Re:Car of the Century

["Mark Battley" <M.Battley@irl.cri.nz>]

Scott Fisher wrote:

<While Sir Alec Issigonis' Mini (another choice) was in 1959 the
<first car to use the transverse FWD layout, Honda's use of it in the
<1973 Civic -- the first by a company outside of the British
<Phlegmsucking Leyland oligarchy of dunces -- moved it out of the realm
<of oddball or niche cars (such as Saab, Audi, and Lancia) and into the
<global market.

Ahh, the FWD argument arises again... sorry, I can't resist!

I'm not denying the virtues of the Civic, but the Fiat 128 was introduced well 
before it, had FWD, alloy head SOHC transverse engine, gearbox inline with 
engine, strut front supension, independent rear suspension: heaps of space 
inside, and was lots of fun to drive. Not many were sold in the USA, but they 
were a huge advance in engineering, packaging and performance over the RWD small 
cars available at the time, and did sell well in other markets. Unfortunately 
they rusted... (as did the first few generations of Civics) but the engineering 
concepts differ very little to the current norm.  

However I'm not brave enough to make a statement as strong as "the first"...

Apart from the English gearbox/in sump approach, who else was using transverse 
engine FWD by the late 60s?

Mark Battley
Auckland, New Zealand.

1974 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
1989 Fiat Croma, Giant 128, complete with crease in nose thanks to idiot who 
backed into it this morning...

Yeah alright, I did once own a 128.. and then there was the Lancia Beta range, 
which was a grown up (and even more rusty) 128 relation that appeared just before 
the Civic....

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