue Sechs" (New Six) E9 series, whose front structure was full of water traps; or, much worse, the '70s Toyota Corollas and Crowns...Elp gr (talk) 09:46, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

I agree with the opinion that the whole rust thing is a bit UKcentric. most cars of that era tended to rust at an impressive rate (apart from the British ones of course, who broke down frequently but remained quite rust-free (If you don't believe me try, owning an Austin 1100 with a side-mounted radiator in a southern european summer. It was hilarious.)Southwestsoul (talk) 22:57, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Are you forgetting the Jaguar XJ series, which was one hell of a rustbucket? Elp gr (talk) 09:47, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

Persisting with RHD

The first section says lancia is well know for persisting with RHD until 1956. This needs some sot of qualification because it doesn't make sense on its own as A they made RHD cars after this date and B the majority of manufacturers till make RHD cars. Am i too assume they sold RHD to countries that drove on the right until this year?(Morcus (talk) 23:06, 27 August 2008 (UTC))

Q Am I to assume they sold RHD to countries that drove on the right until this year?

A Yes. Even in Italy. F'rinstance, take a look at the Lancia Ardea's Italian entry or that of the Appia for some 1950s evidence. And on mountain roads with imprecise edges and steep sides, there's something to be said for being in a good position to see over the edge. When cars started out they tended to put the driver in the middle with a tiller. Then they gave the driver a steering wheel, often on the right side of the car even in countries where people drove on the right. Take a look at some of the Peugeots from the start of the twentieth century. Or Panhards.

However, by say 1940 it was pretty well established that if you drove on the right you drove from the left and vice versa. Lancia just took a little longer than some to come round. That's (presumably) the context in which the line you picked out was entered. I agree that if you're not aware of the background, the statement begs your question. But I haven't changed it (at least not yet) because (1) for those who don't know, it sounds odd, so one would need to cite a reputable source and I don't have one to hand and (2) it's always hard, in these cases, to know just how much of the 'general' context you need to spell out in order to make sense of the 'specific' statement. So if you have a suitable citable tome to hand, feel free to attempt the necessary...... Regards Charles01 (talk) 07:01, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

I know about the thing where some people thought it was better to be able to see the edge your next to and not around the vehicles in front. I don't have any references to cite so I will leave it at the moment. I think it would look better if it said something along the line of being famous for not selling LHD cars until that date. I also question them having a reputation for the fact and might be better moved into the article, though it might be more noteable in LHD markets. Something deffinatetly needs to be done because as is could be interpreted as either, they stopped making cars for RHD markets that year (Which is false) or that before that year the entire wold had adopted LHD vehicles as the standard (Also false). I'm actually going to remove the statement from the introduction until someone can reword it in a much less ambiguous way.(Morcus (talk) 16:59, 28 August 2008 (UTC))

Its hard to find source for exact year, here is some talking about RHD model

"To confuse things even more Lancia held on to by now obsolete right hand steering but did offer left hand drive cars. These :versions received an added "S" (for sinistra, meaning left in Italian) after the model designation. Left hand drive Aurelias were a minority compared to the right hand drive cars."

http://www.ritzsite.net/Lancia/02_LanciaCC.htm

see also Right_Hand_Drive#Italy --— Typ932^{T | C}  20:13, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

RHD was discontinued in the 1990s. See http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/find/?rangenav=/cars/reviews/browse/Models.aspx?manu= 87.228.193.251 (talk) 19:03, 16 November 2011 (UTC)

early lancia manufacturers

are there any lancia Manufactureers with a name beggining with Ala..

just to crack a riddle my father gave me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.154.76.143 (talk) 15:21, 14 April 2009 (UTC)