Lancia Voyager: "Emotions to Share" ?

Lancia just unveiled their new website full of thinly disguised Chryslers.  The tagline for the new Lancia Voyager minivan (nee Plymouth) is "Emotions to Share."  Well, I've got some fucking emotions to share, Lancia! Like Disgust. Outrage. Betrayal.  The Lancia brand has been in decline for many years under inept Italian leadership.  But this infusion of oversized, underwhelming American product to prop up the nameplate is just beyond pathetic.  Lancia fittingly chose a woman perched on a roof gazing mournfully downwards as she contemplates whether to jump to her death or go downstairs and drive that trashwagon parked outside. I found that imagery quite resonant to my own emotions as I looked through the site.

This guy looks dumbfounded. Can you blame him??Seeing the legendary name Flavia applied to a Chrysler 200 (nee Sebring) convertible makes me want to puke almost as badly as I wanted to puke when I was forced to drive one of those pieces of junk as a rental last year. Going through this new website, it astonishes me how much care and thought was put into the marketing of such utterly shit cars.  The vast amounts of money that was spent on photoshoots, branding consultants, web development, etc. All of this trouble to sell cars that should never have existed. The workings of the modern corporation never cease to confound me.After roughly a century of innovation, style, motorsports success, and the rest, this is what Lancia is reduced to: a noble badge on a worthless car.  To again quote the Lancia marketing:

"There are certain emotions which go straight to the heart. Even if they have to cross an ocean."

How true.  Lancia, you are dead to me now.

Comments

[motoringconbrio]

RIP:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyC2SlaAXuc

[MK Lim]

I've got a lot of emotions.

[F1 Tommy]

That is pretty lame, but its also a minivan!! On the flip side look what FIAT has done with Ferrari and Maserati. I hope the hook up between Alfa/Maserati will bring some good sportscars to the market. I feel bad for Lancia. It has not been the same since 1969 with a few limited production exceptions.

Tom Tanner/Ferrari Expo 2013-Chicago March 2013

[Bradley Price]

FIAT has turned Ferrari into a licensing company that makes cars as a front. The cars are utter crap. The FF? Are you kidding me Tom?
Maserati has been rejeuvenated. But look at what VW has done with Lamborghini. Now that is a true renaissance. The Italians have no idea how to run their own brands anymore.

[F1 Tommy]

Wow....so much FIAT hate...I don't like the FF either but the market is there I guess. Lamborghini is also making a crossover SUV thing.
I will say I like the pre FIAT Ferrari's alot better than the new ones, but the new ones have much better engineering and quality and are much faster. The 458 ain't to bad either.

[Bradley Price]

FIAT took over Ferrari's road car division in 1968, though. So we can't lay all the blame on them. It's the Montezemolo era that really was a slide into an abyss, in my opinion.

[Nick E]

Fiat has been treating Lancia as the ugly step child ever since the take over... Just think of the small Lancia's with the ugly fish mouth's from a couple of years ago. Yes, I agree that Ferrari has lost it a bit (trying to be polite), but at least there's no Ferrari SUV (yet). And seeing one of those re-nosed Chryslers at an ALFA dealership in France this spring almost decked me.

On the other hand, as crazy as it might sound I'm excited about the mx-5 / ALFA Spider shared platform and the slightly over designed ALFA 4C.

[F1 Tommy]

Ineresting article.

http://www.autoedizione.com/volkswagen-demands-departure-of-sergio-marchionne-as-president-acea/

[Etienne]

I just saw this, and bravo, I totally agree. Every single person I know or have come across here in Europe who are even marginally a car enthusiast have pretty much the same reaction to this travesty. Sadly, it is just a matter of time before they will take this incredible brand off life-support. I have always said, Fiat must either sell Alfa Romeo or Lancia. That is the only thing that might save the brand. Damn, damn shame.

[Antony Grade]

It's been a long time in the making, but surely this time it really has to be ciao Lancia! Probably best, rather than continuing this kind of appalling badge engineering which helped nail the British motor industry 30 years ago...history repeating itself!!!

[gurjeet]

It's been a long time in the making, but surely this time it really has to be ciao Lancia! Probably best, rather than continuing this kind of appalling badge engineering which helped nail the British motor industry 30 years ago...history repeating itself!!!

[I am broken]

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