Remember the Y10. It was Lancia's small car and it stood out from the crowd not just because it was short and boxy but also for its opulent interior trim. It sold here for over 10 years, from 1985.
Then Lancia, part of the Fiat group, decided to get out of right-hand-drive and the Lancia marque was no longer part of the motoring scene here and in Britain and in those other countries where they do things differently.
Of course, there are still species of the marque around here.
The Y stands for Ypsilon and it has just gone into its third manifestation. The latest model that we drove around Rome last weekend caused a lot of head turning.Lancia, as part of beleaguered Fiat Auto, has suffered a huge sales decline, but the belief is that this latest Ypsilon will stop the rot. The opulence is there internally, too, and there are all kinds of posh trims and options to suit a fashion-conscious clientele.
The most innovative feature of the Ypsilon we drove was the 1,251 cc four-cylinder 16 valve common-rail direct injection diesel that is Fiat Auto's best good news story in a long time. We will see it soon in future small Fiats and in a revised Opel Corsa.
The Ypsilon under diesel power lost none of agility or driving zest and even at rest and in tickover, there's virtually no tell-tale clatter. The 70bhp unit, according to Fiat engineers, offers the best specific performance of any diesel engine up to 1,500cc. They give a top speed of about 102 mph and a 0 to 62mph time of just over 15 seconds. More importantly, they say it should give 60 mpg in normal driving.
The 1.3 Multijet is a masterpiece of miniaturisation, weighing just 130kg. It's designed to last for 250,000 km or 155,000 miles, not requiring any maintenance to mechanical parts during this time.
Fiat says it is also very clean and green, meeting Euro 4 emission limits that are not due to come into force until 2006.
Diesel is the flavour of the times but even in continental Europe, it still has to make its mark in the smaller A and B car segments. Fiat Auto believe that the new Multijet engine, making its debut in the Ypsilon, will lead the charge here.