Holy Moly, is this real?

That is a hell of a enlarger!

Jeff

Nicholas Lindan said:

Italian engineering quality can be superb. Roman civil engineering still stands as some of the finest.

Dead Link Removed

Not too bad in modern times:

Unfortunately, at the low end of the scale it has acquired a reputation for being neither reliable nor beautiful. It does seem mad that the company that made this is seen as the salvation of the US automobile industry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_engineering

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You know that Fiat made Ferrari street cars for years right? Quality can be had for a price, there are just not enough people that can afford to pay the price so you get companies that lower their standards to broaden their customer base.

The cycle goes like this, spend years building a reputation for quality, lower prices to gain market share, lower quality to increase profit, repeat the cycle until product warranty claims reduce profits in a significant way. Once the company name is trashed, sell the company or just the name and run off with the money. The company that emerges either makes a different product, and or spends years rebuilding the name then the cycle starts again.

ic-racer ("My other car is a Testarossa") said:

I just saw this now. That top one (the black one) is a Chevy.

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Ah, the new Chevy Daytona. Made in Lordstown. 1.1l/4AA NiMH hybrid power.

And then there was the Dodge Daytona for a demonstration of Chrysler's styling prowess, makes the Fiat takeover look like a very good thing indeed:

credit: Dave Kanofsky / 440magnum.com

Saw a 599 driving down Mayfield road the other day.

Aside from Durst enlargers, my favorite Italian technology comes from Campagnolo.

I've never owned one, but Fiat's don't seem to be any better or worse than the multitude of other inexpensive smallish cars.
As with all the others, there are people who swear by the models that are supposed to be not so good, and people who swear at the models that are supposed to be the very best.

Heck, I have one enlarger way bigger than that thing. I load the negative stage from a rolling platform ladder, and if the colorhead has to be removed for service, I have a block and tackle arrangement. I can
stand on the easel if needed - it will easily support me.