Good morning! We’re going to start out my favorite month with a couple of uncommon front-wheel-drive coupes. One is Italian, and the other just has an Italian-sounding name. But I think they’re both pretty cool. Hopefully you do too.
Yesterday we looked at two clearcoat-challenged cheap sedans, and I was a little surprised that the cheaper, manual Mazda Protege lost. I guess it came down to condition, and that green Taurus really was in better shape, especially inside. Sure, the transmissions in those have been known to fail, but I’ve also seen them with 300,000 miles on them. It all depends on how it was treated, and that car appears to have been treated well.
If I were looking for a fun car to tinker with, I’d prefer the Mazda, and figure out a way to un-automatic the seat belts. But the Taurus is the better buy here, if you just need a car. It’ll use a little more gas, but it’s safer and more comfortable. And at this point, reliability is probably a wash between the two.
All right; let’s take a look at a couple of less practical but more interesting cars. One of these is a two-seater, and the other might as well be. And they’re both better suited to weekend drives than daily commutes. Show up to a Cars & Coffee in either one, though, and you’re sure to make friends.
1980 Lancia Beta Zagato – $2,800
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter DOHC inline-4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Odometer reading: 67,000 miles
Operational status: “Runs, drives, stops”
“It’s better to burn out,” says Neil Young (or Joe Elliott, or the Kurgan, if you prefer), “than to fade away.” I’m not sure that’s true of everything, but it does seem to apply to automakers. As sad as it is to lose a cool company like Studebaker, or even DeLorean, it’s almost harder to watch a company like Lancia being reduced to selling only one little economy hatchback, and only in Italy. It won multiple rally championships. It gave us Herbie’s girlfriend. Sadly, it also left America in 1982 in a flurry of rust flakes, trailing broken timing belts behind it. This was one of the last Lancia models to be sold in the US, the sporty convertible version of the front-wheel-drive Beta.
Lancia was bought by Fiat in 1969, and some purists still insist that the Beta isn’t a “real Lancia” because it uses a Fiat engine. But what an engine! It’s the Fiat “Lampredi” twin-cam, punched out to 2.0 liters for the US market, and driving the front wheels through a five-speed gearbox. This is one of the last carbureted Betas sold in the US; for 1981, they all switched to fuel injection. The seller’s description is terse; all we know is that it’s drivable. Hey, that’s better than a lot of old Italian cars in this price range.
I get the impression that someone has struggled with electrical problems with this car in the past. The lower dash trim is missing, as is the horn button, and there’s a rat’s nest of wires hanging down. I’ve been through that nightmare before, and let me tell you, at some point it’s easier just to rewire the whole damn car. Hopefully they saved the dash trim, because I don’t know where you’d find a replacement. The horn button is less of a big deal, since this car should have a Momo or Nardi steering wheel in it anyway. The seats and carpet are in really good shape, which makes me wonder if they have been redone at some point.
The biggest problem the Beta ever had was rust, and this car does have some, but it’s not bad at all. There is an underside photo in the ad, and it looks fine. A nearly rust-free Lancia Beta? In Michigan? I guess anything really is possible. The convertible top is a little ragged around the edges, and could stand to be replaced. Or just leave it down, and only drive on sunny days.
1989 Buick Reatta – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 3.8-liter OHV V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Aspers, PA
Odometer reading: 254,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
For a long time, Chevrolet was the only GM division that was allowed to have a two-seat car. But then came the Pontiac Fiero, and after that, all the other divisions wanted one. And they all got one – well, all except poor Oldsmobile. Cadillac introduced the Allante in 1987, and in 1988, Buick brought out this car, the Reatta, based on a shortened version of the Riviera personal luxury coupe. Like the Allante, it was kind of a flop; Buick wanted to sell 20,000 Reattas a year, but it only managed a little more than that over all four years of production. That makes this kind of a rare car.
There’s nothing special about the Reatta mechanically; it uses the same 3800 V6 and four-speed automatic as every LeSabre and Bonneville and Delta 88 from the same era. As we all know, that’s not a bad thing. Cars with this drivetrain are known for racking up the miles, though this one is a little deceptive. The odometer shows a quarter-million, but the engine was replaced at 181,000, and the transmission at 219,000. It’s practically new under the hood. It has also had a bunch of other recent work, and the seller says it runs and drives well.
The Reatta was meant to be a halo car for Buick, so it makes sense that the interior would be a showpiece. It has nice leather seats, power everything, a cool futuristic (for 1989) digital dash, the works. This one appears to be in good condition, too. There’s some fading on the steering wheel rim, but everything else looks fine.
There’s only one exterior photo in the ad, but a few of the interior, so I guess I’ll show you another one. It gives me a chance to write about the Reatta’s big party trick: a touch-screen. This was wildly futuristic in 1989, and no one had any idea we’d all be sick of them by 2026. It still works, or maybe works again after someone refurbished it. That’s good, because it’s the only way to access the HVAC controls. There’s a little add-on gadget below it, probably satellite radio or a CD changer control unit. Of course, there’s still the factory tape player, if you kept your cassettes. (I didn’t, but my wife still has all of hers.)
If you’re looking for extra seats or cargo space, you’re out of luck today. But if you want a cool, rare two-door for weekend fun, here are two good choices. So which do you prefer: the Italian orphan or the Buick sales flop?
That Lancia looks really nice, and I didn’t even know they sold that one here. It would be a truly rare car to own. But the wiring looks like a real mess. And if they went to fuel injection just a year later, that version would be the one to have. No point messing with a carb when you don’t have to. I’d reeeeeally like to vote for it, but a 1981 with sorted wiring, but otherwise in the same condition, would be a much better buy for even $1000 more than this.
There is nothing that stirs me about the Reatta, but it got my vote anyway. I know the engine and platform from cars I’ve owned before, and while I used to love chasing electrical issues on cars I’m at the age now where having done decades of electrical troubleshooting for a career has me wanting to do none of it in my spare time, so the Lancia is an automatic no-go.
I want to vote for the Lancia, but I just can’t. It’s too rough for the price.
I’ve always wanted a Lancia. Not this Lancia, but, well, it’s cheap enough. Sorry, Buick.
I’m going Lancia, more unique, and I appreciate the look and feel more.
I’m am a bit curious as to the Michigan rear plate and VT front plate though…..
This is really difficult because I’ve always liked Reattas and that one looks fairly nice despite the mileage. But I also like wierd stuff, and most people didn’t even know Lancia was still in the U.S. in 1980.
Going with the Buick for ease of ownership and it’s nicer.
Voted beta because as a project it seems like the more interesting/rewarding garage art.
There’s a low mileage garage kept reatta locally available for 7500$ that I’ve looked at twice now. If it had this cars tan seats I might have pulled the trigger.
I grew up riding in this era riviera and had one as a first car. They were fine. I’d kill for someone to make something like them today. I guess those final Altima and accord coupes are the last we got. The new preludes are a little small and low to the ground to make my bad back happy.
You say nothing is special mechanically about the reatta but it and the allante both got teaves brakes to allow for the low hood line. I know that people in the Alfa community were parting out reatta in the early aughts just to get the master cylinders and pump as they were unobtainium after 1999. So I assume parts availability and knowledgeable rebuilders are still a problem today. Even more so than the digital dash.
Did not know that about the Teves brakes, apparently there weren’t enough Reattas/Allantes around me to have ever been asked for brake parts on one! I know there is a cottage industry around rebuilding the touchscreens though.
While the Lancia i really want is a Stratos, the Beta I can at least afford.
I had a friend in high school with a Reatta that same color, with an interior to match. We graduated in 2011, so it was an older vehicle even then. I got a chance to drive it, and it could have been any Buick from the era. I’ve always wanted to like these, but it just didn’t feel special or unique from behind the wheel. And with looks like that, it should.
I’m sure the Lancia will be more work, but on the other hand, I get to say I own a Lancia, and it is a pretty thing. Anyway, I’ve got three other vehicles to drive if the Lancia won’t cooperate.
Have had a soft spot for Reattas since they were new, so it easily gets my vote today.
When the Reatta was new my family lived just north of Flint Michigan. This was a HEAVY GM area and all the big wigs would drive the latest and highest-end cars GM had to offer. My dad was a VP for large Flint bank and one of his big name clients had a new Reatta. They went to lunch and my dad made a comment about the Reatta supposedly being “hand built”.
The GM exec, who just got the car said “Yeah, well, the plaque on this one should say “Hand Built by Huey, Dewey, and Louie.” The quality was THAT good. LOL
I still voted for it because 3800.
I think i would rather have the lancia sitting in my driveway as a wiring puzzle than have the boring buick.
I really wanted to say Lancia but I don’t want to be trying to search Italian E-bay for spare parts all the time and I hate wiring and have no confidence that the prior owner has sorted that out and so it’s the Reatta, which at least is a semi-cool Buick.
Italian heartbreak or a Buick Regretta?
I’m too old for the drama. Gimme the Buick.
If you love your car so much that you’re willing to change its engine at 181k (or pay someone to do so) I’m going to bet that car has been generally well-kept. I choose Buick.
This is a BOTH kind of day…but I’ll go the riskier route and take the Lancia if I can only choose one.
Man, I was saying just last week that, if I’m buying a Buick, I’m holding out for a Reatta. And then you had to go put it against something really cool, like this Lancia. Hmm, still trying to decide…
I’ll take the older Italian whose top comes off.
The Reatta is cool in the abstract, but I have near zero desire to own one.
Didn’t Chevy Chase drive one of these Lancias in Modern Problems (where toxic waste was dumped on him?). You ‘80s kids know what I’m talking about
https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_85505-Lancia-Beta-Coup%C3%A9-828-BC1FL-1979.html
At this price I can afford to be frivolous with my $ and a Lancia sounds like fun. Midwest Bayless is only 1.5hrs away to help.
Although why does it have two different state plates?
My assumption would be a workaround to a title issue resulting in a Vermont registration, before being registered in Michigan.
The Lancia is a cooler car, for sure, but I’d be worried about finding the un-obtainium parts for the thing.
Sure, some parts for the Buick is probably getting hard to find, but the touch screen still functioning and the motor/trans replacement is a good sign.
Gimmie the plushy Buick.
Gotta go with the Italian heartbreak, sorry Buick.