Article on PistonHeads re X1/9 Prototipo

Great article but it still galls wehn you see:

Flimsy/delicate/useless Italian electrics and
Inevitable Italian rust

How many escorts, cortinas, capris, vivas, vectors, rovers, allegros etc do you see?
Or, for that matter, bmw, Audi, vw, Honda, Toyota?

Having worked in the trade across everything from fiat/lancia/alfa, PSA group, VAG, BMW and loads more in between the current crop from all manufacturers is much of a muchness, back then (from 82 in my case) rusting old and current motors was standard and as for electrics, poor quality connectors and fragile components were across all brands....in fact I think VAG, PSA and Toyota turned auto-electro from a local to a national business....
and don’t get me stated on Land Rover ‘oh I’ve had this from new’, it’s like your grandfathers hammer, had ten new heads (body/chassis) and twelve new shafts (mechanical and electrical components)