See Ya Lancia

93EXCivic wrote:

God damn I loves me some 037.

Would love to own a street version

God damn I loves me some 037. Would love to own a street version

While Lancia has made a few pretty cool cars in the past, but to me, Lancia has always been in the back corner of the lunchroom, waving at you, saying "Hey I'm back here, I'm cool, come sit with me", but then you realize the cool cars are sitting next to the vending machines.

I saw a delta Integrale in person today, dear mother of god it was just so right, and the noise...Oh the noise. I was louder than a Douglas dive bomber than was flying by at the same time, such a nice lumpy mean noise.

Lancia lives on? Kinda.

http://wot.motortrend.com/we-hear-fiat-shuttering-lancia-reorganizing-jeep-and-chrysler-in-europe-286589.html

UPDATE: Lancia Lives, Most Models to be Built in North America Fiat and Jeep Reorganizing in Europe Written by: Christian Seabaugh [G+] on November 2 2012 4:30 PM  

UPDATE: Chrysler spokesman Scott Brown has told us that rumors that Lancia will be shut down are false. Lancia will continue on in Europe, with the Epsilon made in Italy, and the rest of its models built by Chrysler in North America.

“What was said by Marchionne is that Lancia Epsilon will continue to be made in Italy and the rest of Lancia portfolio will be developed together with the Chrysler Brand and those vehicles will be made in North America,” said Brown, “A development has been announced, NOT the end of Lancia.”

Lancia, the storied Italian automaker known for producing such enthusiast favorites as the Stratos, 037, and Delta Integrale, might be no more, according to German automotive news source Automobilwoche. That’s not all either. Rumor has it that Fiat will be reorganizing itself to better compete with Mini, and Jeep will be expanding its global reach.

The report comes out of a recent conference call Fiat and Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne held in Europe. If true, the biggest change to Fiat’s operations would be the discontinuation of Lancia, which has been struggling in Europe for years — essentially dead weight to Fiat amid the current European economic struggles. The brand currently sells a mix of compact cars and rebadged Chryslers to European customers. “We must rid ourselves of the illusion that we can build [a]new Lancia,” Marchionne said in the conference call, according to Automobilwoche.

To plug the gap Lancia leaves in the Fiat lineup, Fiat would allegedly move Maserati slightly down-market and Alfa Romeo slightly upmarket so that the two brands would together cover the entire spectrum of the ever-important premium segment.

As for Fiat, it would reportedly team with Chrysler to provide a full spectrum of mainstream vehicles – Fiat would focus on small cars, anchored by the 500 and Panda, while Chrysler would focus on larger sedans.  Fiat looks to already be on this path, with the 500L, a stretched four-door 500, and the 500X, a compact crossover. With the 500 lineup expanding, Fiat will be targeting BMW’s successful Mini brand.

Lastly, Fiat would leverage Jeep’s global appeal to expand the brand’s model range into smaller segments. The Jeeps at the forefront of this new plan would likely be the next-generation Liberty/Cherokee, and the 2014 Jeepster. Both models will be built on platforms shared with Alfa Romeo and Fiat, respectively, and would likely be built for the European market in Europe, especially considering the Jeep factory in Ohio is currently over capacity.

It sounds like there are mixed signals. The final decision will be announced at some point and we'll know the truth.

Travis_K wrote: The last real lancia was the fulvia, which was replaced by the beta in 1974? I think. Fiat made cool stuff too, but it wasnt the same as the older lancias.

I'd disagree with that. They built the Gamma, which was a continuation of the Flavia concept. The SOHC boxer 4 in 2.0L and 2.5L displacements had nothing to do with any Fiat engine of the time. It was also longitudinally mounted, and FWD, not like any other Fiat product of the time. The coupe was particularly good looking, as most Pininfarina coupes tend to be.

The Delta Integrale is pretty awesome as well. Sure it's got the Fiat twin cam, but it took that engine to some amazing new levels. Packaging that with AWD in a hot hatch, and it pretty much redefined the rally car formula.

I had a 1981 Fiat Spider, and a 1981 Lancia Beta Zagato, not far apart from one another. Despite sharing the same engine and fuel injection system, the two cars could not be more different. It goes far beyond the layout differences. The Lancia was a much higher quality car in some ways than the Fiat. The control stalks on the steering column are still the best of any car I've driven. The materials felt sturdy (mostly metal), and the action was silky smooth. Most modern control stalks feel like cheap plastic toys by comparison. It's a pity the transmission did not have that feel. That's probably one of the many points of Fiat influence. Despite that influence, and the engine, the Beta was more Lancia than anything Fiat.

Aside from that, people have been declaring the last real since the death of Vincenzo Lancia, and every time the company has changed hands since then.

Curmudgeon wrote: I've always sorta liked these, along with the Scorpion.

I won't say that you wouldn't regret owning one, but they are pretty fun to drive. I've ridden in a Scorpion, and they are pretty cool. They are a bit of a cobbled together design, but their flaws can be addressed pretty readily, and they can be made ridiculously fast.

Lancia still made some cool cars through the '90s, but since then they have been grossly mismanaged. Probably worse than how GM handled Saab.