Would you like to see Lancia back in the UK?

[boobydoo]

Went to a Chrysler UK conference today in Bedford, where they revealed their plans and marketing strategies for 2011.

 

Chrysler new car sales were on the floor this year (less than 3000) due to inavailability of new models, deletion of Jeep Cherokee, Compass, Commander, Avenger, Sebring from UK range...and their ridiculous decision to finally move HQ from Milton Keynes (which they shared with Mercedes UK) to Fiat HQ Slough during late August early September...one of the busiest selling windows in the UK. No new cars could be registered til a week into September and no finance systems were up and running either.

 

A seemingly total loss of direction in all aspects of marketing.

 

However, under new Fiat ownership they plan to double sales in 2011 with the latest Grand Cherokee which is a vast improvement on current model... due in May, and new 300c due Autumn.

 

 

But of more interest is their decision to market two new Lancia models in the UK , but badge them as Chryslers. The new Chrysler Delta is out in June and a new Epsilon family hatchback in September.

 

Lancia Delta in Europe

 

Chrysler Delta in UK

 

The reason for this decision is that they felt Chrysler had a 'stronger market image' in Britain than Lancia.

 

Do fellow autoshiters agree or would you like to see Lancia return as a brand after nearly 20 years? Is the negativity surronding them pretty much forgotten?

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

That sounds like something General Motors would come up with, utterly mental.

[Shep Shepherd]

Not if the Delta is representative of their current model range - it's hideous!

[eddyramrod]

I can't see the Epsilon, only the Delta, but I would have thought the Chrysler name had enough negativity of its own to make this a no-brainer! Lancia was always a premium brand (which is what they want to sell you now so they can make more money) despite the rust issue of the 70s. If they're already sold as Lancias in the rest of Yurrup, then let's have them in Yuk too. I won't be buying one anyway, for the following reasons:

1) New cars? Not F--king Likely!

2) I've never had the kind of money they will want for a tatty plastic hatchback and if I had, a TPH is not what I would be buying.

3) Have you looked at that Delta?????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

4) It's a f--king Seat with a different grille, isn't it? Certainly looks like a Leon from here.

 

And as if the Merc-based one wasn't dodgy enough, wtf is going on with that new 300? Seems to me, cars just get uglier and uglier with each generation.

 

(Edit: Epsilon came up, and I wish it hadn't!)

[Cheggers]

I would have to say I agree and disagree at the same time (jesus, this fence is cold...). While I agree it would be great to see the Lancia name back in the UK, I think we need to accept that we're not necessarily representative of the general populous (sp?) - I'm sure we'd also like to see Austin, Riley, Yugo and Peerless back in the showrooms

 

I suspect they're right, Chrysler probably does resonate more with todays new car buyer.

[eddyramrod]

We'll never see Peerless simply because the name actually has a meaning in English...

 

(Edit: and I've just realised I wasn't looking at the Epsilon at all, just the bloated rear of the Delta. Think I need better painkillers...)

[Cheggers]

Now there's a challenge...motoring brands that actually mean something

 

Peerless

Triumph

Matchless

Rover

Reliant

 

Ok, I'm sorry...dull idea after all

[brammy777]

I dont know why, but I actually like it. Okay, so its no original Delta, but considering how all modern cars look, surely no one was expecting it to?!

The Ypsilon (Epsilon) is a good looking car at the moment, and would have probably done quite well here but considering the current model has been out since 2003 I am presuming its all new design now? Could do alright, but Chrysler do not have the customer base to begin with to do this!

I want this to do well, but I have a strong feeling it won't.

[eddyramrod]

No No Cheggers, carry on! A lot were named after people, eg Ford, Austin, Morris, Rolls-Royce... Land-Rover is a fine example as it exactly describes what the vehicle was meant to do (and continues to do 60+ years later!). If we look at model names, we'll find more examples of the now-illegal English words, such as Herald, Kestrel, Oxford; but once the exotic place names began creeping in (Capri, Cortina, Granada, Seville) it was only a short step to meaningless drivel like Mondeo.

 

You won't see me saying these words very often, but Volkswagen should be praised. In particular, for sticking with Golf and Polo which are recognisable in English.

[autofive]

i dont think UK car buyers are dumb enough to believe Lancia is a stand alone brand anymore

 

i'd like to see Lancia's for sale in the uk again, but not using the same quality steel & shoddy components they used in the 70s and 80s, or a re-badged US product

[Cheggers]

If we'll accept Daewoos rebadged as Chevrolets, we'll accept anything

[boobydoo]

Ahhhh....

 

Oxford

Cambridge

Westminster

Dorset

Devon

Hampshire

Hereford

Somerset

......proper British cars with proper patriotic names! Evokes a wonderful, if maybe rose-tinted past!!

[brammy777]

Didn't Top Gear say something about Lancia being different now due to Fiat Ownership? I am sure they did. Despite the fact Fiat have owned them for over 40 years now. There is an imported Lybra in Basingstoke, and if you go to London, expect to see a Lancia, be it old or new. I think the new Delta looks slightly better than the late 90s version, which looked like it had fat cheeks. Worked on the Kappa, but not the Delta...

Apparently the new Delta is 'only' 97mm wider than the original! Bit longer, mind you.

[eddyramrod]

(Daewoos) ...When they were only old Vauxhalls anyway!

 

Chevrolet was a bloke, as was Opel, the real origin of those Daewoos; Vauxhall is part of London. What's Daewoo? What's a Nubira? Chevrolet Bel Air I understand, a man and a California resort. No problem. Vauxhall Victor, a place and a winner (clever positive-imagery there, Luton, what a pity you can't do that now).

 

More please!

[Tayne]

.

[boobydoo]

I still think the Lancia brand would be considered more upmarket than Chrysler and therefore more profitable.

 

No they couldn't be stand alone, so market them as the Lexus/Toyota equivalent for Fiat which is as it was in the 70s. There's always some mug willing to pay a bit extra for something 'niche'.

 

I understand that Chrysler as a brand will now disappear from mainland Europe.

[brammy777]

This is the current Ypsilon. I like it. Alot!

[Pete-M]

I'd love to see Lancia back. Other than the 300C, Chrysler haven't given us a good car in the UK since records began.

 

(Apologies to 180 owners, but hey, they're Autoshite gold if nuffink else).

[Formula Autos]

I'd love to see Lancia back, but I suspect that like others of a similar mind (anyone who likes Lancias is probably into old cars) wouldn't ever dream of buying a new car. Which means they would largely have to sell to the Great British Public, any of whom over about 40 probably equates Lancias with rust. So basically the Lancia brand's dead in the water in the UK unless it can be sold to under 40s. Looking like a modern day Italian Vanden Plas (chintzy grille et al, with volume manufacturer underpinnings) isn't likely to appeal to that demographic really.

 

Disguising them as Chryslers might therefore be the only option. Trouble is the motoring press will be onto this little ruse like a shot, and it'll only be a few short years before it's common knowledge that they're Lancias with a different badge. To weather that storm the product needs to be so good it sells itself, and from what I've heard the current crop of Lancias are OK. Not great, or even good. Just OK. Also, as Lancias haven't been sold in the UK since about '94 the current range of cars may not have been designed with RHD in mind, and as a result converting them might cost a packet - if so they'll either be priced higher than comparable cars, or the conversion costs will have to come out of the profit margin.

 

Doomed to failure then, unless they can somehow produce a cracking range of cars.

 

Doomed to failure then.

[AnthonyG]

There was a plan to relaunch Lancia in the UK with the Delta, but the recession put paid to those plans. Then the Fiat/Chrysler tie up come along.

 

Lancia would be a very uphill struggle in the UK, so I can see why they have gone the Chrysler route. It's going to be better than most of the cars they have sold here (Sebring, Avenger, all those horrible Dodge's ) but I can't see them flying out of the showrooms.

[timmyteapot]

Strange really, I worked for chrylser jeep in 2000 and the Voyagers and Grand Cherokees flew out of the showroom, the PT Cruiser was a massive success and you never knocked a bean off list, but when fuel prices rocketed and people got wind of the running costs they lost faith. Now you cant give them away, plus the new models are far too chintzy and rather nasty.

 

Give them 5 years and they will pull out of the UK as Lancia did.

 

We still like our German cars and I cant see that changing.

[eddyramrod]

We still like our German cars

 

What's this "We," paleface? In 2002 I had my first BMW. I owned it four weeks, which was five weeks too long. I won't be repeating the experience.

[Mash]

I predict that the Chrysler Delta will be a massive HIT on the grounds that it looks too fucking ugly.

 

EFA ugly cars sell well, people are that stupid!

 

Seriously though, it would be great to have Lancia back but I suspect that it has little meaning to the large majority of UK car buyers. It's 20 years nearly since the Dedra was dropped which is a long time for a name to be out of a market. The reasons for buying one would be totally different to buying a Fulvia or Appia.

 

I also suspect that the majority of proper car enthusiasts who might have bought a new Lancia if it was the 1960s, would not feel the same about a badge-engineered Euroblob today. To make a mark with all the things Lancia should stand for, the cars should have the same thing that still makes Alfa that bit different. It's difficult now to make standard cars stand out much nowadays of course because they all come from the same computer programme. When Lancia was in its heyday, it was a marque with distinction and buying one in the UK meant you were in the know and wanted the sophistication and engineering that came with it. Sadly that's no longer the case.

[trigger]

If you say Lancia to most people they will instantly think expensive to repair when it breaks down (which will be often) and rusts like buggery, It will take a LOT of work for Lancia to make people change their mind and rebuild their trust.

 

Oh that and the fact the cars are pig ugly as well don't help things.

[seth]

I really don't think many people would have any view on the name Lancia. Anyone under 30 might well have never heard of it before unless they'd hired one when on holiday. And while I don't doubt some older folk would remember the rusty reputation I doubt they'd expect to see any new cars built in 2011 to suffer the same. Alfas were just as bad back then and they're still selling here....

[Rocket88]

If Alfa can't crack it in the UK, Lancia certainly won't. The only Fiat that has any kudos is the current 500. Italian makers have always been pretty minor players in the UK, there only real seller in large numbers was the 127, but when they failed to give it a hatchback from the start of production, even that struggled. Things like epic rust, comical wiring, and iffy build quality, however dynamically superior the car is, do not wash with the uk buyer, who is basically pretty conservative.

[timmyteapot]

We still like our German cars

 

What's this "We," paleface? In 2002 I had my first BMW. I owned it four weeks, which was five weeks too long. I won't be repeating the experience.

 

 

I didnt say they were any good though, I do work for VW though and find them ok.

 

Mind you I would never buy a new car unless my numbers came up............

[barrett]

If they'd man up and make this, then yes, I would

[Richard]

Fiats have always sold pretty well in the UK, perhaps because they were well ahead of the competition on affordable credit repayments.

 

There's a big market for Euroboxes with sporty pretensions, I'd have thought a Lancia badged car would be well placed to cash in on that market.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

This is the kind of directionless nonsense a desperate manufacturer like Fiat would come up with. They have enough trouble flogging Alfas, so Lancia would be a waste of time. The public vaguely remembers rusty shit like the Beta and turgid crap like the Prisma/Deadra. Fiat ruined Lancia and the name means nothing - it's even a joke in Italy. The proper Lancias were made over 40 years ago.

Fiat are trying to do a VW and have several plateaus of brands, but the ones VW have are actually worth more than 50p.

 

Fiat - not bad for the money as long as it's cheap.

Alfa - Nice idea in theory, but......

Lancia - Eh?

Chrysler - Christ no!

 

Fiat will probably rue the day they got involved in Chrysler, a company even Mercedes couldn't make work.