A Symbol Of Everything Wrong With Cars Today - 1997 Ford Puma 

Not a fan of your sensationalist click batey thumb nails, we're grown ups not ADHD children

My brother had one too...drove like a kart

Do you think the Honda CR-Z was a more recent version of the same idea? My wife had a 1.7 Puma in the late 90s and I loved driving it.

"Cars don't fulfill the same function in society today...." Agreed. I am a 23 year owner of a '67 Alfa Romeo Duetto and a 2005 Honda S2000 bought new, so I am no stranger to the joys of driving. However, if I were buying a car today, it would not be a Boxster, but a Macan GTS. Why? Because I need a vehicle to carry my wife, 2 dogs, hiking gear and mountain bikes to go enjoy the great outdoors. The car is a method of transport to get us and our gear to the destination reliably, safely, comfortably. It is no longer so much the drive, but the destination, that I look forward to. So why is that? For one thing, the roads are too congested (especially with oversized pickup trucks, SUVs and RVs) and in poor repair to make motoring fun the way it used to be. The romanticism in the act of driving seems like from a by-gone era, even if I try to relive it in my roadsters with an early morning coastal or canyon run. I suspect younger generations, many of whom begrudgingly got their license, view driving as a burden. That's a pity, but not so difficult to understand.

I’m curious how the Puma compares to it’s rival, the Opel Tigra

Let's use children to mine the minerals, and lets forcibly introduce them that loads of perfectly good cars, with decades of life left are scraped, and before the batteries are developed. If copper can't be mined quick enough, can tyres be made quick enough?

I agree manufacturers have lost the plot, but for some reason, people keep buying their output. I can't stick modern cars, mostly dull to drive and the most basic of functions are turned into safety hazards by being buried in a touch-screen menu.

People keep buying them because they have them shoved down their throats whenever they walk into a showroom.

I think I heard some 15-20 years ago the reason for SUVs originally was that it was too expensive to build small cars in North America. They created the SUV to create a car that was economically sustainable for American manufacturers. It was sold on security and prestige. It started a trend. More and more manufacturers understood that SUVs were higher profit and the ordinary cars were dropped. So now we've got Chinese EV SUVs with insanely big touch screens. Enormous tyres that cost a fortune to replace. I never had a SUV. It just seems so wasteful. It's all for the manufacturers. Not the consumers.

The plot comes from government. It's demanded from the manufacturers to produce electric cars or else. The cars need to be large so they can fit enough batteries for enough range. Otherwise the consumers won't buy them. There you have it. Very green.

In the 80's even I managed to replace a bumper on an Escort, change light bulbs and -with a little help- a radiator. Nowadays the the computer needs a reset by the garage after you change tires. Often you have to take out the complete headlight unit to change a bulb (Ford) you need torx screwdrivers, flat screwdrivers, 2 extra hands to avoid paint damage and so on.

​@@jandenijmegen5842think about LED headlamps for a second. You can't change bulbs. New units are often £1000-£1500

Bring back the knobs. ✊

Lol, what I've been saying for awhile. I refuse to buy any car with vital controls on something that can glitch and needs updates. I refuse to follow the sheep over the cliff edge!

@@jandenijmegen5842 I like my 2008 Corsa, but it's modern enough to make life difficult! Headlight bulb change (Haynes manual) front bumper, front wing, wheel arch liner, air box, fuse box....all off/out, just to change a bloody bulb! I did cheat, replacing the dip beam bulbs, with my nifty hands/near loss of blood, but had it been the high beam bulbs, I would never have reached them! Take it to Halfords for one of their £40 special bulb change deals and they would laugh at me!

Lets be honest you don’t see many of these Puma’s on the road 20 years later either.

That's at least what I hope.

My thoughts exactly. I am rolling 23 y/o škoda with lpg. Its light, its cheap to fuel, cheap to repair, it doesnt really has much to break since its very basic. Gets me from a to b and its very fun on curved roads even tho is very underpowered

@@C0ceter many old cars were traded in due to governments’ recycling programs and I think that’s why you don’t see many on the road. Where I’m from there is such a program: the car being recycled has to be more than 10 years old and roadworthy, you trade it in and you get a coupon for some 1000 € discount on a brand new car. It’s happening for years and years, so I think that’s the main reason you don’t see many old cars in use.

90s cars tended to be the first daily driver ones you saw in large numbers reaching 20+years. I had 3 90s cars that went 250k mi and were still pretty good when we tired of them. I still see 90s Camrys, Mazda Miatas, some Ford Taurus, BMW 325i, 90s basic trucks, LTD/Grand Marquis and a few others in the US However there were some models in every line that dissapeared after 15 years. I don't see many very old Corollas and Subaru Outbacks anymore. Maybe the price point was too low. Maybe people tossed their outback/forester after 18yrs maybe the 2nd head gasket or rusted out unibody was a bridge too far. What shocks me is seeing so many 2007 Chevrolet HHRs. I see one every day. That seemed a flimsy novelty car at the time. My daughter has one she bought for $3800 4 years ago and it still runs well with over 200k

It was.

Aesthetics peaked 1935-1965, driving characteristics peaked 1980s and 1990s. I want a car that looks like Karmann Ghia and drives like Mazda Miata.

*80s. 90s was already rapidly declining with the ugliest cars ever made. Hello Fiat Multipla...

it was peak society in general, 2006 -2008 it turned.

​@@rollthetape88 1997 in Britain.. the son of satan took political office and turned everything upside down..

and SUVs

Ruined everything

@@dermoooojj255 Most definitely.

Too many cars on the road has ruined the fun of driving. 😢

@@Andy-co6pn Plus cops, speed cameras and all sorts of other restrictions.

Glad I’m not the only one who noticed that!

Quite intentional editing with the headline flashing, I am sure...

I saw that

Actually I think the Tesla is more representive of "the old style", low, sleek design, very much a passenger sedan -albeit of the executive class, and fun to drive (you can actually throw it around quite a bit - and it would leave the Puma for dead if the driver stepped on it on the straight bits). This in contrast to the boxy, tall, ultra-heavy SUVs or Cross-overs with their huge wheels. Funny thing, most of the adverts for those SUVs praise the "beautiful design" as a selling point - so maybe it's just me thinking they are ugly.

Wait what the fuck

@@joaopaulogalloclaudino9671 ?

@@joaopaulogalloclaudino9671 Rust is commonly referred to as cancer on cars

@@joaopaulogalloclaudino9671 rust, son. he means rust.

And usually with a pissy 1.0 engine in it

Maybe it was the last year they were allowed to.

Because 8 always empty seats is just the right amount to haul.

Especially one particular engineer - Richard Parry-Jones, responsible for all great driving Fords of the time.

I saw an Audi military style SUV yesterday and I swear it was like something from a recent Batman movie designed to appeal to 13 year old boys.

and the thought: don't you need a permit for that? They are all so ugly.

Poor eyesight?

They all look like puffed up blobs fitted with tablets.

@@george-florinconstantin4141 No silly Billy. It's because they all look the same. 😁

The cars of today generally are utterly boring eyesores.

That's a dream car. It's often that I see smaller truck carrying way more stuff than the big ones.

I live in general Santos and I managed to borrow one of these. It was painted bright yellow with the widowmaker painted down the sides. The little turbo charged engine was absolutely brilliant.

What is the name of the company?

@@mattzmuda multi-cab, mini tra and various others. There is many companies that convert them to Filipino spec.

@@jonathanthorpe1653 Thanks :)

I don't think there are less enthusiasts in the industry, I just think the industry is driven by demand both then and now. That's influenced by supply too, sure... If you offer more and more heavier / higher / bulkier cars, people get used to those and it influences the demand. But basically in my opinion if you put a simple and tiny car like that on the market today it just won't sell very well, and that's why they don't make them, not because of a lack of passion. He's right that cars are more a kind of "appliances" that they used to be. So no matter how entertaining to drive, for 90% of people and 90% of the time, being in traffic when commuting in urban areas doesn't allow you to enjoy the actual driving of the car. Comfort becomes more important then, which comes with more space, larger and higher seats, temp control, connectivity to devices and all that. It really becomes a vicious circle because in traffic being surrounded by vehicles significantly bigger, higher, and heavier feels uncomfortable, and a bit unsafe even. The same car, or a more modern car but of similar dimensions, would feel much more cramped and flimsy and unsafe in today's traffic than in the traffic of 25-30 years ago. And so would be a much harder sale. So it's really difficult for the trend to not always tend toward bigger and heavier over time. In fact cars in the 90s, even the tiny ones, were overall already bigger and heavier than the cars that came before. The trend didn't start then, it was already going on and just kept going. Off the top of my head I don't see many solutions to break this spiral, other than stricter regulations. It's already what's keeping things somewhat in check, as the US market shows. With some category of cars over having close to no regulations at all, they already had bigger cars but since the 2000s it has been out of control. Some SUVs and pick-up trucks are literally the size of medium tanks despite never being driven outside of suburbs, city centers, and shopping mall parking lots. Perhaps a progressive tax, where the heavier and larger a vehicle is, the more and more this extra tax is? To provide a clear incentive to revert to smaller and lighter cars... Can't think of too many solutions that would work.

Boring answer is that small crossovers sell, micro-coupes don't. I wasn't expecting to like the new Puma but honestly great to drive, one of the best current hatchback chassis out there (borrowed from Fiesta of course). You barely notice the extra height, weight is the same as the Fiesta and only about 150kg heavier than the original Puma. Great driving position, functional but basic infotainment screen that doesn't distract. Overall good fun and drives well. And then side by side with a Fiesta the Puma is clearly "more car", more aspirational even though pretty much the same thing and costs the same amount to build. Not really the car for me but I totally get why people buy them and why Ford is focusing on the crossover market. Market is tighter, in a position where manufacturers are dropping 3 door hatchbacks to save costs there isn't much room for a niche 2 door mini-coupe that might only sell 20,000 units per year.

Manufacturers will make what sells over what truly fits their ethos, that's why companies like Porsche and Lamborghini make SUVs

Frankly, I think Ford basically axing Ford of Britain is the reason why Ford is now, what it is. Ford of Germany has zero say in the new designs (not that it would change anything) and everything is decided in Detroit.

It's not because of a lack of enthusiastic designers, it's because marketing divisions decide of everything for the purpose of profit (which is logical, but instead of fun machines they sell big machines)

Agreed! It's hard to overstate just the transformation that happened at Ford during this period. The dynamics of the cars, even the run-of-the-mill models was perfectly judged. For once the engineers didn't have to defer totally to the bean counters.

Hear hear, very well said!

100% on point. Most people below the age of 50 don't know what a PROPER car is- ie RWD minus all the nanny state interference driver 'aids.' They are clueless about what makes a good car, and if you put them in an old skool RWD car without all the nanny state aids, most people would make a big mess very quickly. Driver's have been isolated from the driving experience, cars are overly refined to the point of being soulless. Computers are intervening and keeping hamfists out of trouble.....No talent is required at all now. ALL cars now are large and heavy- a modern Fiesta is bigger than an 80's Mk 3 Escort, a VW Polo is bigger than an 80's Gold etc. People will literally buy anything now- so long as they are loaded with tech and gadgets- most modern cars now are hideous corpulent lumps- but sheeple can't get enough of them.

I concur. It's like every car made since comes with a built in primary school teacher.

​@@liverpoolscottish6430 Who the fuck wants tiny little cars ?

That colour is a bit Highland Green, can’t remember colour in the advert?

@@78Outlaw Silver

Good call. I had forgotten about the Steve McQueen advert

Yeah it was a bit controversial as it was kinda reanimating a dead celebrity who couldn't say no.

​​@@johnmunro4952 His Family said yes! But I don't think Steve would have driven that one😅

yes! Cars come with a lot of unnecessary and, as you say, frankly unwanted driver assist systems, but oftentimes things you'd really expect and want to see in a car are only available as optional extras. I did a bit of field research on this topic recently by just going to some of the major car manufacturers' websites and, just for fun, going into the configurator on certain models. In my country (Austria), the Audi A7 starts at over 77.000 euros, and for that money - get this! - it doesn't even come with electrically adjustible mirrors. It doesn't include side airbags for driver or passenger as standard either. These are both optional extras, as is a tyre pressure monitoring system. My 2016 Yaris has all 3 of these, and they were included as standard... yet now they're not standard on a 77k German "premium vehicle"? Yikes...

likewise, was on the Focus Mk1 program from 1997, loved all Ford's products in Europe these days, they were standing out both with their style and their excellent engineering. Worked for Ford for many years, and always think of the mid-late 1990-s as Ford's best days...

You could tell when ringing its neck that the engineers must have been enjoying what they did! And well done the gear ratios matched the torque perfectly for storming British lanes and passes 😂👍

Everyone knew those were UK cars. Great engineering and design work.

As an engineering apprentice, I helped to make part of the gearbox at a broaching business...I lived in fear of a recall because I wasn't entirely sure that I was doing things correctly 😬 and was given a bit too much freedom! It's good to hear that it is well-regarded and worked!

@@thecountsaintgermaine7937 Ford had a solid line-up in Europe at that time

@@drrobert3696 🤣 The car was 3 years old - I was 22 I paid £8k for it and it was in mint condition. I’ve been looking recently to buy another one - finding one like in this video would be great !

​@@SDK2006bdid you scrap it in the scrappage scheme? I'm sure it was going around that time! 😅

@@SDK2006bwas it a reliable car over the time that you owed it? Love to hear of ppl having long term ownership stories

@@m80tmm - The Puma was perfect, no issues what so ever. It was my first car, I was 21, and so I had little money to keep the servicing up regularly. I usually serviced it once every 2-3 years and it never missed a beat.

​@SDK2006b once every 2/3 years, I'm guessing you didn't do much mileage. You wouldn't get away with that with today's engines.

People take it for granted until they dont have one and need one. But true words.

It's all by design: "You'll own nothing." - Klaus Schwab

Nah. You're just subliminally nostalgic about the years you where younger. As for the price od gas, what was your salary compared to what it is nowaydays?

came to say this

Exactly💯! Try that nowadays with an Ecoboom!

That was the key, you could really drive the wheels off it and they lapped it up and begged for more but were so cheap to run and maintain. It’s not much fun only being able to drive at 60% of what it can do and panicking about breaking something if you catch a pothole on the next bend

Rear wheel arch's from the fabric wheel liners at a guess? 🤣🤣 I've had 3 of them, all the same issue.

@@dodgywheelsandropeywiring5697 my wife had a red 1.4 for her first car, rusty wheel arches and she destroyed a gearbox, the gearbox oil was like silver paint. but what a car it was.

I bought a 99 Matiz for 1.1M Won in 2012. I still have it :D

Thanks for the info, very interesting 👍

I love my 156. Modern cars are stacked with too many gimmicks.

My son found a 147 jtdm as his first car, I was initially suspicious…. I have first say when he sells it 😂

Out of the 75 cars I've owned in 43 years of driving, the two 156 twin spark 2.0 were the best saloons of the lot. Sadly rust attacked the roof in both, but it didn't stop me buying a 2011 Giulietta 140 JTDM four years ago. 150k on that now and it drives like a dream and everything works. It is the youngest of my fleet and it is not going to be sold.

I was gonna buy Alfa GT as my first car fresh out of driving school. Unfortunately everyone discouraged me from buying alfa, saying they break a lot..... So I bought a 2009 Citroen C4 lol... Now there's sometimes a GT parked in the lot by the house. Oh do I envy.

True. The size of A pillors these days!

Ironicly SUVs are making it all far more dangerous for everybody on the road and pavements. Bad visibility, danger to pedestrians and needlessly increased mass all at ultimate cost of actual practicality and fun compared to whatvwe used to get. Part of the blame.is on automakwrs lowering normal cars so much. Cara in the 90s and prior had more ground clearence than vast majority of these crossovers now.

Well, less people die in cabins so why I wouldn't buy such car? Why the f I would drive go manual if I go automatic for my daily drive?

@@Kacpa2 This is just f nonsense.

@@markiv2942 You are entitled to your own opinion. However I would choose a more engaging and efficient (ie. less 'thirsty') manual car than a car fitted with an automatic transmission - especially the CVT, twin clutch or worse still the BMW SMG autos that were available when the Puma was introduced.

Fiesta and Ka were great, all they needed was power steering (it was a quicker rack) and the dynamics were brilliant.

@@zm321 And rust remover

@@pyeltd.5457 Very true!

lightweight, agile, lots of fun, pretty, cute, not forgetting lovely pair of headlamps, yup, sounds like a good girlfriend...

@@paulriggers1558😂😂😂😂😂😜👍🏾

@@paulriggers1558 she's not as lightweight as she was but the headlamps are bigger now, so I take it. Still as pretty. They run smoother the longer you have them too. The wife, that is. The car is a Z3 now.

Pretty and cute, God, you sound like a fucking hairdresser.

always best say 'My current wife' - it keeps them guessing and lawyers in Porsche's

yep the moisture absorbent rear arch liners killed alot of em

@@colinscutt5104 It was the bodywork in general, mine rotted everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Arches, sills, floors, boot, even around windshield.. It was an amazing car and I still miss it dearly, never missed a beat, sublime to drive, had it not rotted away I would never part with it.

Notorious for rusting away

If anyone wants a rusty 99 model I’m your man 😂

I remember seeing a red one in 2013 after picking up my copy of saints row 4

Old Alfa Romeo were great cars. I had 164 Super with 3.0 V6 24v, so much fun to drive. ❤

Very nice. My first car was a 1983 Sprint Green Cloverleaf 1.5 - such a revvy engine. My absolute favourite though was my Puma 1.7❤

I bought a Toyota Sera two years ago (I was 19) - also based on the Starlet. Same 1.5 ltr 5E-FHE engine with 110 PS and weighs 900kg. The manual gearbox is VERY engaging and makes the car intuitive to drive. Everything about it is well-designed and built to last, very similar to how you describe your Paseo. The butterfly doors are cool too, lol I strongly believe that no brand new car could offer anything better

New daihatsu hatchback is 740kg 85mpg

@@clarksonoceallachain8536 Awesome! Now if only you could convince Europe and America to buy it!

That rust is no joke though - Corsas of the same age are generally still intact, but Ford just hadn't got the process quite right. Amazing-looking car, and a great prospect when solid

Rot was a general issue withall cars of that era TBF, my st24 and younger bros 1.7 with the full leather both had rot in the prone areas, fuel cap, arches etc. but great cars with just what you needed. Very low spec compared to today's standards

@@MrChrissk that's the thing, it wasn't - some cars had servicing issues, sure, where water drains get blocked and it starts rot around the arches and bulkheads, but that's different to 90s Fords that simply all dissolved after 10 years... Irony is a lot of people find modern feature annoying, sure AndroidAuto is great, but do you really need lane departure warnings, stop start, DSG clutches and 35 airbags? £300+ a month feels just too steep for some extra safety and tech

@@jamesmiller113 o yeah I'm aware, cars only as reliable as it's owner, my bro blew engine in his puma, running it low on oil. Iv always preferred older cars, more character to them etc, get stick of older people at work much prefer newer stuff, saying they never go back to say car of 90s era for example, was a bit of a boy racer when younger I'll admit. My current car is the first car iv ever had on TIC, nothing to fancy, just a basic family estate diesel because got family and do to many miles for any sort of even mild performance petrol car, it's a one previous owner, and came with 4yrs remaining KIA warranty so was a no brainer. The only thing that puts me off buying a old school puma etc is the price of road tax on them, and finding a good example and hoping your able to still find parts as I'd imagine there not something dealers still stock or produce.

It still is :) Quite a different car than the Puma. The size is quite noticeable when parked next to my mk4 Mondeo, it is almost the same size! So it is not a nimble sports coupe, it is a bit large and heavy, but great on long trips. Have driven it to Germany, and it is quite at home on the (no-speed limit) autobahn :)

I wanted one of those. It was beautiful! Couldn’t afford to run it though especially with that 24 valve top of the range 2.5L V6 engine. Was a bit partial to the Ford Probe too! For what it’s worth, I had an R reg Mazda MX-3 1.6i 16v DOHC coupe back then, which I thoroughly enjoyed for 8.5 years. My legs had trouble working the clutch so unfortunately I part exchanged it for a Prius. Lovely car the latter, but no regrets. The Prius suits my needs perfectly and has been ultra reliable over the 11 years of owning it so far. It’s also saved me £11k in fuel costs over that time and has remained ULEZ compliant in London. The Mazda MX-3 sadly, wasn’t ULEZ compliant, so they’ve virtually disappeared from London.

Fiesta has now been discontinued, apparently the new Puma SUV is supposed to be the replacement?!! Deffo not the same kind of car, but plenty of driving instructors seem to have gone for it.

@@rbeamish6492 I have just seen the new Ford Capri, nothing at all like the original model; shame another VW based jacked up SUV, yes the New Puma has some style, my next car?

I've always been partial to old Cougars too..

@@ChuckFickens1972I’d have thought Cougars were the natural enemy of chickens?

@@ChuckFickens1972 ...are we talking about cars here....😆

@@ChuckFickens1972 Damn you beat me to it haha.

I have a soft spot for cougars too

True to a degree about rust- but then fords and Vauxhall of the time enjoyed rusting as well- just that more people liked them, and conveniently ignored the struts going through the bonnet etc.

Shone...

Shined is the only correct use when you mean polished.

Very simple cars, easy to repair and maintain. The mk 1 and 2 escorts were my favourite.

😁

Loadsa money😅

Would you be Welsh by any chance? It's the "lush innit"😂.

They were all still driving RS Turdbos or Vectra GSI’s these are what their girlfriends drove and they pretended not to like even though it out drove theirs 😂

Hmm not really

Abstract

So how did he cook it?

Poor Pheasant. I’m sure that wasn’t pleasant.

@@datathunderstorm It was plucking awful 😂😂

@@clasdauskas It was 'Grilled' 😁😁

Stolen then dumped most likely.

lol were they really that bad?

​@@jamesengland7461, yes. I had a Mk2 Fiesta, then a twink Sierra hatch & a Granada Cosworth hatch. They all dissolved. None made it past 16 years old. '70s - '90s Fords, 'Not good in the wet.' Still got a '88 Mustang 5.0GT I've had since 2004. Never been welded (yet). The Septics used better quality steel for their shells. Never going to buy a European Ford again.

“Electric vehicles typically have a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline cars”. Just look it up bro. Don’t trust me, it’s a fact. Peace.

Yup. 2 ton ipace 2.5 ton Audi tronic....just mental... can't have heated seats on can't have air con on and if it rains..just flick the wipers now and again otherwise the range just evaporates.

@@pioneerfullstack Carbon ? What you on ? Keep taking the meds. We talking weight. But hey perhaps you American? A 450lb American? So weight don't mean nothing to you.

@@pioneerfullstack have you ever heard a statement like : diesel engines typically have smaller carbon footprint than gasoline engines. It is a fact too. It is still a fact. And diesels are much efficient. However, it is not only carbon we are talking about.

Those were lil cute nuggets

Yes, I've heard the russian steel rumor. First when VW exported Golfs to the GDR and Passats had a bad rust problem. The rumor had it, those where made from russian steel VW got in exchange for their Golfs. Later I learned about the older rumor AlfaSuds where made from. russian steel.

​@@VolkerHettthe Alfa's weren't, nor were the Lancias and Fiats of the time (Fiat got paid in oil for setting up the lada factory and car). Alfa just had workers who didn't know what they were doing, the Sud factory was new. They left metal outside, and unpainted bodies, so the rust formed and was painted over.

@@paulqueripel3493 I know! We both watch this channel, don’t we? There was one thing VW got from eastern Germany back then, Barum tires. Those where - let’s say - adventures 😀

@@paulqueripel3493 You are correct, the Russian steel used in Alfas is an enduring myth - since the Italian state-owned steel factory (ilva) located in Taranto, Italy had an excessive capacity to produce steel at that time and did so for all Italian car companies. The book written by Danillo Moriero goes into much detail about the unfortunate 'goings on' at the plant that produced the Alfasud (unfortunately there is no English version of the book). The interview with the Alfa engineer Achille Moroni is particularly revealing. Moroni investigated why the rust was prevalent and found: "There were major discrepancies in the electrophoresis baths. Then, when the lines stopped due to the frequent micro-strikes, about 600 in 7 years (the 1970s were besieged with industrial strife), the bodies from the oven produced enormous quantities of condensation, which was deposited on the semi-painted body, and rust was triggered there". In short any other manufacturer producing cars at Pomilgliano d'Arco would have just shut the doors and run. Unfortunately, the aforesaid was not an option for the state-owned Alfa - an organisation that was politically obliged (directed) to remain and keep producing cars at the said plant. Alfa had to deal with the poor skills, poor work culture, and an absenteeism, that on some days was as much as 32%, a work culture that was described by Moroni as appalling. It's an absolute miracle that some 900k Alfa Suds were produced at the Pomilgliano d'Arco plant. When Alfa was again 'politically directed' to open a new plant in Pratola Serra, about 40 km from the Alfasud Pomilgliano d'Arco plant, Alfa adopted the policy that no person that works or had worked at the Pomilgliano d'Arco plant would be engaged to work at the at the Pratola Serra plant. This policy was adopted to avoid a 'cross pollination' of poor work practices and culture that had developed at the Pomilgliano d'Arco plant.