Part of the Hagerty Podcast Network, the Carmudgeon Show is a comedic, information-filled conversation with Jason Cammisa and Derek Tam-Scott, two car enthusiasts who are curmudgeonly beyond their years. Proving you don’t have to be old to be grumpy, they spend each episode talking about what’s wrong with various parts of the automotive universe. Despite their best efforts to keep it negative, they usually wind up laughing, happy, and extolling their love for cars. Which just makes them angrier and more bitter.
Jason Cammisa is an automotive journalist, social-media figure, and TV host with over 300 million views on YouTube alone. Jason’s deeply technical understanding, made possible by a lifelong obsession with cars, allows him to fully digest what’s going on within an automobile — and then put it into simple terms for others to understand. Also, a Master’s Degree in Law trained him to be impossible to argue with.
Derek Tam-Scott still tries. He’s a young automotive expert with old-man taste in cars, and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering — which means he knows how to be civil to Jason. Or at least he tries. With a decade and a half’s experience buying, selling, driving and brokering classic and exotic cars, he’s experienced the world’s most iconic cars. And hated most of them.
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Part of the Hagerty Podcast Network, the Carmudgeon Show is a comedic, information-filled conversation with Jason Cammisa and Derek Tam-Scott, two car enthusiasts who are curmudgeonly beyond their years. Proving you don’t have to be old to be grumpy, they spend each episode talking about what’s wrong with various parts of the automotive universe. Despite their best efforts to keep it negative, they usually wind up laughing, happy, and extolling their love for cars. Which just makes them angrier and more bitter.
Jason Cammisa is an automotive journalist, social-media figure, and TV host with over 300 million views on YouTube alone. Jason’s deeply technical understanding, made possible by a lifelong obsession with cars, allows him to fully digest what’s going on within an automobile — and then put it into simple terms for others to understand. Also, a Master’s Degree in Law trained him to be impossible to argue with.
Derek Tam-Scott still tries. He’s a young automotive expert with old-man taste in cars, and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering — which means he knows how to be civil to Jason. Or at least he tries. With a decade and a half’s experience buying, selling, driving and brokering classic and exotic cars, he’s experienced the world’s most iconic cars. And hated most of them.
Alfa 164, Saab 9000, Lancia Thema — The Carmudgeon Show w Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott — Ep 181
The Carmudgeon Show
1 hour 23 minutes
2 months ago
Alfa 164, Saab 9000, Lancia Thema — The Carmudgeon Show w Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott — Ep 181
Many enthusiasts don't realize that the Alfa Romeo 164 and Saab 9000 share their underpinnings — with the Lancia Thema and Fiat Croma. They all ride on the Fiat Tipo Quattro (Type 4) platform, and in this episode, we discuss the their history and drive the three most powerful, quickest, and fastest FWD sport sedans of their era.
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WATCH THE FULL REVELATIONS EPISODE HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G71uIVvnzvw
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This is a history less about their initial development, to the plethora of engine options, posh and/or aerospace-inspired interiors, styling, power, handling dynamics, and the pros and cons of platform sharing.
We kick things off with the platform’s predecessors: the Tipo Zero, Tipo Uno, Tipo Dua, and Tipo Tre – go figure – all of which underpinned a variety of Fiats. Meanwhile, Saab had effectively been building cars on the same platform since the 40s before finally making something new for the Saab 99 during the late 60s, and then the 900 in late 70s (which was really just a revised 99). But when it was time for a shift upmarket in the late 80s, Saab needed financial help to create the 9000 after a merger deal with Volvo fell through. At the time, Lancia was in need of a full-size family sedan and jumped into the mix as well via an existing relationship with Saab (see the Saab Lancia 600).
There’s a brief sidebar about weird cars of the time. Select picks include the Citroen DX and GS, as well as the AMC Eagle and Concord. Plus oddball platform sharing in the form of the Dodge Monaco, Renault 25, and Chrysler 300M. Merkur enters the chat, as does Cizeta and the equally prodigious V6 Chevy Cavalier Z24, 4-cylinder Cadillac Cimarron, and, of course, the forever elegant Lumina Euro.
What’s that? You’d like to know how many V6s were on sale in Europe in the late 80s? One. Or two. Somewhere between 1 and 3-ish. We think. Pretty sure.
In any case, the hottest of the hot Tipo Quattro cars are QUICK. The Saab 9000 Aero being the quickest FWD car of the time, but the Thema 8.32 and Alfa 164Q4 were close behind. As were the Dodge Omni GLHS and the Ford Taurus SHO – the original fast blob.
In This Episode:
The Alfa Romeo 164 Quadrifoglio Verde (230 hp)
The Saab 9000 Aero (225 hp)
The Lancia Thema 8.32 (215 hp)
There’s much talk of Busso V6s, Ferrari V8s (cross- and extra jiggly flat-plane) and their sound profiles. We’ll also cover the delightful smell of rich Italian leather, and our most favorite Pininfarina pen strokes.
Then we’ll blitz through a bunch of badge-engineered bungles like the VW Routan, Acura SLX, Mazda2 and Honda’s new Prologue. When done poorly, platform sharing can kill entire brands, but sometimes we’re left with a small crop of lust-worthy enthusiast cars, and for that we are thankful!
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The Carmudgeon Show
Part of the Hagerty Podcast Network, the Carmudgeon Show is a comedic, information-filled conversation with Jason Cammisa and Derek Tam-Scott, two car enthusiasts who are curmudgeonly beyond their years. Proving you don’t have to be old to be grumpy, they spend each episode talking about what’s wrong with various parts of the automotive universe. Despite their best efforts to keep it negative, they usually wind up laughing, happy, and extolling their love for cars. Which just makes them angrier and more bitter.
Jason Cammisa is an automotive journalist, social-media figure, and TV host with over 300 million views on YouTube alone. Jason’s deeply technical understanding, made possible by a lifelong obsession with cars, allows him to fully digest what’s going on within an automobile — and then put it into simple terms for others to understand. Also, a Master’s Degree in Law trained him to be impossible to argue with.
Derek Tam-Scott still tries. He’s a young automotive expert with old-man taste in cars, and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering — which means he knows how to be civil to Jason. Or at least he tries. With a decade and a half’s experience buying, selling, driving and brokering classic and exotic cars, he’s experienced the world’s most iconic cars. And hated most of them.
