Face it, what does the $9,000,000 '62 Ferrari 330 have that a Malaise Era Alfa or Lancia doesn't have? Wait, don't answer that! Instead, consider this: for around 1/9000th the price, you can have a sporty machine from the very same country!

What kind of car can you get for $1,250 these days? Maybe a 15-year-old Sentra, speckled with shopping-cart dings and filled with the smell of countless spilled McDonald's chocolate shakes? Or an Olds Cutlass Ciera with a potato for a gas cap and Bondo-and-rust clusters falling off on every speed bump? How depressing! But wait- what if we were to find you a genuine Alfa Romeo GTV for that price? A car with just 58,000 miles on the clock, because more than half its life has been spent sitting in a garage… waiting for you to rescue it? No, really! Here's a "garage find" '74 Alfa Romeo GTV (go here if the listing disappears) for next to nothing. It appears to be complete, and the seller says the "motor and tranny seem to be somewhat clean and oil free," which we hope isn't referring to their innards. Who knows, it will never might start right up with a simple tune-up! You might need to do a little metal cutting and pasting once you do have it running, because the seller admits that it has "all the usual rust problems of an alfa," and the registration paperwork will require negotiating labyrinths of bureaucracy you never imagined existed a bit of work, due to the car's "unknown title." Is an unknown title worse than a missing one? Never you mind about that stuff- just buy this project and start enjoying the benefits of an Italian basket case daily driver in about 10 years no time!

Everyone loves an Alfa, of course, but what would Fabio drive? A Lancia, of course! You can still buy Fabio's Appia, which hasn't dropped in price by a single lira in the last couple of years, but you might not have the pecs and/or hair to pull off looking cool in a cute little sedan. But buy this '75 Lancia Beta (go "http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/jalopnik/2009/11/75_lanciabeta-ss.jpg"/>here if the listing disappears) and you'll find your image on the covers of paperback bodice-rippers within weeks of getting it running. Of course, that might be akin to cleaning the Augean stables a couple of weekends of work, considering that it needs a "new timing belt to run and a little TLC" (translation for those of you who don't speak Craigslist-ese: "Something terrible is wrong with the engine, including what you hope will be just the timing belt"). But hey, Mr. or Ms. Thousandaire, imagine yourself behind the wheel of a genuine Italian sports coupe and it will all seem worthwhile.

We haven't gotten a chance to stick our noses into this one yet, but based on the photography and the subject alone it's worth a peek. At 208 pages it's hefty for a book dedicated to one car, but we're betting a healthy amount of that is dedicated to car pr0n.

THE DREAM CAR!

Alfa Romeo Montreal – The dream car that came true
by Bruce Taylor

With its stylish Bertone coachwork and race-bred 200bhp V8 engine, the iconic Alfa Romeo Montreal is one of the most stunning series production automobiles of the twentieth century. Almost 4000 Montreals were built, and today sound cars are still readily available at very affordable prices. Now the spirit of the car has been captured in a comprehensive pictorial tribute book from Veloce Publishing. The new book is a visual testimonial to a powerful and beautiful coupé that was born as a futuristic concept and transformed into a ‘dream car come true'. This beautifully illustrated 208-page hardback volume is available now from bookshops or from www.velocebooks.com. In a portfolio of over 575 illustrations, it paints a unique and detailed graphic portrait of this elegant and powerful classic GT, revealing why it is immensely enjoyable to drive and turns heads wherever it appears.

The author, Bruce Taylor, says: "Veloce Publishing have made a splendid job of this unique pictorial tribute to the exotic Alfa Romeo Montreal. This beautiful new book portrays every aspect of the car, and shows discerning enthusiasts that the Montreal is a hidden treasure that is well worth seeking."

Rarely does a group as disparate as this join together as one in a collective dry heave of revulsion over a contender, but that's what yesterday's Auto Zoned-out Jeep Grand Cherokee engendered in 93% of you. To clear that acrid taste form your mouths, today we're going to look at a lovely latin- one you wouldn't be surprised to find sunning topless in San Tropez.

Not San Tropez, but sunny Brentwood California was where disillusioned and kind of creepy Ben Braddock bedded his father's business partner's wife, and then attempted to do the same with her daughter in the movie The Graduate. As played by Dustin Hoffman, Ben's unrequited advances upon daughter Elaine required multiple trips between LA and Berkeley, which were accomplished to the toe-tapping sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, and in an Alfa Romeo boat-tail Duetto. That was back in 1967, and for the next 26 years, the Alfa spider creaked along, receiving the occasional egregious body appendage and cabin-confining safety equipment. In the late ‘80s, Alfa set to the task in replacing the aging Giulia spider with a new, front-wheel drive car that would meet all the requirements of a modern automobile, and would put them in good stead against competitors from BMW and Mercedes.

That car went by the internal model number 916, and was designated in the market as the GTV (in 2+2 coupe form) and Spider (for the 2-seat droptop), both based on the Fiat Tipo platform and featuring a choice of transverse 4 and 6-cylinder engines. Introduced in 1995, these cars were designed with the North American market in mind, however Alfa Romeo folded their tent here before the cars could launch. They did debut elsewhere, and were reasonably successful in the market for the next 10 years.

This yellow 1998 Spider has been spinning its webs in Oregon - where it is claimed to be legally licensed - and has an asking price of $24,950. It has the 1,747-cc Twin Spark 4-V engine, which is good for about 145-bhp. That's due to the variable valve timing and multi-length intake runners which provide, not only a healthy power output, but a flatter torque curve than you would expect out of an Italian four cylinder. Despite that, the variocam is a maintenance issue on these engines, and, like waterpumps, you should replace the variator when you do the timing belt, just in case.

The interior is in excellent shape, but the fight-club black and blue color choice is a bit strange. The Spider is strictly a two-seater, and the roof is made of traditional canvas rather than the metal that is fashionable in today's upper-end drop tops. But that just makes this car's appearance all the more unique. And unique it is with a Pininfarina-designed wedge shape that is still arresting today, 14 years following its launch. There don't appear to be any major issues with the body, nor do the double-five spoke alloy rims seem to have been curbed at any time. The 33,000 kilos on the clock indicate that there hasn't been much opportunity for either to have happened.

With the exception of the rare and expensive 8C, Alfa Romeo doesn't appear to be making a comeback in the U.S. anytime soon. This lovely and, potentially equally rare, spider may be one of the few ways to get into a modern Alfa here, and as the saying goes- you're not a true car person unless you've owned an Alfa. So what do you think of that $24,950 price? Does that put the curds in your whey? Or, like the tuffet-warming miss, does that amount scare you away?

You decide!

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Those of you who come to 24 Hours Of LeMons races already know Jeff; he's the guy who makes the LeMons carnival function correctly when it clanks into your town. A former pro racer who got his start in his early teens with a hooned-out autocross MGB, Jeff now prefers Italian iron. Remember his DOTS '65 Giulia SS?

When he first obtained the Cortina, it was powered by a semi-hot Fiat Twin Cam engine. After the punishment of quite a few rallies, the ol' Fiat gave up. What next? Hmmm... you can get wrecked Honda S2000s pretty cheap these days!




My crappy photographs don't really convey the super-slick setup of this Anglo-Japanese monster; Jeff was a fabricatin' demon to get this Hell Project together. All the Honda wiring and ECMs are in use, and it runs fine; all that remains is a bit of brake work and a couple of thousand little details. 1,800 pounds and 247 horsepower is a combination that sounds pretty good to us! And with legendary wheelman Jeff at the controls, it's gonna be terrifying a blast! Anyone who has ridden with this guy in a rental car on a race track can vouch for that. Did you know that a Honda CR-V can do 110+ at Carolina Motorsports Park? Neither did I!

And that's just the beginning of the fun stuff to be found under Jeff's house. The entire footprint of Chez Jeff's Oakland abode is taken up by an 1,800 square foot garage. For starters, here's Mrs. Jeff's ride: a lowered 1966 VW Transporter with a built-to-the-hilt 2,000cc engine.

Just inside, you'll find this 1971 Fiat 850 Sport Coupe, also belonging to Jeff's SO; don't those Alfa wheels look good on it?

When she doesn't feel like driving the bus or the Fiat, there's always her '69 Alfa Romeo Duetto.

Sometimes Jeff needs to change things up with this 1971 BMW 2002Tii with "lots of mods."

Tired of four wheels? Hop on one of the Lambrettas!

Tired of internal combustion? Hop on a Bianchi!

Basically, Chrysler gets to be the brand of — umm — a minivan, a large sedan and a little cinquecento. Dodge gets gutted and apparently becomes the retro brand. Ram pickup trucks are — umm — maybe their own brand? Jeep gets back to basics (yay!) and Alfa Romeo randomly shows up, adding a small car, a smaller car, a mid-size and the 8c competizione.

So basically, Fiat's grooming Alfa Romeo to replace Chrysler. Full details below:

Chrysler

* PT Cruiser
* Sebring
* Town and Country
* 300: Redesign in 2011
* Fiat 500: 2011

Dodge

* Caliber
* Nitro
* Avenger
* Grand Caravan
* Charger: Redesign in 2011
* Challenger
* Journey
* Ram trucks (separate brand?)

Jeep

* Commander
* Compass
* Patriot
* Wrangler
* Grand Cherokee: Redesign in 2010

Alfa Romeo

* Mito
* Milano (replacing 147)
* New Mid-Size Sedan
* 8C Competizione

[via WSJ, Kicking Tires]

The team started off pretty well yesterday (qualified 18th out of 110 cars), but fuel pump woes seem to be holding them back at the moment. Follow their story on El Taxi Perdido's site!

Actually, you don't see many Alfas on the island, period; our last one was this '65 Giulia SS, which we saw last winter. Before that, we had this 164 L- a '91, just like today's car. What are the odds?

Alfa Romeo stopped selling cars in North America in 1995, and it was pretty clear to car shoppers that they'd be folding their tents for quite a while before that year. That means the original purchaser of this car loved the idea of a sporty Italian sedan so much that he or she didn't give a damn that the car would soon be an orphan, repairable only by cranky non-factory-authorized mechanics using parts shipped from Europe at fabulous expense. We can totally respect that decision.

Speaking of weird Fiats, there's nothing wrong with an X1/9 that a supercharger can't fix!

And just to show that the 24 Hours Of LeMons is taking over the universe (or at least the portion of the universe comprised of Northern California car shows), here's a shot of the Italian Stallions X1/9 LeMons car. We'll be seeing this quad-carbed monster at the Arse Freeze-a-Palooza next month!

What could be better than a Maserati straight six engine? A Maserati straight six engine with Lucas fuel injection, of course! I can't see a single weak point in that plan! OK, here's a gallery for you. We'll be seeing more of that orange Fiat 128 Sport a little later; very interesting story there.

This particular shot was taken at the 1970 race, where local boy Nino Vaccarella is on his way to third place in the big Ferrari 512 prototype.

And who beat him? Two of John Wyer’s nimble Porsche 908’s:

Vaccarella would be back the next year in the much more suitable 3-liter Alfa Romeo T33 and take the title. This was the car with the center-mounted rearview mirror sticking out like the love child of a periscope and a Martian fighting machine from The War of the Worlds:

Fiat is basing the 166, the sedan this image is being developed for, around the next-gen 300C. That not only means the 166 will finally be RWD, but also that it should be designed to pass US crash and emissions standards from the off. With Fiat eyeing Chrysler's US dealer network it's a logical assumption that Alfa, particularly its new larger sedan, will find its way here.

Autocar says to expect both naturally aspirated and twin-turbo versions of the engine, Alfa's first V8 since the Montreal died in 1977. [via Autocar]

That number two contender is the Booby Prize Racing '96 Nissan 200SX, a car that the LeMons Supreme Court picked during the BS Inspection as the Under The Radar Candidate Most Likely To Contend. Looks like we guessed right this time!

In third we have the 1993 Honda Civic driven by Team "Corvette." No, we don't get the team name either.

Right behind the Honda is one of the top finishers from the last New England LeMons: the Scuderia Limoni Alfa Romeo Milano.

In fifth, we have another dominating New England veteran, the Scuderia Testa di Spillo Milano. Oh yes, two Milanos in the top five. Could this be the first-ever LeMons victory by an Italian car? Check in later to find out!

The Tunachuckers were up late fixing their toasted engine compartment (thankfully, they brought many spare parts), and after a full rewiring job, carburetor repair, and a lucky brake hose find (the fire started when a brake hose burst and sprayed the exhaust manifold), they're back out there. Meanwhile, the Milano team spent all day and all night getting their engine back together- not bad by Alfa standards- and they're now roaring around the track. Things are about to get very, very hectic in the penalty box, so I need to go dispense some justice; check in this afternoon for possible updates.

The car looked pretty fast on the track, but the huge clouds of white smoke pouring out the tailpipe seemed like a bad sign. They had some gaskets overnighted from Virginia, and even as the cars race (the green flag just dropped about 20 minutes ago ago), the team continues to work on their engine. We hope to see this fine Italian machine duking it out with its Fiat 124 Spider rival within the next hour or two!

Steps from the Manhattan entrance of the Holland Tunnel, the club’s HQ is a vast open space, dotted with classic cars, supercars and the machinery to keep them alive and healthy. You can see the whole roster of cars available to their members at the club’s website. Until you pony up the funds to become a member, enjoy this quiet stroll through what they had in the shop as John Krewson and I were about to head out of town.

1974 Triumph TR6

Insert overused joke about not driving this very far from the club.

2006 Ariel Atom

The club’s Atom is a 2.5 model: the chassis is an Atom 2, whereas the engine is the same Honda unit found in the Atom 3 Krewson drove at Lime Rock Park.

1975 Ferrari 308 GT4

Look at the wall and you’ll see a line painting of this very car a 308 GTB/GTS—executed by none other than Camilo Pardo, designer of the Ford GT. Which, incidentally, is one of the cars in the club’s fleet of modern supercars.

1966 Ford Mustang Fastback

Behind the Mustang is John Krewson and behind him are old German and Italian exotica.

Buckets

Car paraphernalia at the head of a service bay, right below Pardo’s painting of the Ferrari.

2007 BMW Z4M Coupé

The last car to come with the awesomest engine ever made by BMW: the straight-six 333 HP S54B32, also found in the E46 M3. Behind the Bimmer is the Atom.

Lewd Signage Above Atom

That rod is what will prevent your head from coming apart should you flip the Atom.

The Atom’s Headlight

Further proof that Ariel’s supercharged shopping cart is in fact street legal.

Screws

Cars need fixin’ at times!

Toolbox

I spoke English and was allowed to stay. Those with keen eyes shall spot the 24 Hours of Lemons sticker (it’s below and to the right of the flag previously seen on the grounds of the State Capitol in Columbia, South Carolina).

The Offices

Krewson knows I’ve got my viewfinder trained on him. Notice artistic paint overflow.

1996 Porsche 993 C4S

The last of the air-cooled 911’s. This car has one of the sexiest rear wheelarches in recorded history. Also, water cooling is for sissies.

1974 Triumph TR6

What was I saying a few captions ago about not driving it far from life support? Oh, never mind.

1975 Alfa Romeo GTV

Do not approach this car if you’re not wearing a well-cut suit. It will sense your lack of style and expend all the voltage in its battery to shock you into submission.

Even 20 years is a long, long time in automotive-design years, and so we've established that as the cutoff for this list. We're not talking about model names that have been around forever (e.g., Crown Victoria, Century, Bluebird), but a particular chassis/generation of a car that remained fundamentally unchanged over its lifespan. We're not including light trucks, mostly because it's damn near impossible to sort out Soviet military stuff. Obviously, a lot of quasi-arbitrary judgment calls had to be made with some of the candidates- does a different engine or totally restyled body make for a distinct vehicle?- and so we're confident that we've provided something to enrage every one of you, be it a car that totally qualified that we blew off or a totally undeserving car that we sneaked into the list. For example, were there differences between the first few generations of the Ford Fiesta sufficient to make that car ineligible for this list? We said yes, which Fiesta zealots will no doubt consider to be fatwa-grade heresy. In any case, we've probably made some mistakes, and we've definitely missed some cars that belonged on the list. Fire away with the hate mail, by all means!

Things get somewhat sticky when it comes to Fiats built outside of Italy. We think the Polski Fiat 125p shouldn't get lumped in with either the Fiat 125 or the Fiat 1300/1500, it being a cost-cutting mashup of the two, so we're giving this 24-year veteran its own place of honor in the Jalopnik Cars Of Immortality Hall Of Fame. Likewise, by the time VAZ got around to the VAZ-2107 (aka Lada Riva), its design had diverged sufficiently from its Fiat 124 ancestry that we consider it and the 124 to be separate cars. You 124 fanatics don't need to fret about that outrage, though- thanks to production in India and Egypt, the 124 doesn't need the later Ladas to nail down 31 years.

You may have noted the conspicuous shortage of American machinery in this list; other than the first-gen Ford Falcon (built in Argentina until the 1990s) and the Checker Marathon, there were no easy calls to be made for American manufacturers. We've included the rear-wheel-drive GM T Body, because of the bewildering swarm of Kadetts, Chevettes, I-Marks, and low-production South American clones that flew forth from that design; we're saying 21 years for the T, and you're free to argue your guts out about it. How about the GM B platform, which stayed in service from the '61 Buick Invicta to the '96 Chevy Caprice? The General performed nearly half a dozen major redesigns of the B platform over the decades, and not enough components interchange between one B generation and the next for it to be considered the same car for 20 solid years. Same goes for the Ford Panther platform (1979-present) and the hordes of Chrysler K derivatives (eternity). The Model T was only made for 19 years, so it doesn't make the list (unless someone can dig up some proof that it was being bootlegged in the Maldives), nor does the Willys Aero, even with all those years of production in Brazil. What really broke our hearts was the Rambler American/Renault Torino, which almost made the list at 18 years of production in Wisconsin and Argentina (we were looking for loopholes to prove that the '64 Rambler American was actually a cosmetic facelift of an earlier version, but no dice).

This project got really challenging when we got to Chinese-built versions of Japanese and Korean cars. The line between "facelifted license-built copy" and "based on heavily modified chassis design" gets increasingly blurry in China, and most likely we've overlooked a couple of 20+ year Chinese versions of Mazdas or Suzukis. Chinese Volkswagens were a lot easier to figure out, but how about Malaysian Mitsubishi clones- or are they clones?- sold in China? Ai-ya!

Here we go, fifty cars that were built for 20 years or longer, as close as we could get to the right order:

Volkswagen Type 1
65 years (1938-2003)
The Beetle was built in Germany from 1938 through 1980, which would have put it in second place on our list, behind the Mini but just in front of the 2CV. However, production in Brazil (1950-1996) and Mexico (1955-2003) gives the little Ferdinand Porsche-designed ass-engine air-cooler a whopping 22-year-edge over the Mini.

Morris Oxford / Hindustan Ambassador
55 years (1954-present)
The case could be made that the previous generation of the Oxford, which debuted in 1948, was similar enough to the '54 that the Oxford/Ambassador deserves 61 years instead of 55. However, the Amby is still being made! That means the much-beloved little Indian car has a shot at catching the Beetle. Engines have come and gone (the '09 Amby has Isuzu power), but the essential Oxford-ness of the car remains.

Austin Mini
43 years (1957-2000)
An Old Mini with airbags? Yes, the car that started the front-wheel-drive/hatchback revolution managed to stay relevant into the current century. Park one of these next to one of those BMW-built imitators and you'll see what a small car really looks like!

Citroën 2CV
41 years (1949-1990)
How much power does a car really need? Ask a Citroën engineer in the late 40s and he'd tell you: nine horsepower! Later models had nearly four times that, with 33 horses being the max from the factory. Of course, some had a little more than that when they went racing. Nearly four million were made.

Fiat 128 / Zastava Skala / Nasr 128 / SEAT 128
40 years (1969-present)
How many versions of the groundbreaking front-driver 128 are out there? Why, even Enzo Ferrari drove one! In addition to being a huge hit in Europe, where it was built until 1985, Zastava continues to build 128s (branded as the Zastava 55) to this day; as of last year, you could still get an Egyptian-made Nasr 128.

Austin FX4
39 years (1958-1997)
We can't include the Checker Marathon in this list without also including the most iconic of the old London Black Cabs. The FX4 was built by different manufacturers over the years and went through quite a few engines, but it remained essentially the same vehicle. Two Austins in the Top Ten!
Image source

Fiat 1100 / Premier Padmini
38 years (1962-2000)
Clearly, the key to getting your car built for a few extra decades is to make Indian buyers love it. As the Fiat 1100, this car was done in Italy by 1969, but India's Premier Automobiles Limited kept on making the 1100 (badged as the Padmini) until 2000.
Image source

Hillman Hunter / Iran Khodro Paykan
37 years (1967-2004)
Hey, Rootes Group machinery survived into the 21st century! The Paykan got Peugeot power eventually, but it remained a Hillman at heart. Paykan production equipment was sold to a Sudanese company a few years back, though we've had no news so far of any gleaming new Paykans being built there. Wait a couple of decades and we may see the Paykan hang in there to beat the Beetle's longevity record!
Image source

Peugeot 504
37 years (1968-2005)
The 504 was built for 15 years in France, then continued production in Argentina until 1999. Africans still loved the 504 after that, with production continuing in Kenya (2004) and Nigeria (2005). Don't be shocked if someone starts building the 504 once again.

Renault 12 / Dacia 1300
37 years (1969-2006)
The 12 was yet another Renault success story, with production on five continents and millions sold. The last Renault-branded 12 was built in Turkey in 1999, but Romanian automaker Dacia made the 12-clone Dacia 1300/1310 until just a few years ago.
Image source

Fiat 131 / SEAT 131 / Tofaş Murat 131
35 years (1974-present)
Also known as the Brava and Mirafiori, the 131 had ten years of Italian production, then lived on in Spain, Turkey, and now Ethiopia.
Image source

Volkswagen Golf Mk1
35 years (1974-present)
Yes, you can still buy the first version of the biggest-selling VW car since the air-cooled Beetle! South Africans love the Mk1 Golf so much that they've been making them since 1974.

Renault 4
33 years (1961-1994)
Usually, a Renault made for more than 30 years indicates that some Warsaw Pact nation built it under license for a couple of decades past the point of relevance in the home market. Not so with the 4! Intended as competition for the hugely successful Citroën 2CV, the Renault 4 outlived its rival by four years.
Image source

Moskvitch 408/412
33 years (1964-1997)
You'll have to pick up the definitive guide to Soviet cars to get the whole Moskvitch 408 story, but here's one fun fact: when the hard-currency-strapped Soviet Union started importing Moskvitches to the UK, the price tag for this fairly substantial car was £22 less than the tiny Mini. Including cars made by the Izhevsk Mechanical Works, the 408/412 stayed in production until the late 1990s.

Ford Falcon (first generation)
31 years (1960-1991)
Imagine going to a Ford dealership and having a choice between a new Sierra XR4i and a new '62 Falcon. That's how it went down in Argentina, where facelifted but still recognizable first-generation Falcons were made until 1991. You could even get a diesel Falcon! We're just disappointed that Ford Of Argentina didn't keep building the '69 Fairlane fastback into the 1990s.

Peugeot 404
31 years (1960-1991)
Kenyan production kept the 404 (car of choice for Ho Chi Minh) going for extra decades.
Image Source

Fiat 124 / VAZ-2101 Lada / SEAT 124 / Tofaş Murat 124 / Premier 118NE
31 years (1966-1984, 1986-2001)
Image source

Renault 5 / SAIPA Sepand
30 years (1972-2000)
We North Americans knew the 5 as the Le Car; we missed out on the goofy European 5 ads but we did get some cheezy ones of our own. European production halted in 1996, when the last Slovenian 5 left the assembly line, but Iranian carmaker SAIPA made the 5 (badged as the Sepand) until 2000.
Image source

Vauxhall Victor FE / Hindustan Contessa
30 years (1972-2002)
We could probably stretch the ancestry of the Contessa back another couple of generations of Vauxhall Victors, but 30 years is pretty good. Do the owners of Contessas, with their early-70s British styling, look down on the Ambassador drivers stuck with 40s British design?
Image source

Fiat 126 / Polski Fiat 126p
28 years (1972-2000)
The original Italian-built 126 made it to 1980, but fortunate Polish buyers could get the Polski Fiat version for another 20 years.
Image source

Zastava Koral / Yugo
28 years (1980-2008)
Is this car really a Fiat 128? We think the Koral (aka Yugo) differs enough from its progenitor, and has sufficient history of its own, to merit its own entry in our all-time survivors' list.

Volkswagen Passat Mk2 / Santana
28 years (1981-present)
Is the Mk2 Passat close enough to the Mk1 to move the start date back to 1973? We say it's not. As long as the Chinese keep building Santanas, however, the second-gen Passat will keep moving up in the ranks.

Alfa Romeo Spider
27 years (1966-1993)
Will Alfa freaks be proud that this design stayed in front-line service for so long, or splutter about the changes that "modernized" their car over the years?

GAZ-3102 Volga
27 years (1982-present)
Image source

VAZ-2107 / Lada Riva
27 years (1982-present)
We'll be seeing one of these at the 24 Hours Of LeMons next month!
Image source

Checker Marathon
26 years (1956-1982)
Many different engines, but the Marathon stayed the same.

Mitsubishi Lancer (3rd gen) / Proton Saga
25 years (1983-2008)
How much of the Lancer Fiore remains in today's Saga? Nearly all of it, apparently. Note: the image depicts the non-Lancer-based '09 Saga.
Image source

Daihatsu Charade / FAW Xiali TJ7101
26 years (1983-present)
See how much useful information you can extract from the FAW website about this fine automobile, then let us know if we were totally wrong in assuming that it's still a Charade.
Image source

Fiat Uno
26 years (1983-present)
The Uno was made all over the world, but Brazil is the last Uno holdout, building sedan and wagon versions.
Image source

Porsche 911
25 years (1964-1989)
Was the 911 essentially the same car until the 964 version? Quite a tough call; if we exclude the 911 from the list, we'll be fending off a rain of Molotov cocktails from enraged Porsche fanatics who feel left out. Including it will make many of those same fanatics mail us some Unabomber-style packages, since we're implying that the 911 hasn't always been at the very leading edge of performance-car technology. We decided that sufficient parts interchange between '64 and '89 models to get the 911 on this list.

Fiat 127
25 years (1971-1996)
The Argentinean version of the 127-based Fiat 147 wagon continued until 1996, 16 years after Fiat stopped building the car in Italy.
Image source

Lada Samara
25 years (1984-present)
There's no Fiat content in the all-Russian Samara, and you can still buy yourself one! After the end of the Soviet Union, the Samara got some pretty entertaining commercials.

Volkswagen Jetta Mk 2
25 years (1984-present)
You can still buy the second-gen Jetta in China, where the car is badged as the Jetta King.

Polski Fiat 125p
24 years (1967-1991)
Not really a Fiat 125 (the suspension is from the 1300), we say the 125p is a separate model.
Image source

FSO Polonez
24 years (1978-2002)
It's a Polski Fiat 125p under the skin, but we think the Giorgetto Giugiaro body and variety of engine choices make it a different car.
Image source

Jaguar XJ6 Mk1
24 years (1968-1992)
The original XJ6 was just so good that no major redesigns were needed for those 24 years.

Citroën Traction-Avant
23 years (1934-1957)
The oldest car on this list, the Traction-Avant was so far ahead of its time in the 1930s that it stayed relevant into the Jet Age.

Morris Minor
23 years (1948-1971)

ZAZ-968 Zaporozhets
22 years (1972-1994)
Depending on how you interpret model changes and upgrades, the air-cooled "Soviet Corvair" might qualify for moving up in the ranks of this list... or being dropped from it. Try not to roll it over, comrades!
Image source

Tatra 613
22 years (1974-1996)
Hooray, a Tatra made the list!
Image source

Mazda 121 / Kia Pride / Saipa Pride / Ford Festiva
22 years (1987-present)
Talk about your confusing cascade of captive imports and badge engineering! We're pretty sure that some variety of this car has been in production since 1987.

Peugeot 405
22 years (1987-present)
Peugeot stopped making the 405 in France in 1997, but Iran Khodro continues to build them to this day.

Citroën DS
21 years (1955-1976)
Another example of a car so ahead of its time that Citroën could keep selling it for decades. Too bad the Goddess was so complex; otherwise someone would still be building the DS.

Austin-Healey Sprite / MG Midget
21 years (1958-1979)
Not much about the Spridget changed over its lifetime, other than the addition of big black plastic bumpers and the subtraction of horsepower. Oh, sure, the bug eyes disappeared early on and a few nods to modern technology (e.g., disc brakes) were slapped on, but overall we're dealing with a car that was obsolete from day one and stayed that way throughout its production run (as a Sprite owner, I'm allowed to say such things).

General Motors T Body (RWD)
21 years (1973-1994)
The Chevette, the Acadian, the Kadett C, the Gemini, the I-Mark, the Bird, the Chevanne... the list of cars that The General and his allies built on the rear-wheel-drive T platform goes on and on. Hell, maybe someone is still building the T; our eyes started glazing over after a couple hours of research.

VAZ-1111 Oka
21 years (1988-present)
The Oka appears to have the honor of Most Horrible Economy Car In The World nailed down, but it still sells pretty well in the former Soviet Union.
Image source

Zastava Florida / Nasr Florida
21 years (1988-present)
Image source

Fiat 500 (original)
20 years (1957-1977)
Would you believe that Fiat built the iconic Cinquecento until 1977?
Image source

Saab 99/900
26 years (1968-1994)
As MrB00st and 900pilot have pointed out, the 900 was essentially a lengthened 99, and the 900 went to a new platform in '94. So, 26 years instead of 20.

Suzuki Cultus Gen 2 / Geo Metro / Holden Barina/ etc
20 years (1989-present)
Also known as the Suzuki Swift, this car probably holds the record for most bewildering sequence of model names and licensing deals.

Profile

The BMW X6 was the first SUV to address the needs of people who desire urban combat stockiness and a coupé profile in the same vehicle. The X6 has since become the most recognizable of this attempted creation of a new breed of vehicle. The ZDX appears to borrow both its roof profile and its side windows from the Bavarian monstrosity:

Look close and you can even see its slightly nipponized Hofmeister kink:

Rear Window

The huge, sloping pane of glass paired with a thin vertical strip at the back as a rear window was most likely invented by Marcello Gandini for his 1967 Lamborghini Espada:

It has since appeared on cars as diverse as the Pontiac Aztek:

—and the Honda CRX, showing that the styling is not alien to Acura’s mothership:

Gandini’s solution is an elegant way to increase rear visibility in a profile which tends to reduce it.

Rear Doorhandles

To steal from Alfa Romeo is forgivable, as they are without doubt the masters of styling details. Like many Japanese carmakers, Acura is no stranger to this practice. The inspiration for the ZDX’s rear doorhandles looks like it comes straight from the Alfa Romeo 156:

The 156, one of the greatest sports sedans ever made, is a 1997 design by Walter de’Silva, currently head of design at the Volkswagen Group.

Photo Credit: Acura, Balázs Fenyő (Lamborghini Espada), NetCarShow.com (Pontiac Aztek), Wiros/Flickr (Honda CRX), nordschleifenfan/Flickr (Alfa Romeo 156)

We can thank Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet for suggesting the tears-to-our-eyes amazing treble scoop setup that Alfa Romeo installed on the Giulia TZ1 in 1964.
But that wasn't the only great hood scoop Alfa Romeo (or maybe it was all Zagato's doing; I'll need to consult with Alfa expert Conrad Stevenson to get the story) put on their race Giulias during this period. How about this hinged setup, which may have provided inspiration for Chrysler's Air Grabber designers?

Image source: AllSportAuto

You see the occasional 70s or 80s Alfa Spider in the self-service yards these days, but Alfettas and GTVs are about as common as junked Porsche 928s. This one seems about 95% complete, so let's hope its parts get rescued and live on in other Alfas… before The Crusher uses it as an appetizer for its main course of Lincoln Town Cars.

This is the fuel-injected 158-horsepower Alfa V6. Hmmm... there's room for a turbocharged-beyond-reason Buick V6 in this engine compartment!






I thought about buying this pretty Veglia clock for the next Junkyard Boogaloo Boombox, but the hands-setting mechanism was broken.

Just click on any of the thumbnails below to jump to the original post about that car.

1937 Beardmore	1953 Citroën	1956 Morris	1959 Morris
1960 Peugeot	1960 Triumph	1961 Morris	1963 Land Rover
1965 Austin	1965 Alfa Romeo	1966 Jaguar	1966 Lancia
1966 Volvo	1969 MG	1969 Volvo	1969 Volvo
1969 Citroën	1970 Volvo	1971 Volvo	1971 MG
1972 Triumph	1972 Steyr	1973 Volvo	1973 MG
1974 Jensen-Healey	1975 Citroën	1975 MG	1977 Fiat
1977 Volvo	1978 Jaguar	1978 Saab	1980 Volvo
1981 Fiat	1982 Fiat	1984 Jaguar	1985 Alfa Romeo
1985 Saab	1985 Peugeot	1986 Jaguar	1988 Renault
1988 Peugeot	1989 Ferrari	1989 Alfa Romeo	1991 Peugeot
1991 Alfa Romeo	1991 Rolls-Royce