Guess what I've just seen

[nicanary]

Living in N.Ireland you don't see many unusual cars every day - total population is only 1.6 mill..

I drove for 10 mins today towards Belfast and saw a Lancia Thema 3.2 ( how many of those in this small country?), and ....wait for it.....an Aston Martin Cygnet. It MUST have been the local demonstrator, can you believe that anyone's actually BOUGHT one?

Who's seen one outside a showroom?

[garcon]

I've only ever seen one Cygnet on the road and I live in Wilmslow, which you might think would be the spiritual heart of such a cynical badge engineering exercise.

Was the Thema a 3.2 or the (much rarer) 8.32? The latter was my favourite ever example of Italian engineering insanity - a Ferrari V8 engine in a fwd taxi...

I think the last time I saw a Thema was about 1988, apart from the remains Clarkson poured out of a bucket on top Gear once.

[andrewc]

It would be the 8:32 which is a pretty rare car.

At a rough guess I'd say 30 in the UK, 10-15 taxed and mot'd

[nicanary]

Yes' that was a mental black-out. I meant 8.32. The rear spoiler was up- I'm not sure if that was a permanent arrangement or whether it should have come up at high speed.(Italian electrics)

[andrewc]

There as a control on the indicator stalk so you could set it up or down.

[Fan]

I think that I can beat that - I saw one a couple of weeks ago in Andorra. Population 78,000.

[Adam43]

There aren't many of them. The DVLA reckon there are 9 licensed and 17 sorned.
http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?q=thema

[John Elwin]

Spotted an English-registered Thema here in France only the other day! Passed it going in the other direction so didn't spot which version. G-reg I think.

[nicanary]

When you consider how much car insurance costs in Ulster (think "The Troubles"), either the owner is visiting from the mainland or must be a REAL enthusiast. (Mind you, there's always limited-mileage cover - didn't think that one through).

Perhaps it's the same car,John, like the Scarlet Pimpernel - They seek him here etc.

I assume the car seen in Andorra was a Thema, and not a Cygnet.I really don't understand Aston on that one - surely they didn't have to comply with any US guff about a proportion of their output being "green", since they are low-volume makers, even allowing for the increase in output following the success of the DB7,DB9,V8 etc.

[John Elwin]

[QUOTE

I assume the car seen in Andorra was a Thema, and not a Cygnet.I really don't understand Aston on that one - surely they didn't have to comply with any US guff about a proportion of their output being "green", since they are low-volume makers, even allowing for the increase in output following the success of the DB7,DB9,V8 etc.[/QUOTE]


Think it's got more to do with EU diktats - something to do with average CO2 output across the range.

[nicanary]

Ah ,yes.

Makes you wonder why they took that weird course though.Naturally they would'nt want to waste money on developing their own car, but tarting up a (I've heard) decent car into a Turkish Brothel and charging mega-bucks does seem awfully strange.

Maybe there'll be an XJ220 scenario - loads sitting around unsold and then being heavily discounted to shift them.

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by garcon

I've only ever seen one Cygnet on the road and I live in Wilmslow, which you might think would be the spiritual heart of such a cynical badge engineering exercise.

The only Cygnet I've ever seen was parked outside the Aston dealer....in Wilmslow

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by nicanary

I assume the car seen in Andorra was a Thema, and not a Cygnet.I really don't understand Aston on that one - surely they didn't have to comply with any US guff about a proportion of their output being "green", since they are low-volume makers, even allowing for the increase in output following the success of the DB7,DB9,V8 etc.

To sell their cars here, yes, yes they do.

I think the Cygnet will come with some models... meaning, if you want a DBS you have to get a Cygnet. I guess you can give it away.

[Gti6]

I work in central London and there are a few cygnets around

[Adam43]

Makes sense. That is where it is designed to be.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by Gti6

I work in central London and there are a few cygnets around

Originally Posted by Adam43

Makes sense. That is where it is designed to be.

For swanning around London?

[Adam43]

Yeah. Small car, big city. A lot of smarts are sold there too.

I saw a Morgan three wheeler today. Although that was in a Morgan garage I passed. I stopped to have a look. It does look fun.

The guy was gobbed smacked, he was talking to a customer about E-Types and I turned up in one.

[Peter Mallett]

Have to say I like that three wheeler.

[Adam43]

It has traditional Morgan lead times. If you order one now you could probably get it for February next year. This dealer reckons he could sell twice as many as he can get hold of.

[garcon]

I know another dealer that has a demonstrator for sale.

They look absolutely superb in the flesh.

[nicanary]

Not very interesting, but I saw the Cygnet again (or a different one, heaven help us!) last night in Newtownards. Looked like an off-white colour, maybe pearlescent.

Someone has suggested that you got one free if you bought a DB9, but I still don't get it. An IQ is way cheaper, and in every way the same car.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by nicanary

Not very interesting, but I saw the Cygnet again (or a different one, heaven help us!) last night in Newtownards. Looked like an off-white colour, maybe pearlescent.

Someone has suggested that you got one free if you bought a DB9, but I still don't get it. An IQ is way cheaper, and in every way the same car.

Off-white? That'll be a Cygnet. Goes pearlescent white when it turns into a Swan!

[nicanary]

maybe Danny Kaye had it spot on.

We'll all see it in a different light in the next few weeks.