Originally Posted by George Knighton
I dunno. Would you really say they "got away with...that" ??
They only made 496 of the damned things, which isn't much of a success, even for a homologation special, and the design does not seem to have influenced subsequent FIAT/Lancia designs.
Just not a fan, I'm afraid.
I hear you. You're certainly entitled to your opinon.
I guess the appeal of the car is on a different plane, one divorced from logic.
No one would logically buy a Stratos for it's reliability - that's a given.
I admire it from the standpoint of aesthetics, and accept the shortcomings...primarilly because - as a non-owner - I can.
I admit... as clean and pure as the design is, I wouldn't
want to own one now either.
When I said, "Only the Italians could get away with something like that." I was speaking more to the entire Italian automobile industry than about the Stratos in particular. It seems that despite all the charming idiosyncracies of Italian cars, they still sold, because of a emotive appeal that defied logic.
But that's another discussion, for another time. :cheers: