Hello, Panda owners. It's a while since I've been around these parts, but I was flicking through some photos the other day and saw some of my Panda from not long before I sold it. I forgot how clean it was...
Well after four years of Panda ownership I've since had another four vehicles, which says a lot for the ease and enjoyment of owning one of the little Italian pocket rockets. I bought a 1988 Nissan Sunny which I ran for a year and grew quite fond of, then got a 1991 Proton GL as a stop-gap while I had the Sunny off the road for a minor suspension repair. I soon sold the Proton, though, and got rid of the Sunny when I had fixed it and got a Mk1 Toyota MR2, but after just under 6 months I grew tired of the noise it made (Janspeed exhaust, sounded awesome but was a pain in the arse on long trips) and was beginning to wonder if it was going to dissolve into a pile of iron oxide on the drive.
So now I've got a 205 with the 1.8 TD lump in and I have to say it's an excellent blend of performance, economy, retro charm and fun factor. Took bleedin' ages to find one in good nick with that engine.
It's good to see some of the regulars still posting here and a lot of new faces, too. Has anyone heard from Alan D recently? He was a massive contributor of technical knowledge and banter back in the day, but on my occasional visits here I've not seen anything by him.
Anyway I hope you are all well and will now leave you to call me a non-Panda owning traitor to the Fiat community.
Cheers.
Well after four years of Panda ownership I've since had another four vehicles, which says a lot for the ease and enjoyment of owning one of the little Italian pocket rockets. I bought a 1988 Nissan Sunny which I ran for a year and grew quite fond of, then got a 1991 Proton GL as a stop-gap while I had the Sunny off the road for a minor suspension repair. I soon sold the Proton, though, and got rid of the Sunny when I had fixed it and got a Mk1 Toyota MR2, but after just under 6 months I grew tired of the noise it made (Janspeed exhaust, sounded awesome but was a pain in the arse on long trips) and was beginning to wonder if it was going to dissolve into a pile of iron oxide on the drive.
So now I've got a 205 with the 1.8 TD lump in and I have to say it's an excellent blend of performance, economy, retro charm and fun factor. Took bleedin' ages to find one in good nick with that engine.
It's good to see some of the regulars still posting here and a lot of new faces, too. Has anyone heard from Alan D recently? He was a massive contributor of technical knowledge and banter back in the day, but on my occasional visits here I've not seen anything by him.
Anyway I hope you are all well and will now leave you to call me a non-Panda owning traitor to the Fiat community.
Cheers.
