Posts Tagged ‘italian’

Behind Door #3 – 1958 Fiat 1100 103D

June 10, 2014

Back in the days when GM, Chrysler and Ford were appending giant tailfins to their cars, and manufacturers around the world couldn’t decide which way the doors should open, Fiat released the 1100 into the marketplace. If you’ll recall, the 1950s and 1960s produced cars with suicide doors in the front, suicide doors in the back, gullwing doors, sliding doors, and no doors at all. Lancia’s Appia even had no b-pillar and rear suicide doors to aid access. Interestingly, there was no car with suicide doors front and rear. Check out this 1958 Fiat 1100 for sale for $2800 in Sanger, CA.

1958 Fiat 1100 left front

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40 This Year – 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce

May 22, 2014

Generally speaking, 1974 was the final year for chrome bumpers on US-market cars, so at this point, we’re at the 40th anniversary of FMVSS 215 and its diving-board-bumper impact on automotive styling. Some manufacturers (BMW and Mercedes, for example) were proactive and had their 1974 model year cars already restyled, but smaller volume manufacturers like Alfa Romeo, Fiat and most British makes were given some leeway. The Alfa Spider was one of those cars, and while you can see the 1974 bumpers protrude more and have little nipples on the strike face, they’re still much cleaner than the updated 1975 battering rams. Check out this 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce, for sale for $2700 in Austin, TX.

1974 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce left front

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Faded Glory – 1959 Lancia Flaminia Berlina

May 20, 2014

While cheap cars in decay are a pretty cool thing to look at, formerly expensive cars in decay are arguably much more interesting. You expect a cheap, daily use car to eventually move beyond a point of economic viability, while expensive cars are much more likely to soldier on, supported by garage-mates or the budgets of wealthy owners. Seeing a decayed luxury car prompts all kinds of questions… who first owned it? Where has it lived? How did it get to its present state? How can anyone let something that beautiful go to ground? And on that pensive note, check out this 1959 Lancia Flaminia Berlina, for sale for $2500 somewhere in Lake County, CA, just north of the Napa/Sonoma wine country.

1959 Lancia Flaminia Berlina left front

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