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Ian K said..I dunno. I'd give the prize for the coolest SUV to the 2 door Range Rover Evoque. Closely followed by the Suzuki Ignis

Just as well you don't put your aesthetic sense to use as a industrial designer......
Far out, this is positively atrocious:

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Adriano said..

Just as well you don't put your aesthetic sense to use as a industrial designer......
Far out, this is positively atrocious:

You just haven't seen one in the flesh. So who do you give the SUV design prize to? (Alfa bias excluded)

Sure. Seeing an object in the flesh always changes one's perspective.....if I see one (and fark me if anyone is gullible enough to buy one) I'll have a good look.

Like I said, I think FWD non-sport model SUV's are a silly car concept. Not a 4WD, not a wagon, not a proper people mover, 90% have average handling generally and on and on. The trouble with their styling is that they are trying to do two things, be sporty and be practical whilst having a higher road clearance.

I think they're just bad station wagons.

Still, the Alfa looks OK, but if you want my opinion, I think the Porsche Macan S looks even better. Superb handling too.

Also, if we can go past the fake 4WD SUV marketing hype, I think the best ever AWD wagon is the 2013 Audi RS4 Avant. Gorgeous.

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Adriano said..


I think they're just bad station wagons.

Never had an SUV but I drove station wagons for years. Then I got a van, should have got one years ago when I was doing a lot of miles. You can't beat low slung cars for handling, basic physics. But spending hours at the wheel when 10/10 cornering is not required, with your legs horizontal is stupid. You can't wriggle, your heart has little to do pumping horizontally, you could fall asleep, or suffer DVT. Oncoming headlights shine in your eyes. Once you wake up to a sensible seating position you won't look back. I can see why SUVs are popular and sedans and wagons are rare.

Whilst the allure of an Alfa is well documented by car people, this older models as posted by decrepit are as ugly as a hat full of arseholes-if we're talking appearance. Like as bad as an old citroen

Copyright infringement right there.

Just read about that piece of overpriced machinery Maserati Suv..
This is Gold:
The name for it was KUBANG..then they had to change it quickly, because Jeremy Clarkson suggested that the reason for the name was that "it's the sound the car will make the day the warranty runs out".

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Adriano said..
Sure. Seeing an object in the flesh always changes one's perspective.....if I see one (and fark me if anyone is gullible enough to buy one) I'll have a good look.

Like I said, I think FWD non-sport model SUV's are a silly car concept. Not a 4WD, not a wagon, not a proper people mover, 90% have average handling generally and on and on. The trouble with their styling is that they are trying to do two things, be sporty and be practical whilst having a higher road clearance.

I think they're just bad station wagons.

Still, the Alfa looks OK, but if you want my opinion, I think the Porsche Macan S looks even better. Superb handling too.

Also, if we can go past the fake 4WD SUV marketing hype, I think the best ever AWD wagon is the 2013 Audi RS4 Avant. Gorgeous.

I owned the biturbo a6
stunning

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myusernam said..
Whilst the allure of an Alfa is well documented by car people, this older models as posted by decrepit are as ugly as a hat full of arseholes-if we're talking appearance. Like as bad as an old citroen

Sorry but you are mistaken the 105 series is beautiful.

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RichardG said..

myusernam said..
Whilst the allure of an Alfa is well documented by car people, this older models as posted by decrepit are as ugly as a hat full of arseholes-if we're talking appearance. Like as bad as an old citroen

Sorry but you are mistaken the 105 series is beautiful.

Myusernam has short memory Richard. If one objectively looks at the cars made at the same time, the Alfa is gorgeous. Even better looking than many Ferraris, Maseratis and Jaguars.

As for German cars, only Porsches looked any good.

Plus body design is as much about handling as looks, and the Alfa GTV had it in spades.

A masterpiece.

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cauncy said..

Adriano said..
Sure. Seeing an object in the flesh always changes one's perspective.....if I see one (and fark me if anyone is gullible enough to buy one) I'll have a good look.

Like I said, I think FWD non-sport model SUV's are a silly car concept. Not a 4WD, not a wagon, not a proper people mover, 90% have average handling generally and on and on. The trouble with their styling is that they are trying to do two things, be sporty and be practical whilst having a higher road clearance.

I think they're just bad station wagons.

Still, the Alfa looks OK, but if you want my opinion, I think the Porsche Macan S looks even better. Superb handling too.

Also, if we can go past the fake 4WD SUV marketing hype, I think the best ever AWD wagon is the 2013 Audi RS4 Avant. Gorgeous.

I owned the biturbo a6
stunning

Nice one. I think Audi, like BMW has lost the plot a bit on their styling since those models, but I'm sure it's only temporary. It happens when you've been leading design for decades.

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RichardG said..

That's gorgeous. How's the sound coming into the straight? Insane. You'd be forgiven for expecting that a V10 F1 was coming around the corner straight.

wog shiiitbox

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SandS said..
wog shiiitbox

Alfa Romeo represent designs, beauty and motoring achievements that are every bit as iconic as those equivalent of Sparkman & Stephens in the yachting arena. Neville Crichton former Alfa importer to Aust and NZ via ATECO had a boat called Alfa Romeo as well. It was not an S&S but a Reichel & Pugh design.

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SandS said..
wog shiiitbox

Appreciation of leading design and engineering is not universal.

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Adriano said..

SandS said..
wog shiiitbox

Appreciation of leading design and engineering is not universal.

I remember back in the early 80s, my escort van blew a ring. One of the guys at work was an escort fan, he'd been doing them up for years, so he lent me his book on how to work an escort engine. Ground off the balancing knobs on the big ends, port and polished the head, had it all rebalanced, etc. Previous owner/s of my GTv hadn't done the right thing, apart from bending it, I suspect they'd used tap water in the radiator, because I started getting water in the oil. So I though might as well work the engine as while the head is getting fixed. Pulled it apart, NO knobs on the big ends, and the inlet and exhaust channels shiny and smooth. NOTHING to do, the motor is the best it can be out of the factory! Apart from having all aluminum housings for motor gearbox and diff, the dual carbies were bolted straight on to the head, one choke per cylinder.
Alphas had a cross flow hemi head, twin over head cams way back in the 50s when yanky cars were still side valve clunkers.

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Adriano said..

SandS said..
wog shiiitbox

Appreciation of leading design and engineering is not universal.

Of course not. Might only get 2 stars in the crash test. That's OK, it looks like it's moving when it's standing still. The best looking modern car with 2 doors is a lift from a 60's design. What does that say?

Not bad, but not even close.

Here it is Ian. This is the company that practically defined coupe.

Clarkson has a point there. For me it's a toss up between an Alfasud and a '78 HZ ute. ( I include the ute because, rusty or not, it would at least still be self-supporting on 4 wheels). From a financial point of view it should have been my first car a, '56 beetle. But I've never been good with finance.

Sorry Adriano when I look at that car you've posted up I just think "'56 beetle".

Appreciation of leading design and engineering is not universal.

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Adriano said..
Not bad, but not even close.

Here it is Ian. This is the company that practically defined coupe.

Now you are talking, can't compare this to the mustang.

Yes you can, well within a decade you can. The 911 sources its design from a 1956 beetle and the Mustang from the 1965 model.
"I bought you a brand new Mustang... It was 1965"

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Ian K said..
Yes you can, well within a decade you can. The 911 sources its design from a 1956 beetle and the Mustang from the 1965 model.
"I bought you a brand new Mustang... It was 1965"

Yea, na.... 356 is the daddy of the 911

My mate from my Essendon days, Tom outdid me after I'd bought my '56 beetle for $300. He got a 356, paid nearly $2K for it! I've driven/ridden in them back to back. We were home mechanics in those days, many of the bits in the 356 had VW stamped on them.

It ran smoother than the VW but handled like one. He backed it into the armco turning right from Buckley Steet into Hoffmans Road. Bet he wished he didn't trade that one in. On an F100 I think.

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Ian K said..
My mate from my Essendon days, Tom outdid me after I'd bought my '56 beetle for $300. He got a 356, paid nearly $2K for it! I've driven/ridden in them back to back. We were home mechanics in those days, many of the bits in the 356 had VW stamped on them.

It ran smoother than the VW but handled like one. He backed it into the armco turning right from Buckley Steet into Hoffmans Road. Bet he wished he didn't trade that one in. On an F100 I think.

I bet he had wished he had kept it even crashed, they are worth heaps right now.