Friday, August 26, 2011
Classic Car: Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v
I saw a Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v at the July 2011 edition of Houston Cars and Coffee. This is the first Lancia I have seen in person. It looks like a hatchback from the 1980s, similar to a 1980s Volkswagen Golf.
Lancias are very rare in America since Lancias were officially sold in America from 1975 to 1982, when Lancia withdrew from the American auto market due to slow sales.
Lancias are very rare in America since Lancias were officially sold in America from 1975 to 1982, when Lancia withdrew from the American auto market due to slow sales.
The Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v is powered by a turbocharged 2.0L I4 engine, paired with five-speed manual transmission, that produces 200 hp and 224 lb-ft of torque. This car goes from 0 to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and reaches a top speed of 137 mph. At the time I am writing this article, I saw one Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v being sold on an internet auction for $15,795 with no bids.
Top Gear presenters did a segment on the Lancia brand, saying that Lancia has made the greatest number of great cars among any car brand, during Series 14, Episodes 3. The Top Gear presenters said that the Delta HF Integrale is like no other Lancia because it was safe and reliable. The Lancia Delta Integrale is playable in Sega Rally Championship, Sega Rally Online Championship, Dirt 3, Gran Turismo 2, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, Gran Turismo 4, Gran Turismo 5, Destruction Derby Raw, South Park Rally, Project Gotham Racing2, Project Gotham Racing 4, Choro Q HG 4, Test Drive Unlimited 2, vDream Racing, Shift 2: Unleashed, Motorstorm games, Colin McRae Rally games, Sega Rally 2, Sega Rally Revo, Micro Machines V4, Trash Rally, Rallisport Challenge, Drift Out '94, Grand Tour Racing '98, Deadly Racer, The Getaway: Black Monday, Stunts, WRC: Rally Evolved, WRC 4, Drift Out, Need For Speed: Pro Street, Forza Motorsport games, Super Chase HQ, Choro Q Park, Rally Fusion: Race of Championships, Shox, Choro Q Advanced, PC Rally, Enthusia Professional Racing, and Rally Masters: Michelin Race of Champions.
The Lancia Delta is the most successful Lancia ever built. It is safe and reliable. The Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v is one of the most successful rally cars ever made. Unfortunately, Lancia had a nightmare with the backlash from rusted Betas. The Lancia brand was pulled out of several markets, including the American and British car markets. Fiat bought Lancia in 1969 and bought 30% of Chrysler in 2009 and as of June 3, 2011, Fiat owned 52% of Chrysler. Since buying part of Chrysler, Fiat has returned to the American market with the Fiat 500. Fiat plans to use Chrysler platforms for Lancia Vehicles. The current Lancia Delta would be sold as a Chysler in the British and Irish car markets. In America, a Chrysler-badged Lancia Delta was revealed at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show and there are rumors that the Delta would replace the Chrysler PT Cruiser.
Best of 'Top Gear' Car Tests
We can all agree that Top Gear is one of the most thrilling and brutally honest car shows on the planet. Their "tests" of vehicles are more or less a savage thrashing of the cars they somehow convince manufacturers to lend them. Below are some of the highlights of those tests. Enjoy!
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Nissan Recovery Stories
At 2:46 in the afternoon on March 11, an unprecedented disaster struck Japan, claiming over 24,000 lives and threatening the safety and livelihoods of millions in the country.
For Nissan, some five staff and 17 family members perished in the devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami, with more than 50 dealerships and parts suppliers damaged, as production across Japan shut down completely.
At the Yokohama headquarters, which felt the quake although 250 kms away, an Earthquake Crisis Committee of executives met within minutes, but the magnitude of destruction and potential impact on Japan and Nissan had no blueprint.
The response would test the resilience and imagination of company staff, with heroes emerging to help lead Nissan, its many customers and stakeholders to safer ground.
For Miyagi branch manager Hiroyuki Sato, who lost two staff and was himself listed among missing after the tsunami struck, a slow evacuation from the disaster zone gave insight into how great its impact.“I had seen the tsunami with my own eyes from the coastal town of Onagawa, and roads were now covered with debris and impassable. On the fourth or fifth day... I could finally contact the office by cell phone, and when my boss answered, he exclaimed: "You're alive." I apologized for worrying others, and then I contacted the dealer president and other executives to tell them that I had survived. I learned about the status of our customers, the dealership and the showroom.”
Amid the growing tragedy, commitment to those losing cars and family mobility remained top priority, while the company offered Nissan LEAFs and other vehicles to relief efforts.
Masaki Kobayashi, president of Nissan Prince Miyagi, said resources were deployed to deal with the crisis and help those most in need.“Miyagi Prefecture is very big and the area near the ocean felt the brunt of the tsunami, while other areas basically just endured the earthquake. We have 26 car outlets, and there was tremendous damage at five new and two used car outlets. We tried to get vehicles from centers like this to the coastal and damaged areas, while also looking to come up with a recovery plan, but at the same time, gasoline supplies became thin. Our customers and our own staff couldn't drive around, and this went on for two weeks. It became very important to direct all company resources in the same direction.”
Slowly, vehicles made it to the disaster zone, while at the Iwaki factory in Fukushima, General Manager Nobuhiro Ozawa and team faced their own extensive structural damage.
Ozawa's plant produces over 370,000 Nissan and Infiniti engines yearly, and Iwaki's "Gambappe" recovery -- even after a second quake struck in early April -- became a symbol of Japan's resilience amid the tragedy.“Everyone was safe -- we were lucky. Our factory infrastructure, though, except for electricity, was completely down with damage very serious. Skylights, cables and apparatus hung from the rafters, and we really couldn't enter the factory immediately. We thought it would take a very long time to recover.“
That moment came mid-May, marked by a return Iwaki visit by CEO Carlos Ghosn.
However, Nissan's parts and car pipeline had faced an equal test after the earthquake.
A huge vessel with 600 Nissan LEAFs left Yokohama just before disaster struck, but Japanese ports and highways were then closed, with cars and auto parts for export or transfer destined to sit without resourceful action.
At the logistics centers of Honmoku, Kyushu, Aichi and Fuji, which see 400 container shipments daily, the lockdown of the supply pipeline became General Manager Kiyoshi Onoe's problem to solve.
After immediately ensuring his team and facilities were safe, a comeback strategy was mapped out.
“After the earthquake, we really focused on reviving operations, knowing we couldn't do it by ourself. It required huge support from many, but two key factors emerged: Colleagues from 10 overseas factories came to Honmoku -- not to obtain their own car parts, but instead to sort out worldwide factory allocation and to share existing supply, thus prioritizing market needs. These factories had stopped overtime and weekend work, so that helped in our resume shipments without confusion. The other key was staff at Honmoku, Kyushu, Aichi and Fuji never gave up in trying to ship parts and reopen the pipeline. That was the biggest factor in recovery.”
Today, Honmoku and other Nissan wharfs, factories and dealerships are now back on-line through the overwhelming team response to the crisis. Still, the impact of that day in March will be felt for years, although Nissan can look back on its staff's heroic response to the greatest natural disaster in Japanese history and know its people stood tall.
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