On 16-5-2004 8:10, Barry Bingham wrote:
> So my proposition on the 156 is: the most beautiful production saloon of
> recent years is no longer in production. It has been replaced by a
> significantly less beautiful car and history will bear this out...

So, it is now that your car starts to become a classic one ;-) For not
designer people (of which I am one) it is sometimes hard to understand
were designers come up with. But bear in mind that new designs have to
face a period that is ahead of us. Taste and so fashion do change in
time. Designers do pick this "spirit of the times" up better then I for
example. When Alfa came up with the 75 I was shocked by it ugly design
after that damn beautiful Giulietta. Only after a couple of months I
liked it and I still consider it as a beautiful car. Maybe that is the
strength of a good design that people are still attached to the old
model for a long period. When I first saw the new nose of the 156 I was
very disappointed, it was too heavy and too much of a contrast from the
smooth lines of the rest of the car. But now I do like it. I would
rather buy the now model then the old model, that is if I could ;-)

Let the old 156 become a classic one. Taste is variable. Times move on.

Arjan