We are often asked: “Is it imported?”
We answer: It does not matter. The 1978 Astrona is a world car, built across the world - what Europeans like isn´t bad for the US, and vice versa.
A midsize sedan with some Euro touches like no-nonsense interior, sporty handling and efficient engines. All combined with US exterior, showing your neighbour what you can afford, spacious interior and a decent amount of standard features, offering a comfortable ride.
You can´t decide between an Euro sports sedan or a domestic cruiser? Try the Astrona.
The 1980 Arco Civetta Bebop represents what the northern Italian car maker does best: make inexpensive, go-anywhere family cars wrapped in beautiful sheet metal. This American market spec of the Civetta is the new facelifted design for 1980, accommodating their safety regulation eccentricities with ease. Design consultation with Zagato has let Arco’s designers craft an athletic silhouette for the Civetta, distinguishing it from the more plebian 3 box designs of the year. The repetition of sweeping lines along the length of the body helps visually lower the Civetta without having to compromise ride height and visibility. The low front facia contributes to this sleekness and allows for a respectable 27.1 combined MPG.
While the outside of the Civetta may be dressed in stylish, trendy sheet metal, the underpinning of the Civetta Bebop is tried and true Arco reliability and stoutness. Being located in the Aosta valley in the northern mountains of Italy, Arco understands the weatherproofing and traction needs of drivers in snowy climates. The Bebop trim, the second highest offered for the Civetta range, equips the car with a full time awd system for increased traction, maneuverability, and acceleration. Other awd offerings borrow components from tall, lumbering 4x4s, causing what would be an otherwise normal sedan to become tall and unwieldy to maneuver through normal traffic. Not so with the Civetta Bebop. Arco’s awd systems are designed with daily drivability and maintenance in mind. The dependable 2.5 L i4 Arco owners know and love is mounted longitudinally in the engine bay, just like your typical rwd car. The only difference to the engine bay is the driveshafts protruding from underneath the engine and connected to the front wheels. This allows for more traditional running gear to be used instead of having lift the whole car to pass a new driveshaft from the transfer case in the middle of the car. All of this allows the Civetta to sit at a normal ride height without belying its winter weather and gravel road prowess.
This ruggedly innovative awd is paired with Arco’s standard 2.5 L SOHC i4 and dual meshed 5 speed gearbox. The engine has been slightly up tuned for the Bebop trim, making 137 hp and 154 ft/lbs of torque and is equipped with multipoint electronic fuel injection for ease of starting in all sorts of inclement weather. This combination of engine, transmission, and drive type allow for a respectable 0-60 of 10.7 seconds and a quarter mile time of 17.83 seconds. The Civetta Bebop tops out at a very respectable 118 mph, meaning highway speeds are easily attainable without over stressing the engine.
The interior of the Bebop is where the trim name mostly comes from. A premium Alpine cassette head unit is ensconced in the center of the well appointed interior and plays through a system of 6 speakers. The supportive yet supple seats are perfect for long drives filled impromptu radio sing-alongs and the wealth of power features make highway cruising and breeze. Delicately balanced direct steering makes for sprightly, engaging driving and appropriately boosted brakes give the absolute minimum brake fade. This whole package makes for a refined driving experience in a relatively inexpensive form.
Straight from the ship from West Germany, to your Suburban paradise.
Bergmann presents the first every Deich to reach the new world. The best of german engineering and design. The GT pack wraps the premium body work around a beefed up version of the 4cylinder Boxer creating over 100hp and giving you an Autobahn worthy crusing speed. Premium Mudflaps included
For 1980 Wells gives you the Chiraz LS(Luxury Sport). Giving you 205 of the best horses ever. The suspension is tuned to give you the greatest ride one can possibly have from a vehicle of this caliber. All coupled with an interior full of the latest wizardry, youll quickly fall in love.
The B9000 is the predecessor to the L9000. (QFC23 - Mafioso Motoring [Results out!] - #125 by DrDoomD1scord) It was a truly great car… Until they brought it to the US. Where regulations tore it to shreds and left it a shell of its true form, and they removed the option of a 5L V12. Damn Americans. “sips tea”Tearing this car apart has hurt my soul
@Knugcab The Buick LaCrosse had a quite similar situation in Quebec, I’m told.
Part of what’s making this interesting is that interior upgrades decrease reliability. What’s the slider setting for Realism in this CSR, specifically regarding reliability? Presumably, the stereo crapping out isn’t equivalent to fuel pump failure. I would guess it’s not worth the trouble of testing on the part of the host/judge; would they like to confirm or deny?
Higher-end interiors are generally more complex and thus less reliable. Increasing the interior quality negates this to an extent, but it also increases the price of the whole car.
Well I have no clue for the rest of your car, though a 2.5L I6 sounds like an ideal choice to me, assuming the tune’s decent as this is set in the late malaise era, the V8 “sports cars” of the time were mainly sub 200 hp, even Corvette in '84 was only 205 hp, so I feel like 100 hp would be plenty here and you likely have more that!
