The mighty Volkswagen Group Empire has absorbed quite a couple of storied brands over the many years, from Porsche to Bentley to Scout, but you will not see the products of one in every of its biggest subsidiaries on American streets. That is SEAT, whose products are common sights throughout Western Europe. With a view to find used-up SEATs, your best bet is to travel to junkyards on the opposite side of the Atlantic, which I did recently. Today’s Junkyard Scrapyard Gem is an Altea compact MPV, present in a self-service boneyard in Yorkshire, England.
The Spanish automotive industry never made much of an impression in america, despite producing some amazing Hispano-Suizas and Pegasos. In Europe, though, vehicles bearing the badges of the Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo are seen all over the place. SEAT was formed as a partnership between the federal government of dictator Francisco Franco and Fiat; the primary badge-engineered Fiat 1400s rolled off the assembly line in 1953. Fiat ditched SEAT in 1982, after which Volkswagenwerk AG swooped in, taking full control by 1990. Soon after, the Warsaw Pact disintegrated and Volkswagen added Škoda to its stable.
The Altea was built from the 2005 through 2015 model years in virtually unchanged form. It lived on the identical platform because the Mk5 and Mk6 VW Golf, the Audi A3 and the Mk2 Škoda Octavia.
The Altea, which was named after the Mediterranean city popular with European tourists from colder climates, seems to have been viewed by British automobile shoppers as a sportier-looking and roomier version of the Golf.
The “tall hatchback” MPV design never caught on so well in america, however it was very talked-about in Europe in the course of the 2000s. I’ve documented a couple of other types from my trip to the scrapyards of England, including a Hyundai Matrix, a first-generation Honda HR-V, a Citroën C4 Picasso and a Citroën Xsara Picasso Desire.
Take a look at all of the cool Altea colours you might get (in Spain)!
Many engine selections, each petrol and diesel, were available for the Altea. This one has the 1.6-liter petrol-burner, rated at 125 horsepower.
An automatic transmission was available, but this automobile has the bottom five-speed manual.
It crashed hard enough to fireside the airbags, and meaning the top of the road for a 16-year-old right-hand-drive Spanish automobile.
To the skiers who refused to consider that one ski might be more fun.
SEAT hired John McEnroe to pitch the Altea. ¡Keep the rebel alive!
Auto emoción.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
