Day: Feb 13, 2016

A Photo For Saturday: 1995 Alfa Romeo 155 2.0 16V Super

A disappointment when new and thoroughly unloved now, Driven to Write examines an Alfa well past its best.

1992-1998 Alfa Romeo 155. (c) motorstown.com

The 1992 Alfa Romeo 155 marked the end of rear wheel drive for its maker. The car improved upon the much-loved and little-sold Alfa Romeo 75 by carving out more interior space and having a bigger boot but in other respects was an inferior car. The dynamics of the car left a lot to be desired. The 75 had its gear box in the rear and had near perfect 50:50 weight distribution. For all its faults, the 75 in all its guises handled well.

The 155 managed to be worse than the Tipo it was based on. The suspension allowed a lot of body roll and oddly, Alfa Romeo said this was deliberate, harking back to the way its 1960s cars behaved. As if anyone remembered or cared. The 155 sold poorly and needed remedial help. Continue reading “A Photo For Saturday: 1995 Alfa Romeo 155 2.0 16V Super”

Theme : Special – By Any Other Name.

Despite being assembled by Citroen UK in Slough between 1954 and 1960, the 2CV only became popular in Britain when it was reintroduced in 1975.

Spécial is the new Ordinaire - image : autogaleria.hu
Spécial is the new Ordinaire – image : autogaleria.hu

This success was partly due to the oil crisis, with the call for more economic transport, but also (and this too was in part an indirect result of the oil crisis) because the turbulence of the 1970s had put paid, for a period at least, to those petty hierarchical differences that have usually been so important in British society. Continue reading “Theme : Special – By Any Other Name.”