hypothetical reasons for smaller-displacement versions

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

In AD7-1199 Joe Elliott, by way of backing up Scott Fisher's "oral tradition" 
concerning Italian laws about limiting displacements for certain age groups 
of drivers (he'd heard "under 21 and over 65"), writes that "The July 1989 
issue of Classic & Sportscar magazine mentions this law as the reason for 
Alfa's production of the Alfetta 1.6GT". I would suggest that such a law may 
have been "A" reason, but hardly "THE" reason. In the case of the 105 GT 
Veloce (after the 1600 stepnose era) the production of the 1300 and 1600 
Juniors totaled 106,352 while the 1750 and 2000 GT Veloces together totaled 
79,803; for the Giulietta Nuova sedans the 1.3 and 1.6 totaled 237,954 
against 92,708 for the 1.8 and 2.0 versions; for the 75 the numbers were 
127,498 for the 1.6, 102,543 for the 1.8, 77,132 for the 2.0, and 9,526 for 
the 2.5 and 3.0 V6s combined. For those numbers, there must have been quite a 
few Italian drivers over 21 and under 65 who, for one reason or another, 
freely chose smaller displacements than most Americans would consider 
acceptable.

John H.
Raleigh, N.C.

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