BBC TV Top Gear programme on Lancia!

[DavidLaver]

That HPE was a stunt fire, the Beta Coupe was rigged as a clowns car, and my 8 and 10 year olds were in stitches.  Having got their attention they sat through some YouTube Stratos action and might now look forward to the Abingdon Sprint which has been on my "want to see one day" list for a decade.

Top Gear is a magic blend - we don't all like all of it but a very great many people find it unmissable.  Be interesting to know if, after X-Factor type stuff, if there ANYTHING more popular?  Worldwide its got to be way up there.

David

[Joanna]

Funny how the rust issue always comes up with Lancia and to be fair the older models did rust a fair bit, but I now have an e class mercedes estate which I have owned for 2 years. When I bought it it had rust round the wheel arches, so i phoned mercedes and they said not a problem its under a 30 year warranty. I thought OMG 30 years, so I bought it.  Anyway to cut a long story short I went tot he dealer to get it done who told me the warranties started in 1998 and mine was december 1997, so tough.  

I recently did some research on the mercedes forums around the world and low and behold nearly every e class seems to be suffering from the same problem of rust, BUT not only that , there are cars from 2005 (thats 4 years ago) that also have rust already !!!  

My point is , why no mention of this in the press ? And why are people always banging on about build quality in a mercedes. I took mine to Portugal last year amd the sunroof and indicator stalk broke, probably around £700 to fix.  Took the grale to Italy and Switzerland, on two different occasions and all I did was put petrol in.     What a car !

[Scarpia]

everything I can remember rusted in the 70s, audi's , toyota's (alfasuds....).  Did the beta really rust significantly more or were lancia just stupidly honest in offering to correct the problem and attracted the wrong attention?

[fay66]

That HPE was a stunt fire, the Beta Coupe was rigged as a clowns car, and my 8 and 10 year olds were in stitches.  Having got their attention they sat through some YouTube Stratos action and might now look forward to the Abingdon Sprint which has been on my "want to see one day" list for a decade.

Top Gear is a magic blend - we don't all like all of it but a very great many people find it unmissable.  Be interesting to know if, after X-Factor type stuff, if there ANYTHING more popular?  Worldwide its got to be way up there.

David

  I find it infinitely missable, great for kids but not much else, it brings in the audience the same way as the X factor does, and of about the same quality; how about entering Clarkson, & the hamster in "I'm a celebrity get me out of here", (at least James May acts as he if he has brains, so I'd let him off) I would then take great pleasure in watching it just to see them have a go at the bush tucker.
I usually try not to react like a "Grumpy Old Man" but I can't stand Top Gear these days, I used to like it back in the old days when you got serious reviews of cars, but not now with Jezza's ego trip.


Brian
8227

[chugga boom]

everything I can remember rusted in the 70s, audi's , toyota's (alfasuds....).  Did the beta really rust significantly more or were lancia just stupidly honest in offering to correct the problem and attracted the wrong attention?

yep everything rusted, problem was though that it was accepted that things like mini's and mg's datsuns etc rusted WHY I DONT KNOW!!! at the moment i'm welding up a mini for my apprentice, WHEN I'VE FINISHED ONLY THE ROOF AND BOOTLID WONT HAVE BEEN REPAIRED OR REPLACED!!! AND THIS IS APPARENTLY A GOOD 1   i can honestly say i've never seen a car as rotten as it and its a 1986 model, so how lancia got tarnished with the rust brush i'll never know as i've never seen a lancia as rotten as this!! lancia shot themselves in the foot by admitting there was a problem with the beta and rust and by trying to do the right thing with a recall, honourable but bad move from which they may never recover in the uk, i had a conversation with a customer with a 1998 rusty vectra who slagged of lancia for rust, i pointed at my 1992 dedra and said find some rust on it, he came back amazed my car looked in " newer condition" than his yet its 6yrs older, cant beat a vauxhall these days for rust let me tell you 

[DavidLaver]

There's a conspiracy of silence on Merc rust and

[Thotos]

every e class seems to be suffering from the same problem of rust, BUT not only that , there are cars from 2005 (thats 4 years ago) that also have rust already !!!  

It's not just E-class it's ALL of them! My 2003 C-Class coupe has rust in the front wheel arches and a friend's 2002 CLK has rust in the rear wheel arches. In both our cases Mercedes refused to do anything about it. In my case they claim the 30 year warranty is an anti-perforation rust warranty which only covers rust from the inside. In my case, they claim, the rust is due to damage on the outside from stones thrwn at the arches by the wheels. They are probably right but that means the Mercedes 30m year warranty is only valid if you never drive your Mercedes or only drive it on carpet 

In fact my 1980 Fiat 131 has less rust than my 2003 Mercedes. I told Mercedes this but they were not amused!

[jimb]

Jim

I think that what the way the article was presented : each car is fantastic but flawed - therefore each car needs a flaw ....

I think, given the lack of knowledge of the cars by most people, they've all liked what they've seen. Anyone with a preference isn't going to change their moind I guess. Nobody has mentioned the R word to me yet tho ... which is nice.

Perhaps that is why the Aurelia and Flaminia were not mentioned as they could not find a fault with them.

Jim

[lee69]

With my failing eyesight I cannot determine if the heap of rust in the start of the clip was indeed a Beta.Most unlikely i guess. But who can see what it was...it would nicely undermine (as a joke ) the whole rust discussion, if it turns out to be a bmw......and a bit uncomfortable voor TG also.....

The wheel that you briefly see in the clip is definitely not from a Lancia - looks more like a 80's/90's Ford one to me

[frankxhv773t]

Surely the claim that Lancia never recovered from the Beta rust scandle is as big a myth as the rust problem itself. Betas sold till 1985 and I was under the impression that the Delta sold even better. I think the demise of Lancia in this country had more to do with the indifferent quality of the rapidly expanded dealer network and the lack of anything really sexy after the Integrale. That's not to knock Dedra Turbos etc but the market for Lancias in this country has tended to be dominated by coupes and small sporting cars.

Anyone who want's a detailed contemporary account of the Beta rust scandal should try and get hold of Geoff Owen's wonderful book "Turning Back The Clock. The life and times of a motor trader"
(ISBN 0-948358-06-8) His association with Betas startes on page 217. My Beta Coupe still has the remains of a G.C. Owen dealer sticker in its' back window.

[JohnMillham]

Anyone who want's a detailed contemporary account of the Beta rust scandal should try and get hold of Geoff Owen's wonderful book "Turning Back The Clock. The life and times of a motor trader"
(ISBN 0-948358-06-8)[/quote]
 I agree. It's a good read! Regards, John

[fay66]

Anyone who want's a detailed contemporary account of the Beta rust scandal should try and get hold of Geoff Owen's wonderful book "Turning Back The Clock. The life and times of a motor trader"
(ISBN 0-948358-06-8)

I agree. It's a good read! Regards, John
[/quote]

8 copies available on Amazon from £9+ to £35 at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turning-Back-Clock-Times-Trader/dp/0948358068/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2

I've just bought one

Brian
8227

[chrislg]

I found this posting on the Stratos Forum http://www.stratossupersite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7683 (I also know there is a similar posting by the same author on the VSCC forum) it makes interesting reading!

It goes to show that although our favourite marque came out it fairly well, you should never take anything at face value when dealing with the media. That is not to say we should not take every opportunity to promote the LMC via the media and now that we have an excellent Press Officer we should not miss out in future!


Chris

[lancialulu]

Since TG I've been wearing with pride my Lancia Delta (new logo) back pack on my daily commute into London.

Tonight I slumped into the intercity and dumped the bag opposite me.

Great cars said the guy sitting opposite.

Yes I said - did he ever own one.

11 he said, including a brace of betas, some themas including a couple of turbos and an 832, and an integrale - all bought from new From RT in the eighties. He thought the 832 was the best car he ever had and was tweaked with lowered suspension, side skirts etc.

An no he never had a rust problem even with the betas!

Now drives a flying spur but has fond memories..

He also thought the TG piece was a fair and positive tribute to the brand.

Tim

[AStacey]

Yes it was common for cars of that period to rust, HA Viva's practically dissolved the moment they left the factory, and Volkswagen were a by word for it, however, I think there was a poitical element to the lancia problem and it's to do with the UK or more specifically the uk's Murdoch run press.
During the eighties there was a lot of shall we say 'Jingoism' around, particularly during the Falklands war, where, when the press realised that there are a lot of people of Italian extraction in Argentina, the link was quickly made with all things Italian, Musollini tanks going backwards etc., and this fitted in nicely with a bit of EU bashing. So it was good copy to show an Italian product in a bad light.Poor old FIAT evenj tried to launch a car called the 'Argenta' !!! I bet they were falling over themselves at the SUN when they saw that. Funny thing is German cars never seem to be subjected to the same treatment even though going way back they have had major problems with there product. BMW's Nicasil engine problems for one. I know Jag & Ferrari used it too, but BM's are so often hailed as the bench mark of motoring perfection, Nice cars, I've owned two of them, but definately not without, sometimes serious flaws.
My wife purchased one of the first of the new Mini's. It was returned three times with faults, plus at least once for a manufacturers recall. On one occasion, when she mentioned this frequency to a salesman from Snows, he replied, 'Well Madam with Minis what do you expect!' Of course this is when Beemer folk say 'Well of course it's not a real BMW etc etc.
It rather appears to me, as I enter my twilight years, that as a country we will accept any old yarn that the Germans spin us. How could those those slovenly,workshy,effeminate etc etc. Italians build a decent car??. then he gets in his new five series that doesn't even have the wipers converted for right hand drive. I rest my case.