LANCIA

I would like a Stratos or 037 as much as some Ferrari's, but this was a mass production based hatch. Still nice and a cool car but not like a Ferrari to me at all.

 

Lancia hanging on in Europe with declining sales:-

1990 - 300 087
2000 - 173 758
2010 - 99 671
2016 - 67 059
2017 Jan-Nov: 57 481

 

Gimme one of the two dozen or so Lancia Hyena Zagato

 

Unfortunately Lancia has been limited to an Italy only brand as far as I know. It's quite a shame because it has such history. If the revival of Alfa Romeo was more on time and going slightly better, I think sweater man would ponder reviving Lancia, as well.

 

I can't even believe they sold 57 thousand cars last year. Probably to rental companies....

 

Agreed long

Agreed long gone from the UK and most European countries, with sales winding down from the remaining few, including Italy.

3139 Ypsilon's sold in Italy during December 2017, bringing the annual total up to 60 321, a decline of -8,13% from 2016 Ypsilon sales of 65 656.

 

Sadly, I think Lancia is destined to become another Oldsmobile or Pontiac.

 

Fiat seems to have decided that there's no place for the Lancia brand in their worldwide portfolio. If the company doesn't make them, then no one can buy them. It is sad to see a historic company fade away, especially one that has produced such gorgeous cars.

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I thought the Fulvia I once drove had the best steering of any car, ever. Then I drove a Delta integrale!

 

They need to cash in on nostalgia and take the Ypsilon rallying with a Martini sponsorship deal.

 

They need to do a new Stratos and Delta.

 

Abarth is just a trim/performance upgrade today, isn't it? That's a lot different than a completely different company such as Lancia. I still don't think it should be left to die but the money needed for Lancia is much greater than having an Abarth package.

 

Lancia's post Stratos rally history (037, delta S4, delta Integrale) is also Abarth history. The 037 and S4 were 100% Abarth designed. The delta integrale is based on a production car but turned into the rally success that it was by Abarth.

Starting with its acquisition by Fiat in 1971, Abarth became the de facto motorsport arm of the Fiat Group (except for Ferrari), responsible for motorsport development for Fiat, Lancia and then Alfa Romeo. Fiat acquired it because Abarth already had a terrific racing history, especially in the smaller displacement classes. It was a motorsport focused manufacturer like Osca and perhaps Porsche. Far from irrelevant and definitely well known to many, many racing fans.

Yes, Abarth's revival is more about marketing. It's like Mercedes slapping AMG badges left and right but with a lot more history...

 

So when as a kid you lusted for fast Lancias you, not knowingly, also lusted for Abarths - the 037 for example has no fewer that 3 Abarth emblems plus three bold red Abarth inscriptions on the engine...

 

I'd go for Lancia Abarth but it's not an option. Bringing back Abarth in the form they have is easy and cheap and complements their line. Historically there has been been a significant overlap between Lancia, Alfa and Maserati so keeping all three is tough. That's why they kept going out business...

 

Fiat bought them when they were on the verge of bankruptcy. Doesn't mean fiat didn't mess up a whole lot of stuff but they would likely have disappeared a long time ago if fiat had not stepped in. Anyways, I'm afraid that at this point in time Lancia's only hope might be a Chinese company to buy the brand and pour a bunch of money in it, sort of like what happened with Volvo.

 

I like to dream that there is still a place in the Fiat line-up for Lancia... differentiating themselves from Fiat / Alfa by going back to their deep historical roots of offering highly engineered and sophisticated platforms, at a premium, to discriminating customers.. (maybe in small batches using flexible production scheduling to use excess capacity at some of Fiat's plants). Might this business model succeed even with low volume - with the right strategic partnerships, flexible platform engineering, and bespoke styling?

I see the problem as being that of differentiating the brand from the field of competitors, finding the right niche that fits the brand. Very tough to solidify a positive brand association in the bigger US or Chinese markets..

Marchionne has spoken, sadly.