another car idea's post

And it's taken them *how* long to work that one out?

Peter

Going down that road, yes.

At least VAG now give you a reason to want an Audi, 'cos the A4 is no longer a posh VW.

The lifecycle of the platform in question.....

Of course, they've really stuffed things up this time by offering people a choice of 2 very similarly sized saloons, both with VW badges.

You'd have thought the Jetta would have been better as an A3 Saloon.

Did someone say "Chomp!"?

Just got back from Maagdenburg (150 km west of Berlin). That city must be the kingdom of "Wurst": the whole town is filled with endless kinds of sausages (and they are all heavy on the stomach)

I've had a brief encounter with a serious quick Opel Signum: double tailpipes, OPC badges and quite a bit faster than 250 kph. Standard looking car (tires , ride height etc) but the speed it went was certainly not "ab Werk".

Damned, every time I am there: the Autobahn is a piece of art. Smooth, flowing, correctly inclined corners, no potholes, no tramlining, (due to the week-end) not a lot of trafic and disciplined drivers but apart from the Opel and a 4.2 TDI Audi very few fast ones. Oh yeah: no speedcams hidden in a bush :-)

Crossed into the Netherlands at Venlo: the fillings almost dropped out of my teeth and when I crossed the Belgian border I distincly hearded all of my teeth rattle.

Gonna check Opel OPC-tuners now.

Tom De Moor

Yes; they have been for a while.

As a footnote, the Alfa Romeo 159's chassis was mostly designed by Saab, too.

All is explained, then.....

That's why it's overweight (Saab platform) and underpowered (GM petrol engines).....

Looks like it'll have a very short life compared with the 156. Engines will be the first to be replaced by proper Alfa / Fiat lumps and a full replacement looks like it's on the cards relatively soon.

I didn't know there was such a thing as a SAAB platform these days ?

There isn't - but the GM 'Premium' platform was a joint development between Saab and Alfa - was supposed to be used for the 9-5 and 159 until the relationship broke down due to GM finding themselves even more in debt than Fiat ;-)

Not entirely. GM can cherry pick the best of their brands. They seem to like the Saab chassis team(s).

You can shorten the above with two words, "brand dilution."

It isn't going to get any better. The next model will also be a joint effort between different parts of different motoring groups.

The classic one-house cars of yesteryear are gone forever.

Makes a change from being badly put together (Fiat platform) and self destructing (Fiat engines)

The R33 is really big inside. Had my 6'4" mate in the back with no problems. R32 is slightly smaller. WRX is ok. RX-7 sucks dogs balls.

Fraser