Reducing a brand with such a rich heritage like Lancia to selling rebadged Chryslers must be a hard thing to live with for fans. To express their anger, some hardcore Lancia enthusiasts have set up a Facebook page called “Si a Lancia, No a Marchionne”.
No need to translate that; it is an Italian’s elegant way of saying that Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne should stop trying to turn Lancia into a Chrysler clone.
The page, which has gathered more than 3,300 ‘Likes’ since it was founded in 2012, describes itself as “the Facebook page for those who want to save Lancia from Marchionne’s killing plans.” The movement is also present on Twitter, with its account suggestively named @occupylancia.
Lancia fans complain that the carmaker’s official Facebook page deletes all posts in which people criticize the management’s current decisions regarding the brand.
The fan page contains many images of old Lancias, with the comparisons obviously not flattering for the brand’s current range. The Lancia Flavia cabriolet is called “a bathtub” while Chrysler-badged Lancias in general are compared to wheelbarrows and baby strollers, among others items. There are also photos comparing Lancia’s empty booth at the Geneva show this year to past auto shows where Lancia cars were “assaulted” by fans.
Needless to say, most images contain direct messages to Sergio Marchionne, who is portrayed either as a witch keen to destroy Lancia or as a man possessed by the devil who needs to be exorcised… The message is clear: you don’t mess with one of Italy’s favorite brand. We have selected the most suggestive pictures in the gallery below.
By Dan Mihalascu
Photo Credits: SiaLancia/FaceBook
PHOTO GALLERY
