The mighty Volkswagen Group Empire has absorbed fairly just a few storied manufacturers over the many years, from Porsche to Bentley to Scout, however you will not see the merchandise of one among its greatest subsidiaries on American streets. That is SEAT, whose merchandise are widespread sights throughout Western Europe. With the intention to discover used-up SEATs, your finest guess is to journey to junkyards on the opposite facet of the Atlantic, which I did just lately. At the moment’s Junkyard Scrapyard Gem is an Altea compact MPV, present in a self-service boneyard in Yorkshire, England.
The Spanish automotive business by no means made a lot of an impression in the USA, regardless of producing some wonderful Hispano-Suizas and Pegasos. In Europe, although, autos bearing the badges of the Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo are seen in all places. SEAT was shaped as a partnership between the federal government of dictator Francisco Franco and Fiat; the primary badge-engineered Fiat 1400s rolled off the meeting line in 1953. Fiat ditched SEAT in 1982, after which Volkswagenwerk AG swooped in, taking full management by 1990. Quickly after, the Warsaw Pact disintegrated and Volkswagen added Škoda to its secure.
The Altea was constructed from the 2005 via 2015 mannequin years in nearly unchanged kind. 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 metropolis common with European vacationers from colder climates, appears to have been seen by British automotive customers as a sportier-looking and roomier model of the Golf.
The “tall hatchback” MPV design by no means caught on so effectively in the USA, but it surely was extremely popular in Europe through the 2000s. I’ve documented just a few different varieties from my journey to the scrapyards of England, together with a Hyundai Matrix, a first-generation Honda HR-V, a Citroën C4 Picasso and a Citroën Xsara Picasso Need.
Have a look at all of the cool Altea colours you can get (in Spain)!
Many engine decisions, each petrol and diesel, have been accessible for the Altea. This one has the 1.6-liter petrol-burner, rated at 125 horsepower.
An automated transmission was accessible, however this automotive has the bottom five-speed guide.
It crashed onerous sufficient to fireside the airbags, and meaning the tip of the road for a 16-year-old right-hand-drive Spanish automotive.
To the skiers who refused to imagine that one ski could possibly be extra enjoyable.
SEAT employed John McEnroe to pitch the Altea. ¡Hold the insurgent alive!
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