The new news 24 thread

[cort16]

Wuv, you're sick in the head that has to be one of the worst colours I've ever seen PLUS it's on a Scenic Beluga.

Fair play to you though you'll be giving a R9UKE a run for his money soon.

[Ratdat]

Ratdat - I think most complaints about the Arna stem from the fact that it isn't exactly a looker. If you're going for the sportier side of hatchback motoring, then looks are all important. A Datsun with some spoilers isn't really going to cut it. 

 

Mind you, the Subaru Impreza is a horrific looking pile of dung when you strip the go-fast stuff off it, so perhaps I'm talking rubbish.

 

 

Really? I would have said it was right on the money for 1983 and again, none of the motoring press seemed to have a problem with the styling at the time as the boxy, sharp edged styling was quite fresh and up-to-date for the 80s. Certainly none made much mention of it or openly critisized it. I would suggest that prehaps your comment, like many others, has been coloured somewhat by modern day journos, who perpetuate the same old tired nonsense, usually plucked from articles penned by their peers rather than from genuine research or experience. Notably, the people who write this sort of thing have almost certainly never seen one let alone driven it. But it's always easier to run with the pack than it is to stand alone. 

 

Ironically, Alfa Romeo managed to make some perfectly awful looking cars all on their own without the assistance of Nissan or anyone else. Just look at the Alfa 6. I would even venture that both the 75 and 90 are both pretty ungainly looking cars. No, I think in the context of the time, the Arna was well in line with most the rest of Alfa's efforts in terms of styling. 

 

 

[Angrydicky]

^ Nothing is idiot proof to a sufficiently talented idiot, so I'm guessing you managed to bag one of those.

 

Yeah, fortunately I had a pair of good used A30 rear shock absorber drop links in the garage so one of those went on. Slightly different design to the original but the studs and bush are the right size and it looks good. Sadly I haven't had a chance to test it on the road yet as the new wheel bearing I fitted has lasted just 1000 miles (cheap Chinese rubbish), so it's currently in pieces waiting for an expensive NOS item to arrive. Then it's in for a proper MoT, the first one since 2011. That rear link bush was ridiculous, there was a clonk from the back end but just the usual sort of thing from a car of this age (it's the Somerset), so I'm hoping once it's back on the road it's going to be much quieter over bumps.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I think the Arna is a decent looker too. But a supposed ‘performance car’ with the looks of a Nissan Cherry doesn’t sound like much of a combo does it. Maybe if the Cherry had never existed as a Nissan, folk would accept the Arna just as it is and give it an easier ride, as it is it’s an easy target for half-arsed criticism I reckon. Just imagine what a pounding an Alfa with a Toyota Yaris bodyshell would get in Autocar nowadays. I reckon it would get a total shoeing and loads of flam about ‘the death of the Milanese legend’, even if it drove like a winner.

[gordonbennet]

I think the Arna is a decent looker too. But a supposed ‘performance car’ with the looks of a Nissan Cherry doesn’t sound like much of a combo does it. Maybe if the Cherry had never existed as a Nissan, folk would accept the Arna just as it is and give it an easier ride, as it is it’s an easy target for half-arsed criticism I reckon. Just imagine what a pounding an Alfa with a Toyota Yaris bodyshell would get in Autocar nowadays. I reckon it would get a total shoeing and loads of flam about ‘the death of the Milanese legend’, even if it drove like a winner.

 

Funnily enough Toyota did make a Yaris with a proper engine which no bugger knows about, not for long mind around 2008/9 the Yaris SR was available with the 1.8 petrol engine used in current Avensis.

 

I used to carry Toyotas and i didn't know about the bugger until only last year thats how rare they were, annoying really as LPG'd that would have been an ideal car for SWMBO at the time rather than the boneshaker C2 VTS 1.6 Diesel.

[Ratdat]

I think the Arna is a decent looker too. But a supposed ‘performance car’ with the looks of a Nissan Cherry doesn’t sound like much of a combo does it. Maybe if the Cherry had never existed as a Nissan, folk would accept the Arna just as it is and give it an easier ride, as it is it’s an easy target for half-arsed criticism I reckon. Just imagine what a pounding an Alfa with a Toyota Yaris bodyshell would get in Autocar nowadays. I reckon it would get a total shoeing and loads of flam about ‘the death of the Milanese legend’, even if it drove like a winner.

 

That's just it. Had the body been penned by Alfa, looking exactly as it does, I very much doubt anyone these days would question it. I guess it's a kind of marque snobbery at work.

 

I think people also forget these days that Alfa Romeo didn't really have any choice. They were stony broke so couldn't build a new car on their own. No European manufacturer would have entered into an alliance with them back then so it was Japan or nothing and the latter wasn't realistically an option. The time frame was short so their choice of Japanese models was extremely limited. Also, Honda already had a European deal with Rover and Mazda with Ford. The smaller marques like Daihatsu, Isuzu and Suzuki had nothing to offer. Subaru made sense as they were boxer powered already but were just plain weird looking and would have looked pretty poor with an Alfa grille That only really left Toyota or Nissan. Toyotas offering was the Tercel at the time which was not much of a looker at all, although it did have an inline engine which might have made the engineering to boxer power easier. I think that given the above, they made the best of a bad situation and in many ways produced a parts bin car that was actually decent. Much more fun to drive than an N12 and much better built than a Sud.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I wonder if they made any money on the Arna. It seems unlikely given the small numbers sold. I don’t think it was ever sold in France so I wonder where else it was not sold. But it must have been a big task to engineer it still, integrating the sud/33 floorpan into the Cherry bodyshell and tooling up for that must have cost almost as much as designing a new body I’d have thought.

 

Anyway I’d love an Arna and I’m sorry theyre so rare, I scrapped one years ago… wish I had it now! It was a 5-dr 1.2 in white bought out of the big scrapyard in Wideopen, Newcastle.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Ironically, Alfa Romeo managed to make some perfectly awful looking cars all on their own without the assistance of Nissan or anyone else. Just look at the Alfa 6. I would even venture that both the 75 and 90 are both pretty ungainly looking cars. No, I think in the context of the time, the Arna was well in line with most the rest of Alfa's efforts in terms of styling. 

 

I'm afraid I'll disagree with you here... All the transaxle Alfas were beautiful*, masterpieces* of Italian design* and engineering*. As, of course, was the Arna. I'd love to have any (or, in fact, all) of them on my driveway !

[Ratdat]

I wonder if they made any money on the Arna. It seems unlikely given the small numbers sold. I don’t think it was ever sold in France so I wonder where else it was not sold. But it must have been a big task to engineer it still, integrating the sud/33 floorpan into the Cherry bodyshell and tooling up for that must have cost almost as much as designing a new body I’d have thought.

 

Anyway I’d love an Arna and I’m sorry theyre so rare, I scrapped one years ago… wish I had it now! It was a 5-dr 1.2 in white bought out of the big scrapyard in Wideopen, Newcastle.

 

I've not been able to pin down exact figures but considering they built a whole factory just to assemble the body and make the interiors, I'd imagine the financial loss was significant. They only built little over 56,000 cars over four years. 

They were only sold in Italy, the UK, Germany, Spain and Switzerland for certain. I have found little evidence of them being sold elsewhere. They weren't sold in France and although there was some type approval work done for the Netherlands, they weren't sold their either. Spain only got about 300 Cherry Europe GTi models and no other versions. The only other place Nissan badged ones were sold was here. Most of the Arna Ti's sold in Italy, Germany and Switzerland were 1.3. I think only about 296 1.5 Ti's were sold in Italy. It's unclear how many Arna Ti's were sold here but I think it was very few (around 300). 

 

The floorpan is the same as an N12 with only the bulkhead and inner wings changed. Even the front panel and back panel are actually Nissan parts, albeit from one of the Japanese Pulsar models. All of the rest of the body panels remain the same as the Japanese models and in fact were shipped from Japan in crates to be assembled in Italy. Nearly all of the rest of the car is made in Italy apart from the dashboard and a few bits of trim.

 

As far as I can tell, in the UK there is one Cherry Europe 1.2 left (in white), 2 GTis (my ones) and 2 Arna 5 doors. There is also one ex race car Europe down south. No idea where the Europe 1.2 is but it's currently Sorn'd. The two Arnas are in Durham.

[The Moog]

Bought Stations 405 to go to Scotland. It performed flawlessly and even the missus loved it.

 

Plan was to swap wheels over (xantia got brand new dunlops on then) and any other good bits then flog on the xantia. Started swapping the wheels this morning only to find the pug is 14inch and so wont fit over xantias brakes.

 

 

So plan B is to use the pug as a runabout whilst i get all the little bits on the xantia done.

 

List is

Front wheel bearing

Fit rebuilt calipers

Change discs and pads

Timing belt

Water pump

Sort paintwork out

Fix rusty door jambs

 

After all that i will end up with a sorted car that should keep going for a while

 

 

Its a shame as the pug is a heart car, which is a hoot to drive even though has twice the mileage of the xantia. Xantia on the other hand is soulless and dies everything compentently.

 

Sent from my RM-892_eu_euro1_274 using Tapatalk

[dollywobbler]

Ratdat - I think your liking of Datsuns might be colouring your judgement. The nose especially is just awful. Yes, it is of its time, but it's hardly a shining example of styling of the time. Nice and clear around the back perhaps, but it just doesn't have the interest of say an Alfasud. I still like it though, but only because it is slightly ungainly.

[Sigmund Fraud]

(...) it just doesn't have the interest of say an Alfasud.

 

Well, I can't find much more interest in the design of a Sprint than an Arna, TBH :

 

 

Paradoxically, the Sprint still causes plenty of trouser tentage to Alfa fans worldwide while the Arna is completely forgotten !

[RobT]

At Gary Cox’s request, here’s a pic of the Cavalier CD I bought a few weeks ago (sorry no better ones yet as I AM LAZY).  Giffer owned from 3 years old and resided in Southend so Angrydicky may have seen it around.  Bodywork is a bit shit with rear arches crumbly in places although still presentable from a distance, and the front end has had a knock at some point.  But at £280 with tax till August and MoT till October it was a cheap way to satisfy my want for a mk3 Cav.  Colour is a grim dark blue but with a polish and a new coachline it should look loads better, neither of which I’ll probably do!  I much prefer the pre-facelift ones but this is early enough not to have the fug ugly airbag steering wheel and the nice, leather-clad three-spoke on instead.

 

 

It’s got an erratic idle which I'll hopefully fix with a new air intake pipe as the other is split.  This makes it tricky to drive smoothy at slow speeds so I’m driving like I stole it at the moment.  New plugs and air filter went in yesterday with the latter being filthy.  Apart from this the 2.0i engine is GR9, quiet and brisk which means I should eat the miles on the way to Shitefest next month.  I’d say the handling and ride are similar to the old AS bike Sierra, but then I ‘aint no Chris Goffey so others may disagree.

[Angrydicky]

You should have told me you were coming over here Rob! I don't recognise it but might remember the reg. There's a MK3 Cavalier in Kirby's Car Breakers in Rochford at the moment, shout if you want me to grab anything.

[phil_lihp]

I'd agree with Ratdat, the Arna's not a bad looking thing, it's very cleanly styled and has a distinctive eighties angular look.

[dollywobbler]

I think it's the nose I have the biggest problem with. HUGE indicators, and not much attempt at any form of styling. 

[trigger]

 

 

 

[Ratdat]

I would have thought that if anything I have a decent level of objectivity as I see generally cars for what they are rather than tinted by some kind of mystical 'special-ness' allied to a badge. Ultimately they are just consumer products. Some good, some bad. I don't have a bias for or against cars or marques based on here-say or what I read, or especially of other peoples opinions. I use my own eyes and where possible my own first hand experience. If a car is ugly, it's ugly. Regardless of who's badge it wears and conversely, in this particular case, I have managed to keep separate in my my mind, the notion of 'bad idea' from 'bad car' It may have been the former but not necessarily the latter.

 

Certainly, had the Arna been based on the previous two generations of Cherry (F10 and N10) then yes, I would have called it ugly because both of those models are aesthetically challenged to say the least (wow, how can I possibly say that if I like Datsuns so much?) but in reality, the N12 was quite a neat design for the era and market sector. Not an absolute stunner no, but certainly no more dull than any of it's contemporaries which bore similar plain and boxy styling. Comparisons with the styling of it's predecessor are largely as irrelevant as the 'Sud was a decade earlier. Times change. I do agree that in base model form the Arna was not exactly the pinnacle if Italian stylishness as it was simply too plain looking, but irony of ironies, the elements that really fall short, lights, grille and overly chunky bumpers, are the bits designed by Alfa Romeo. Fortunately they made up for it a little with the minor additions to the Ti and GTi which make quite a difference to it's looks.

 

You know, it's funny but I have never really seen motoring journos laying into these styling faux-pas from Alfa. I guess those wouldn't be the right opinions to have...

 

 

 

[Ratdat]

Yeah, but that's a late model car. The earlier chrome bumper models are beautiful.

 

That's true... early sprints are quite a pretty thing. In fairness to the original 'Sud, it aged very well over it's production life, much like the Peugeot 205 did into the 90's. 

 

It's still quite irrelevant to compare styling to predecessors though. Styling trends change over time. Think how the Sierra got lambasted for being butt-ugly compared to the wonderfully styled Cortina.

[derskine]

Must admit I think the Arna is a nice looking car and I've never seen myself a huge Alfa or Datsun fan.

[fordperv]

I'd have thought that a RWD version would benefit from not having driveshafts at the front to limit lock?

 

Don't know what rack he was running or what he had done but he modified a lot of it, I just know lock to lock it was shite haha

[RobT]

You should have told me you were coming over here Rob! I don't recognise it but might remember the reg. There's a MK3 Cavalier in Kirby's Car Breakers in Rochford at the moment, shout if you want me to grab anything.

 

Cheers Richard, I may take you up on that.  Reg is K502 SNR.  I collected it from Stanford-Le-Hope rather than Southend as that's where the daughter lived who was selling on behalf of her recently departed Dad, and was a bit of a rush to be honest!  Done after work mid-week and I wanted to get over the crossing before it got mental.  The temp gauge was creeping up whilst stuck in traffic but the fan cut in so atleast I know it doesn't overheat.  There's also a heavy oil leak either from the cap or the rocker cover so new gasket and cap are on the list.

 

BTW, have you ever seen a dark blue mk1 Fiesta Ghia in your area, registration KGP 513Y?  One of my old cars from 2008 that I sold to a lad from Rochford.  One of the easiest sales I've ever had, he turned up and within 5 minutes was handing over the cash, and I made a profit (albeit only 50 quid).  I seem to buy high and sell cheap these days.  The RONG way of doing things!

[Lukas]

After almost 4 years of restauration, my 86 Leone Turismo is almost ready for the road! Hurrray!   :mrgreen:      

 

 

It just needs it´s passenger-seat, the emblems on the back and some finishing touches now. Oh I am excited!

 

L

[barefoot]

'Arna looks a bit like a Scirocco if you look at a crumpled photo', he whispered quietly

[dollywobbler]

I'd never say all Alfas are beautiful. The 75 just doesn't work at all for me. The 164 is utterly gorgeous. They are very hit and miss. 

 

Anyway, my news is that I've finally watched Rush. Some dubious special effects at times, but a compelling story well told. 

[Cavcraft]

Polo is ready at my mate's VAG garage. Crank position sensor he tells me, plus a few other bits and bobs.

[trigger]

More hot of the press photos.

 

 

 

 

My only concern is how more bluer the colour looks compared to the old paint, I knew that it faded a lot but that looks really bright! I bet it will look good once finished and with all the chrome work back on.

[Cavcraft]

Coming along a treat that, Trig, can't wait to see the finished product.

[anonymous user]

Fuck the escort. I love the farino van. Can I buy it? Lol

Only problem I can see is that it will now be classed as a SSSI and you will need to comply with the Eels directive to get your MOT

[Angrydicky]

Cheers Richard, I may take you up on that.  Reg is K502 SNR.  I collected it from Stanford-Le-Hope rather than Southend as that's where the daughter lived who was selling on behalf of her recently departed Dad, and was a bit of a rush to be honest!  Done after work mid-week and I wanted to get over the crossing before it got mental.  The temp gauge was creeping up whilst stuck in traffic but the fan cut in so atleast I know it doesn't overheat.  There's also a heavy oil leak either from the cap or the rocker cover so new gasket and cap are on the list.

 

BTW, have you ever seen a dark blue mk1 Fiesta Ghia in your area, registration KGP 513Y?  One of my old cars from 2008 that I sold to a lad from Rochford.  One of the easiest sales I've ever had, he turned up and within 5 minutes was handing over the cash, and I made a profit (albeit only 50 quid).  I seem to buy high and sell cheap these days.  The RONG way of doing things!

Don't recognise the reg Rob. It looks a good buy anyhow.

 

Regarding the Fiesta, I got a shot of it back in 2009, parked at the side of the road in Southend. Haven't seen it since though.