The Suburban Times

A community bulletin board for Western Pierce County.

A Cross Between a Limo and a Sports Car

By

I used to cruise South Tacoma Way and its used car lots. I would buy cars like shoes. One day I saw this sharp looking silver car. It was only two years old, drove like a dream, had a great price and low miles. I had never heard of the make or model, which is probably why it had a low price, but didn’t care. The year was 1978, the car was a Lancia Beta. I took it for a ride and made a deal right then. Of course I got it for less than the figure on the window.

The Lancia was only two years old, drove like a dream, had a great price and low miles. I had never heard of the make or model, but didn’t care.

The Lancia was named after the Lancia company’s founder, Vincenzo Lancia (1881–1937). It sold out to Fiat in 1969. The Beta came out in 1972, it should have been called the Alpha, but Fiat didn’t want any confusion with the Alpha Romeo. The Beta had front-wheel drive, a DOHC engine, a five-speed gearbox, rack and pinion steering, fully independent suspension using MacPherson struts all-around, and four-wheel disc brakes. The Lancias are still sought after.

Lancias are still sought after.

The only problem with the Lancia is that it was still basically a Fiat. Commonly called “Fix It Again Tony.” Or in my case, Tony was Tony Schmid, who owned Racing Prep on St. Helens in the Stadium District. I first met Tony when we were students at Mann Junior High in Lakewood. Tony was very picky. You DID NOT bring him a dirty car. The cars in his garage were all parked on little carpet tiles. There were frequent issues with my car. I was a faithful customer at Racing Prep.

The car was totaled from the damage with a crowbar.

A friend of mine described my Lancia to his wife, “It’s a cross between a Limo and a sports car.” One of my treasured moments of my life was driving by myself along the water of Hood Canal listening to Billy Joel on the 8-Track player. It was a beautiful spring day and that car glided around the curves of the road as in a dream. A few days later the dream was shattered when someone tried to break into the car for the Blaupunkt radio. First they tried prying the windshield out and denting the roof, next they tried wrenching open the door, and then they finally just broke a rear window and then completely destroyed and ruined the dash. It must have taken them hours . . . they never got the radio out. The car was totaled from their damage with a crowbar. I was left with just my memories.

Comments

    • Jean,
      True, but I moved on. I’ve enjoyed a number of cars over the years . . . and had my share of just transportation cars. Sometimes they are disguised and sometimes not. On the whole, however I do have my favorites.
      Thanks for continuing to read my articles and for commenting.
      Don

    • Your drive sounds so delightful.To bad your lovely car was destroyed by vandles.I drove a fiat for a few years.I loved that it.turned on a dime.Myrta

      • Myrta,
        Thank you for reading my article and for commenting.
        I can still close my eyes and picture my drive . . . as my mind replays Billy Joel and Elvis Costello. It was one of those beautiful spring days that we all hope for. I tried on a couple of Fiat sports cars, but they had none in my size. I’m glad see your’s worked for you.
        Thanks, again for reading and taking the time to write.
        Don

  2. The prowler probably did you a favor! Insurance paid off the policy and you never got stranded or paid Tony for repairs ever again! Italian cars were funny that way.

    • Good morning, John
      You may be right, except . . . I continued to take my cars to Tony as long as he was in business. I bought a Mazda 323 . . . spied it at Russ Dunmier’s on South Tacoma Way. It was a loss-leader stripped down model, but it had great pick up and go. I felt like it was a little sports car . . . only more reliable. When I took it to Tony, I was looking around and saw that he had purchased several sunroofs for Jaguars. They were the kind where you pop them open and slide the material back like old-fashioned convertibles. Tony measured my Mazda and confirmed the fit. I had him install it. It was probably the only sunroof 323 in existence. It was my Jagzda. Eventually gave it to my son and he drove it until a big 4×4 wiped it out in an alley. Maybe, I’ll write a story about it.
      Thanks for reading and commenting.

      Don

    • Chris,
      Yes . . . when I looked at the damage it took the wind out of my sails. All of that destruction and they got nothing out of it? I hope it at least taught them a lesson . . . but I doubt it. It hurts us car guys more than anyone else, probably.
      Thanks for reading . . . keep it up and spread the news. The Suburban Times now has a readership of 24,000 . . . double from when I first started writing my articles.
      Don