Have You Seen Any Interesting Cars On The Road Lately?

[ChrisHGTV]

"Class leading hot hatch".....I think not!.....I was selling cars then (VW/Audi) .....they were never even close to the Golf GTI, Pug 205 GTI, Xr3i.....or pretty much any other hot hatch you could name.....flimsy as you like too.

Ah I have to disagree! I’ve never owned one but have experience of them, also the Golf GTi. The Abarth for sure was not built as well as well as the Golf, but the driving experience was quite different. It was noisy, revvy, raspy, and seemed more purposeful. It felt more like an occasion driving it rather than a hopped up shopping car. The Golf by comparison seemed the sensible choice but to my mind was a bit bland in comparison. I also remember back in the day (certainly amongst my friends) the Golf seemed to have a bit of a stigma as being the sensible choice and therefore not that attractive! We all lusted after and drove slightly left field cars I guess - Audi Coupe, Suds, Sprints, 131 Abarths and the Strada, X1/9 etc A friend had a highly modified mk1 GTI but sold it for the Audi.

 

[st13phil]

Saw this little beauty in the local shopping park:

Originally a California car (according to the plates and a couple of window stickers) it was in superb shape with only a few dull patches on the chrome bumpers and hub caps:

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Saw this little beauty in the local shopping park:

Originally a California car (according to the plates and a couple of window stickers) it was in superb shape with only a few dull patches on the chrome bumpers and hub caps:

Lovely. That’s just the kind of car I listed after in my early teens.

 

[A.J.]

Ah I have to disagree! I’ve never owned one but have experience of them, also the Golf GTi. The Abarth for sure was not built as well as well as the Golf, but the driving experience was quite different. It was noisy, revvy, raspy, and seemed more purposeful. It felt more like an occasion driving it rather than a hopped up shopping car. The Golf by comparison seemed the sensible choice but to my mind was a bit bland in comparison. I also remember back in the day (certainly amongst my friends) the Golf seemed to have a bit of a stigma as being the sensible choice and therefore not that attractive! We all lusted after and drove slightly left field cars I guess - Audi Coupe, Suds, Sprints, 131 Abarths and the Strada, X1/9 etc A friend had a highly modified mk1 GTI but sold it for the Audi.

I am not sure I feel the same way as you. A Fiat was a no no when I was a lad. Wouldn’t touch ‘em with a barge pole. They just dissolved before your very eyes and the build quality was about as bad as it could get. Even the French were a better build quality than the Italian offerings.

We were more into fast Fords, Vauxhalls or VW’s. The Golf GTi was what we all aspired to.

 

[Dippo]

Saw this little beauty in the local shopping park:

Originally a California car (according to the plates and a couple of window stickers) it was in superb shape with only a few dull patches on the chrome bumpers and hub caps:

Those were the days - when cars fitted into parking bays with room to open the doors!

 

[Mactech]

Saw this little beauty in the local shopping park:

Originally a California car (according to the plates and a couple of window stickers) it was in superb shape with only a few dull patches on the chrome bumpers and hub caps:

Ah! A GT Beetle!....or was that a Porsche? No, no can't be, I've just got one of those, but with 5 doors

 

[Ted]

This was the Volkswagen Porsche.
Pretty, but not nice at all.

 

[Mactech]

This was the Volkswagen Porsche.
Pretty, but not nice at all.

View attachment 134056

I’d completely forgotten about that one!
There is probably a reason for that.

 

[Mactech]

Lovely. That’s just the kind of car I listed after in my early teens.

Oddly, I never seemed to have leaned the same way....

 

[davymead]

Saw this little beauty in the local shopping park:

Originally a California car (according to the plates and a couple of window stickers) it was in superb shape with only a few dull patches on the chrome bumpers and hub caps:

The side lighting gives away it’s American origin, years ago had a deal on one all but done and dusted, and then woke up and bought this instead ….

 

[Ted]

The side lighting gives away it’s American origin, years ago had a deal on one all but done and dusted, and then woke up and bought this instead ….

Oooh, G60, nice.
The Mk2 Golf was always the best looking imho.

 

[LTD]

It is indeed a very pretty fast VW

Still stock - doubt it will ever get tuned

 

[StMarks]

Saw this little beauty in the local shopping park:
{IMG}

Absolute corker that, lovely thing to come across imho.

Interesting how , although clearly "perfectly of it's time", it somehow does not look out of date (unlike 99% of all other cars at that time).

 

[Darrell]

Ah I have to disagree! I’ve never owned one but have experience of them, also the Golf GTi. The Abarth for sure was not built as well as well as the Golf, but the driving experience was quite different. It was noisy, revvy, raspy, and seemed more purposeful. It felt more like an occasion driving it rather than a hopped up shopping car. The Golf by comparison seemed the sensible choice but to my mind was a bit bland in comparison. I also remember back in the day (certainly amongst my friends) the Golf seemed to have a bit of a stigma as being the sensible choice and therefore not that attractive! We all lusted after and drove slightly left field cars I guess - Audi Coupe, Suds, Sprints, 131 Abarths and the Strada, X1/9 etc A friend had a highly modified mk1 GTI but sold it for the Audi.

Buddy of my is a real Alfa fan. He’s got a 34,000 mile Sud 1.3ti for sale.

 

[Pugwash101]

Saw this in a Dubai Mall yesterday, not sure if it is a genuine beast or not (I'm not an expert on these things).

I've obscured the license plate as you can get into trouble in the UAE for putting someone's picture online without their permission, I don't think that applies to possessions, but I'd rather take the chance!

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Buddy of my is a real Alfa fan. He’s got a 34,000 mile Sud 1.3ti for sale.

My friend had a 1.5ti that lasted all of 3 days before he wrapped it round a telegraph pole. Quite impressive as there was a clear tyre mark about 5 feet up the pole! The Sprint 1712 i had is still the car i miss the most (basically a Sud Coupe). So much fun at not silly speeds, and the most glorious noise on webers with just ram pipes. Just a shame they rusted so much, same as the Suds.

 

[StMarks]

My friend had a 1.5ti that lasted all of 3 days before he wrapped it round a telegraph pole. Quite impressive as there was a clear tyre mark about 5 feet up the pole! The Sprint 1712 i had is still the car i miss the most (basically a Sud Coupe). So much fun at not silly speeds, and the most glorious noise on webers with just ram pipes. Just a shame they rusted so much, same as the Suds.

A young lady I knew (well, she was young back then) had an Alfasud cloverleaf in silver.
When it was about 3 years old she was driving through the town when she heard/felt a thump from the front as she turned right.
It transpired that the front suspension (whishbone iirc) had rotted clean through and the whole front right corner of the car simply collapsed onto the road stopping her dead.
It was a one owner low mileage mint (looking) car that hadn't had it's first MOT.

 

[ChrisPDuck]

A young lady I knew (well, she was young back then) had an Alfasud cloverleaf in silver.
When it was about 3 years old she was driving through the town when she heard/felt a thump from the front as she turned right.
It transpired that the front suspension (whishbone iirc) had rotted clean through and the whole front right corner of the car simply collapsed onto the road stopping her dead.
It was a one owner low mileage mint (looking) car that hadn't had it's first MOT.

That's unusual I think - the mechanicals usually outlasted the bodywork by a long way. Perhaps it was the mounting points rather than the suspension itself.

I had a 1.3ti which returned to earth quite rapidly, but it kindled a love of Alfas. I still have a 1.5ti Green Cloverleaf - hasn't been run for a number of years I'm afraid, but was still in cracking condition when it was put away in my garage. Here's a shot of it taken by a professional photographer for a book.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

That's unusual I think - the mechanicals usually outlasted the bodywork by a long way. Perhaps it was the mounting points rather than the suspension itself.

I had a 1.3ti which returned to earth quite rapidly, but it kindled a love of Alfas. I still have a 1.5ti Green Cloverleaf - hasn't been run for a number of years I'm afraid, but was still in cracking condition when it was put away in my garage. Here's a shot of it taken by a professional photographer for a book.
View attachment 134087

That is stunning - the best colour as well! I caught the Alfa bug early on with my Sprint. Had a few since. I think you either "get" Alfas or you don't - there doesn't seem to be any middle ground!

 

[StMarks]

That's unusual I think - the mechanicals usually outlasted the bodywork by a long way. Perhaps it was the mounting points rather than the suspension itself.

You may well be right Mr Duck, it was a very long time ago.

Beautiful looking example you have there. Pointed question therefore,,,, : How is yours immunised from the same sort of issue??? (or did they address the corrosion problem on later versions).
I seem to recall being told at the time by someone "in the know" that the metal they were made from was literally steel from re-cycled washing machines.