Lewis Hamilton

It's too bad he "only" managed 3rd place in his home race. He is truly a phenom- a charismatic, and from all accounts, likable guy, and oh, I almost forgot- _FAST_!!. I'll always be able to say that I saw him win his first F1 race, in Montreal a few weeks ago. (Or, at least saw his helmet zoom by 60 odd times). This F1 season looks to be one of the best and most entertaining in a long time, especially compared with those long years when the only question was who would be least badly out-run by the red guys.

John M. '94 E320 (in silver)

Lewis is a gread driver no doubt about that but we should not underestimate the importance of a brilliant car. He himself admitted first that the problems Massa had, allowed him reach third place instead of fourth (this too is a great characteristic of Lewis) Let's see what Alonso can do when he learns the tyres, the car and the team learns how to set up the car for him (I'm not putting one above the other now, the future would likely be different).

But is the comment about "least badly out-run" an American/Canadian view? Seems like Renault is too unfamiliar car brand to you, still they won both the drivers' and constructors' championship title for the two previous years! (I've never had a Renault and likely never will but they should be recogniced to their real achievements).

I think the point is/was the enduring firsts of the Ferrari/M Schumacher combo, no... :-)

DAS

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You are right, of course, but I was thinking more of the early 00's.

Renaults were for many years imported to Canada as were Peugeot, Fiat, Alfa, Vauxhall, Anglia/Cortina, Borgward, Humber, DKW, &c &c &c, (even a Taunus or two) but these have all been swept away by the Japanese. If, 30-40yrs ago, a young man wanted to have a car, but didn't want the family Chevrolet Biscayne, Pontiac Laurentian, Ford Custom or another American clunker, he scraped up his $ from his part time job and bought a small European car. Two of my friends each had Renault Dauphines (or, rather, they had the parts from four Dauphines between them), my father had a Peugeot 504 (until his son rolled it), my sister a Fiat, and I a Vauxhall.

It would be an interesting question to see whether there are, in 2007, more Renaults or more Ferraris on N. American roads. I am 100% certain there are more Ferraris than Borgwards and Simcas combined.

There are dozens of reasons why these cars (the ones still manufactured) are no longer available in N. Amer. and I suspect that there have been Economics and business PhDs written on the subject, and I am sure that we N. Americans are poorer for this lack of diversity of choice.

John M '94 E320 with the smoke silver shiny side still up

With some of them the quality and safety may not have been up to scratch... ?...

Borgwards and Simcas are rather ancient now. In the UK at least I bet there are more Ferraris around now...

DAS

For direct replies replace nospam with schmetterling

As a formet Fiat owner I can tell you why there's none left in Canada in one word: rust.

Indeed! In the late 70s -- at the height of Fiat Group rust -- a friend owned an Alfasud. Typically Alfa. Nice looking, great drive... but a rust bucket. Wasn't even that old. Rumours abounded that they came off the assembly line with rust...

A little while ago a major UK newspaper ran a feature on Alfa Romeo, interviewing a number of owners, who were all fans. The upshot was you should have it only when under warranty and if prepared to see it spend significant time in the workshop...

In recent years when on holiday in Italy for a fortnight I managed to get Avis to guarantee me an Alfa Romeo 147 with a 1.9 turbodiesel engine. Lovely motor -- smartest-looking car in its class, I reckon. Wouldn't risk owning it, though. While much better quality now it still suffers from high depreciation in the UK.

Going to Italy again next week and hoping to get an Italian car. Have to call Avis and remind them...

DAS

For direct replies replace nospam with schmetterling