The Auto Channel--Sports Car International V11 I10

CORRESPONDENCE

Affording an Opinion

I've been reading Sports Car International ever since the velocity stacks on the carburetors of a 250 Testa Rossa made me pick up a copy, and I've been a subscriber since I finished reading an article about fellow Italian-car enthusiast and acquaintance Merkel Weiss in the same issue. I think SCI is without a doubt much more enjoyable that those other This & That magazines - I like the consistent recognition of true sports cars like the Alfas, the Porsches and the Lotuses. (The fact that I did not mention Bentley is a hint!) I also appreciate that cars that won't even be sold in this country, like TVRs and Alfas, are still featured, and I especially enjoy the articles that show historic perspective or recognize the classic persistence of cars like the Abarths or early Morgans. There's just one problem: There is not enough done regarding the affordable sports car.

I read the Affordable Sports department every month. I love to read about those old cars such as MGBs, Datsun Zs and especially Fiat 850 Spiders (because I've owned three). I bought my last one because I wanted a relatively affordable convertible to complement my Alfa Romeo Milano Verdi; I lived so close to work that the V6 wouldn't even warm up, and found the 850 easier to park in downtown San Jose. Now that my 850 and Milano are in Italian-car heaven - which is either Pick Your Part or Alfa Parts Exchange, depending on the marque - I now own a '69 Alfa 1750 Spider Veloce (Fazool al Dente) and a Fiat 128 Sedan. (I don't have to tell you why I own the round-tail, but why the Fiat? I like to think of it as an X1/9 with four seats and four reverse gears.) My point is that these are all affordable sports cars. Yes, the 128 isn't exactly a sports cars, but it is affordable and great fun to drive.

Sure, I love to read about Hummers with JATO units strapped on that cost more than a house in Silicon Valley, but I really want to see more about these affordable sports cars. First, devote two or three pages and take one of these cars out for a drive; write as much about the spirit and soul of these cars as you do regarding the technical aspects and tips on purchasing. Second, take some pictures.

Put the same great effort that you put into your other departments into the affordable sports car - show us why we should consider putting a Saab Sonnet or a Lotus Europa into our garage, not just which engine was installed in which year.

As I said, I like your magazine because it has no snobbish boundaries. It's not afraid to poke fun at those sports cars that take themselves too seriously and stays true to what a sports car actually is. So let's see more of the sports cars that your readers actually drive.

To see a non-marque-specific magazine that would actually interview a person who collects Abarths and rear-engine Fiats is so rare that I'd hate to see it become just another Only Brand-New & Sold in America car magazine.

Daniel R. Przybylski

San Jose CA

P.S. - For more information on strapping Jet Assisted Take-Off units to cars, see FAST: Fiat America's Sport Talk, July, 1995.

Failing Economy

I'll be a faithful reader as long as you don't get carried away with things like comparison tests of a dozen entry-level econoboxes. Spare me the details of next year's Cavalier - I'm not in the market for a Cavalier, and in the unlikely event I ever am I'll buy a copy of Consumer Reports.

I'm most definitely also not a fan of the USA Today style of automotive journalism, which gives me an enormous amount of stupid little factoids which will dribble out of my ears and vanish the minute I put the magazine down. I want juicy, meaty articles about odd, interesting and exciting automobiles - articles like the Veritas feature or the comparison of the AC Aces from 1955 and 1995. The article on supercar design was also fascinating, and I've actually gone back to re-read it, which is not something I tend to do with the pages of drivel found in other magazines. The story of Tony Parravano was also fascinating, filling in a large number of gaps in my knowledge. If this means that there are only six articles per issue, that's fine - you can be sure I'll read the whole thing. Just don't let your page of factoids (I forget what you call it offhand) get any bigger than it is now.

In brief, keep up the in-depth articles and I'll keep paying for subscriptions.

Thomas Browne

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Deposit in Hand

Following up on Backlash, SCI July '95, having watched the design renaissance at Chrysler over the past six years from the front lines I'm never surprised when another of their "I've got to have one of those" designs erupts on the scene. Having met Tom Gale during the '91 Viper Indy Pace Car festivities I can honestly say that nobody listens like he does. Tom wants to know the individuals who will buy his company's creations; combine this with passion, talent and leadership and you have an unbeatable design boss. When the person at the top cares this much about the customer, it can only lead to great things.

Could the Thunderbolt, given a V8 drivetrain, be the Mustang/Camaro killer that Chrysler diehards have been waiting for? And could the Atlantic perhaps be the most beautiful car ever to roll on four wheels? If it were produced, Chrysler would suddenly be the luxury car division.

Talented designers like Bob Hubbach thrive in the government Lutz, Gale and Walling have created. Working in the Advanced Design Group has to be one of the best jobs in Detroit - I can hardly wait to see the concept vehicles Chrysler will unveil next year.

Jay A. Herbert, National Director

International Viper Registry

Arkadelphia AR

Be My Valentino

Your Italian Correspondent, in the August issue, wrote about the Lamborghini Jota and mentioned test-driver Valentino. Would this by any chance be Valentino Balboni? And if so, could I request a short biography and photograph? You see, Mr. Balboni appeared on 60 Minutes many years ago, and all I remember is a fuzzy view of him with Mr. Morley Safer on a test-drive in Sant' Agata.

Thanks also for the nice article on the Gran Premio de Cuba in the June issue, with pictures of "the Gentle Sage" - Mr. Masten Gregory. "Ah hate the sight of blood; 'specially mah own," is what he said.

Daniel David

Edmunston, New Brunswick, Canada

Valentino - who unlike Cher, Sting et al does have a last name - will be covered in greater detail in Winston Goodfellow's Miura vs. Diablo article slated for the next issue. For now, however, Mr. Balboni arrived at Lamborghini in 1968 as a green recruit and has since worked his way up to Supervisor for Technical Assistance - a.k.a. chief test driver. Valentino's measurements are 34-24-36, his favorite color is rosso, and his turn-ons include gelato, pasta and motori con molti-cavalli. (Actually, we might be off on the measurements.) - Ed.

Everybody's a Comedian

Just picked up the July issue of SCI, where I found the Mike Ostrov & Friends article. I notice the closeup shot of Mr. Ostrov near his Seven pictured him on the floor with a wrench in his hand. How appropriate.

John Eckhardt, Jr.

Merriam KS

Dp,r d,s;; yu[pd

I appreciated the way that SCI (sigh?) is following SCM's (scum?) lead in creative spelling. With my magazine's reference to a Ferrari Dayotna blazing the trail in our July issue, your picking up the ball with a reference to a reboided Spider on page 80 was right on track. Perhaps now we need to do a joint report on a reboided Spider Dayotna: A rare car indeed.

Keith Martin, Editor

SPORTS CAR MARKET

Portland OR

Think you're pretty clever, eh, Keith? Well, you totally missed an even bigger screwup in August's Lamborghini Jota ar-ticle! So there! - Jay Lamp

We're Found Out at Last

I usually enjoy reading your magazine, because it is about cars that I find interesting. But now I am very, very disappointed and I don't think I will be able to read it - or buy it, that means - anymore. In your September 1995 issue on page 50 you were writing about the Mercedes E320, which is a new car that anyone who works hard and invests wisely can someday afford. But you quoted Karl Marx in the middle of that article, and everybody knows that Karl Marx is a longtime communist.

Also, on the cover of the previous issue (which I did not buy) I saw that you said "Enthusiasts of the World Unite." This is also a pro-communist saying. I don't know if you are actually espousing these discredited wrong views, but I cannot condone even a set of these kinds of jokes made in bad taste.

Edgar Falloes

Park Forest MO

Of course you realize, Mr. Falloes, that.... Ah, the Hell with it.Ed.

Apparently They're Just Using Up the Can

Very cool to see Joanne Marshall's story on the Lamborghini Jota in the August 1995 issue. I do think, though, that Lamborghini needs to invest in some new paint soon. When the Diablo SE first appeared on Road & Track's cover its metallic purple paint was cool. When Roberto Carrer shot it for you guys a little later it was even better. But when the same color showed up again on the latest Jota it was really a bit much. I mean, how shocking can shock value be the third time around? Next time, maybe they should try a nice floral print. Hey, that's it: "The New Lamborghini Diablo - by Vera."

Margie Dinslade

Falls Church MD