8 Aug 2016 – Driven To Write

Signs and Portents

Death by a thousand Fiats: The tale is etched in automotive folklore, but how well do we really know the Lancia Gamma ?

Fiat’s stewardship of Lancia has been such a shameful series of reversals, it’s difficult now to imagine the road to perdition being paved with good intentions. Because if nothing else, the Gamma stands as an illustration of how mergers and acquisitions never quite work out.

Throughout its history as an independent manufacturer, Lancia produced exquisitely engineered automobiles that garnered respect and deep admiration, but consistently cost more than the company could afford. Continue reading “Signs and Portents”

The Luxury Gap

The 2003 X350-series marked the point where Jaguar’s retro styling path met its maker. We examine its failure.

2003 Jaguar X350 XJ. Image: Favcars — 2003 Jaguar X350-series XJ. Image: Favcars

Had Sir William Lyons been working in the current era, it’s likely he’d have continued to plough his own stylistic furrow. Many have speculated on how Jaguar’s founder might have evolved the ‘Lyons line’, but in his wake, all we have is a subsequent body of work that amounts to studied guesswork on the part of the old master’s successors.

The quality of Jaguar’s stylistic output in recent decades can best be described as patchy; certainly few could reasonably argue that anything produced in recent decades matches that of Lyons at his apex.

Continue reading “The Luxury Gap”