Apparently I'm the only one.

"AMC/Renauledge" (n2skylark)
09/18/2015 at 15:48 • Filed to: None

It’s a volume-selling Italian car. It came as a wagon. In brown. With a manual. And a diesel Inline-5. It was a Lancia. It’s fairly recent. And yet, apparently I’m the only one on either Oppo or Jalopnik to ever even mention the Lancia Lybra, much less post about it. Crazy.

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DISCUSSION (29)

Party-vi > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 15:50

It is a fugly thing.

davedave1111 > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 15:52

Are you in the US, and have never actually been near one?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 15:53

Somebody edited the timestream. It didn’t exist until 6 months ago, and then it had always been around since ‘98. The only question is why.

AMC/Renauledge > davedave1111
09/18/2015 at 15:53

Yes, I’m from the US. No, I’ve never been near one.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 15:53

I always had a thing for them and I don’t know why. Lancia sedans just do it for me

AMC/Renauledge > Party-vi
09/18/2015 at 15:54

So are the Aztek, PT Cruiser, and Alfa Romeo ARNA. But we talk about them plenty.

AMC/Renauledge > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem
09/18/2015 at 15:56

Me too. It’s stately and elegant, in a slightly pudgy, retro-ish late ‘90s way.

Party-vi > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 15:59

The Aztek is a running gag on ugly cars, plus pop culture had made it relevant.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 16:00

Yet still uniqe and somewhat distinctive

AMC/Renauledge > Party-vi
09/18/2015 at 16:16

It was a constant conversation piece well before Breaking Bad.

AMC/Renauledge > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem
09/18/2015 at 16:17

Of course! It’s incredibly unique. And I think it ought to be right up Oppo’s alley.

davedave1111 > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 16:21

OK, not to be condescending, but that really does answer your question to a large extent. It’s similar to the way a Chrysler looks good on paper, if you’ve never encountered one. Although, come to think of it, it’s not just similar, it’s the same, since Chrysler and Lancia are model sharing now...

On top of that, I think there’s a large degree of unwillingness to talk about what’s happened to Lancia. You could be right about the cars viewed objectively - you’re not, but you could be - but we’d still look at them and say ‘that’s not a Lancia’.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 16:26

If 9/10 non car guys/gals say that a car is ugly I consider it Oppo worthy

B/Xmrrmvr > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 16:26

Because they look like Daewoos.

AMC/Renauledge > davedave1111
09/18/2015 at 16:27

How am I wrong about the Lybra objectively?

Also, just go ahead and search any Chrysler product on Jalopnik or Oppo, whether it was sold in the US, Europe, Australia, or Latin America. All of them have been discussed.

AMC/Renauledge > B/Xmrrmvr
09/18/2015 at 16:29

You realize the Daewoos you’re referring to came out at exactly the same time, right?

You also realize that those Daewoos got multiple mentions on Oppo and Jalopnik over the years, right?

B/Xmrrmvr > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 16:40

You realize the Daewoos you’re referring to came out at exactly the same time, right?

Yeah, except the Lancia wasn’t released in the US, unlike the Daewoo.

You also realize that those Daewoos got multiple mentions on Oppo and Jalopnik over the years, right?

Yeah, as shitty, shitty, terrible cars. Again, not released in the US so not surprised it’s been missed as it’s not a performance car and it’s looks aren’t captivating in the slightest.

AMC/Renauledge > B/Xmrrmvr
09/18/2015 at 16:54

Lancias haven’t been sold in America since 1982. But plenty of people talk about the Thema, Kappa, and even the Prisma and Dedra.

I’ve seen threads about the Chrysler 180 and Centaura, Hillman Hunter and its Iranian descendant, and even the Proton Gen2 here.

But not the Lancia Lybra. Very strange.

505 - morphine not found > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 17:19

This is actually fitting the car. I remember when it was launched, i liked the looks and the plush Italian interior (never been in one though), and that they got Harrison Ford to endorse the damn thing in the launch ads, like he even knew what Lancia was. But the Lybra never got off the ground really, everyone forgot it existed in 2-3 years after the launch....

AMC/Renauledge > 505 - morphine not found
09/18/2015 at 17:32

Yeah, I would think with the hive mind with its posts about JDM obscurities, secret VW prototypes, Button plan rebadges from Australia, weird JVs between VW and Hillman and Ford-Renault-Willys in Latin America, etc., the Lancia Lybra would have been mentioned at some point over the years.

505 - morphine not found > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 17:51

I do get your point, and I agree. At one time I was seriously contemplating buying the big brother of this, the Kappa (ideally: Wagon-5pot turbo petrol-manual), though that was before i pledged myself to be an RWD man. I’m just saying this situation you bring up fits the car, sadly.

Never the less, here’s something I wrote about the demise of the Lancia the other day. Tl:DR - even when they were churning out rally legend after rally legend, they just could not translate that to sales, so in effect, their closure has been a looooong time coming. We enthusiast only ever mention the racing versions, and the general public just does not mention Lancia at all.

AMC/Renauledge > 505 - morphine not found
09/18/2015 at 18:18

Right. Lancia nearly died in the late ‘60s when Fiat picked them up. They built beautiful and amazing stuff that was too expensive, flawed, and temperamental. Sales fell to unsustainable levels and profits were impossible.

Fiat came in and injected cash, rationalized the lineup, and began parts sharing. Saab even helped co-develop a few models. But the quality was gone.

Fiat had a hard time focusing on and marketing the Lancia brand, as well, especially once they bought Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

And once those two brands were added, I wonder if Fiat even WANTED Lancia to do well in racing. That made their job transforming Lancia’s image so much harder.

In fact, at Fiat in general over the last 20 years, we’ve seen a full-fledged retreat of product offerings and market share. Fiat doesn’t sell a C-segment mainstream car in Europe anymore, much less a D or E-segment. Or MPVs. Or coupes.

The whole company - except Maser and Ferrari - was run into the ground. So I don't fault the cars so much as the company's gross incompetence.

505 - morphine not found > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 18:30

Pretty much.

Cé hé sin > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 18:40

I think I’ve seen one. Once. But then again, I’ve seen several Theses.

AMC/Renauledge > 505 - morphine not found
09/18/2015 at 18:43

I’m just astounded at how badly a company that was making a bunch of world-beating, state-of-the-art cars in the ‘90s could piss it all away so quickly. How do we get from Multipla to 500L? How did we go from 600, Punto, Barchetta, Bravo/Brava, Coupe, Multipla, Marea, and Ulysse to 11 year-old Panda, 8 year-old 500, 10 year-old Punto, 8 year-old Dodge Journey-based Freemont, 500L, and 500X so quickly?

How did we get from a promising 2001 lineup of 147, GTV/Spider, 156, and 166, to one with just the Giulietta and MiTo in 2012? How did we get from Ypsilon, Musa, Lybra, Phedra, and Thesis in 2004 to just the Ypsilon today?

It’s shocking to me.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem
09/18/2015 at 19:33

This Lancia does it for me too! I love the style. By the way... how do you like my new outfit?

Kinja'd!!!

And my friends like that Lancia too!

Kinja'd!!!

pip bip - choose Corrour > AMC/Renauledge
09/18/2015 at 23:45

front wheel drive though.

AMC/Renauledge > pip bip - choose Corrour
09/19/2015 at 03:17

Lancias have all been FWD-based since 1971, with most switching over in the early ‘60s.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
09/19/2015 at 03:28

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