tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post3044443333645090645..comments2024-03-29T13:59:42.629+00:00Comments on The IPKat: From Ridicule to Reverence: The Brand PhoenixVerónica RodrÃguez Arguijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763207846940036921noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-39954763570668332932011-04-26T09:54:31.368+01:002011-04-26T09:54:31.368+01:00Skoda may indeed be a worthy name today, but some ...Skoda may indeed be a worthy name today, but some of its pre-VW models were<br />frankly terrifying. I suspect that the Octavia Estate, vintage 1960s, was<br />the worst handling car in the history of the automobile. It has swing rear<br />axle suspension, and suffered terrifying changes of camber under braking<br />that I suspect (without proof) would have shamed a VW Beetle. I once got a<br />ride in one to a tutorial in central Melbourne on a wet day, when, going<br />round a corner at a relatively gentle speed, the back end was suddenly<br />visited with an insatiable curiosity to find out what the world of the<br />front end looked like. So there was the hapless driver winding on opposite<br />lock like a thing possessed, while yours truly only had eyes for the very<br />substantial telegraph pole looming up. He stopped about a foot short of the<br />pole. I'm glad I wore my brown corduroy trousers on that day...<br /><br />Fiat seems to have made a reasonable fist with Lancia, which in days gone<br />by were known to rust away as you looked at them. Fiat also rescued<br />Ferrari, which had some of the worst building standards in the industry<br />(aluminium panels bolted directly to steel chassis (the electrochemical<br />corrosion had to be seen to be believed), panels that were hand-beaten (and<br />which therefore were never exactly interchangeable) and V12s with 6<br />twin-choke Weber carburettors that were never in tune. Enzo Ferrari simply<br />didn't care - he only built road cars to get the money to go racing, was<br />staggeringly rude to his customers, who, of course, could afford to have<br />the car standing around for most of the year getting fixed.<br /><br />If you have to mention the Fiat 500, you'd have to include what inspired<br />it, BMW's reworking of the Mini.Tony McSteanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-22742192180698243562011-04-26T07:01:46.856+01:002011-04-26T07:01:46.856+01:00Let's not forget Tab (for those Kats who didn&...Let's not forget Tab (for those Kats who didn't drink diet soda prior to Diet Coke), it was the ultimate girly drink--pink can and flowers. Now they're trying to sell it to the male skateboarding set.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-40189833623372086252011-04-25T18:10:36.773+01:002011-04-25T18:10:36.773+01:00GOLA trainers were pretty uncool when I was young....GOLA trainers were pretty uncool when I was young.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-80554281038099614972011-04-25T02:06:08.460+01:002011-04-25T02:06:08.460+01:00Burberry, rescued from the chavs?Burberry, rescued from the chavs?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-32013931540603329282011-04-24T16:40:47.795+01:002011-04-24T16:40:47.795+01:00You forgot that old classic:
- How do you double ...You forgot that old classic:<br /><br />- How do you double the value of a {Lada, Skoda, etc.}<br /><br />- Fill up the petrol tank.<br /><br />I'm not really not into stamped metal fetishism, but, frankly speaking, had vintage Skodas really much to envy from triumphs of British engineering such as Morris Marina or Reliant Robin?<br /><br />Skoda's background is not limited to automobiles either. Think heavy engineering, locomotives, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com