Poll: How many of you would consider an Alfa Romeo?
 

http://www.alfaromeo.com/cgi-bin/pbr...cejgdfiidgnj.0

There have been many rumors of Alfa's return to the U.S. market since the company last pulled out after the 1994 model year due to low sales ( less than 5000 vehicles ) and increasing safety and emissions regulations which, at the time, were not cost effective, and the company just did not want to fool with them anymore.

While I don't have anything concrete to post about an imminent Alfa return ( and the company keeps saying one thing one day and something else the next ), given the stigma often attached to the low reliability of Italian cars, ( including Alfas ) and, just as much, their reputation for some beautiful-looking designs as well, how do you guys at CL feel about them coming back? Which models would you like to see here, if at all? Would you consider buying or leasing one?

I've included the Alfa website for Britain because it is printed in English, ( Alfa does not currently have an American web site ) and for most of you it would be the easiest one to read. The website gives an overview of Alfa vehicles currently in production so you can browse through them.

I don't think I would ever consider one. There are just TOO many
appealing options at a very reasonable price in the US auto market.

IMHO, unless they have something spectacular at a price people
can't refuse they should save their energy and stay home.

Their styling may not be spectacular per se, but Alfas have always been known for their looks...especially the distictive grilles.

Well I would definitely have to do my homework first, and I wouldnt be one of the first few buyers either. They'll be starting fresh again here (new dealerships have to be built or upgraded if they plan to sell them through the Ferrari/ Maserati dealers). Who knows if the buying public will take them seriously(Im to young to remember much about them, but I hear they werent that bad). I do like the way most of them look though. Unique and sleek looking cars. :thumbup:

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.au...9_1024_450.jpg

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.au...7_1024_450.jpg

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.au...0_1024_450.jpg

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/09/m...izione-photos/

Bond
 

Alfa Romeo once produced the only affordable true Italian sports cars available in the US. The Guilia and the Guilietta Spyders of the '50's and early '60's were lovely examples of the coachbuilder's art. The later 1600 Spyder Duettos (of "The Graduate" fame) were more modern interpretations by Pininfarina, and the later Veloce with a larger 2000cc engine and a Kamm (cut off) tail section remain classics, even nearly forty years later.

Italian sportscars are often compared to having a mistress - lithe, beautiful, spectacular in bed, but tempestuous and totally unfaithful. Nice to think about, but after a brief fling, you wisely married someone else. Competing in the upscale sports segment, somewhere between the Austin-Healey and the Jaguar XKE, the Alfa offered a lightweight, classic Italian approach to performance, with an enviable racing heritage. If you liked the scent of wood and leather with your Castrol, and names like Nardi and Weber defined motorsport, this was your car.

Would I buy one? I'm older now, probably a bit more concerned with practicality and comfort than I once was. I've come to expect the engine to actually start when I turn the key, and tops to exclude wind and rain, not channel them into my lap. I've given over a lot of that wind-in-the-face, double-clutch downshift, stringback glove driving to the comforts of air conditioning and automatic transmissions - but still . . . a winding two-lane, the yowl of an open exhaust, down through the gears, setting up a classic drift, clipping the apex just so, accelerating hard with a bit of opposite lock . . . a brisk drive on a soft spring morning . . . yeah, it still calls . . . probably always will.

Yes, if I were to move out of the city and select a "weekend car" purely for entertainment, a red (Is there any other color for an Italian sportscar?) Alfa Spider or 8C would be near the top of my list. Somewhere, deep in our cultural DNA, the Alfa and I still share a bond, an understanding of automotive enthusiasm.

We have them in Mexico for a few years. First as a grey market and now there are distributors. I have driven the 147, 156 and 166 and they aren't bad cars, but they are expensive for what you get (not much more than design) and the most recent chance that I drove a 2 year old 147, the shifts were very hard. As far as parts and service, muy caro or very expensive as we say here, so I would prefer they do some extended testing first.

It never hurts for consumers to have a wider selection of cars in this free market.

On the other side of this planet, car manufacturers such as Alfa, Lancia, Peugeot, Citron, Skoda, Rover, etc. have enjoyed success that's much greater than some carmakers experienced here in the States.

Granted, different areas of the world have different needs. For example, from the way things appear to be nowadays, Americans can never live without the SUVs, large pick ups, and cars that won't fit 20+ inch rims. This is not necessarily true with the rest of the world. A very good example is the exclusivity of the Chevy Silverado pick up in some Asian countries. I recently saw one in Taiwan with 22+ inch rims fetching for more than $100k U.S. dollars.

Not withstanding different preferences based on culture, economy, and the market itself, I think it would be a very good idea to have a wider mixture of selections out there. The U.S. does have a very tough standard for automobile makers to meet. But this would in turn, force these manufacturers to raise the bar in terms of their product qualities.

I am glad someone here still remembers these attractive alternatives nowadays.

Jon

I wonder, though, even with knock sensors and spark retarders, if American-spec engines will run on the garbage fuel sold in some countries.....I'm not sure if Taiwan is one of them.

We have garbage gas down here (the regular 87 octane here is, but the Premium 92 just got light years better) and it has destroyed my precats in my RX300 when I had to use the regular once in the boonies. My Mexican uncle makes a small business out of importing used vehicles from the U.S., and he always seems to have an issue with some sensor or other going bust due to running on the higher sulfur fuel here (not to mention what other crud could get into it).

I think so.

I am not an expert in oil grades but from my observations, it seems to be the norm that 95 unleaded fuel is being sold at most of gas stations there.

Jon

Probably not as a primary car. Alfas are really stylish IMO but there are other vehicles that serve better as DDs. I'd take one as a 2nd or 3rd vehicle but depends how they're equipped and priced in NA.

While beautiful, every review for the most part of ALpha in Europe is the same:
Beautiful to look at, average overall at best.

That won't win my money. I also would need to see how quality is at first.

I think the Brera looks great!!!
http://forum.avtoindex.com/foto/data...eo_brera_1.jpg

Yep, Alfa stylists DO know how to shape sheet metal. :thumbup:

Those wheels, though, have too many spokes...they would be a nightmare to clean.

http://www.roadfly.org/magazine/gall...-3-9140109.JPG
http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-20...A-1024x768.jpg

I can't imagine considering one, given that they already tried to establish themselves in the US once, and disappeared. I'd hate to buy one, have history repeat itself, then be stuck with a car, no warranty, and have a hard time unloading it without taking a massive loss.

Usually, when a brand pulls out of the U.S., their dealerships typically remain open for a few years to do service, warranty repairs, and provide parts coverage...and to sell used models. That happened with Renault, Peugeot, Daihatsu, Sterling, and other makes that have packed up and went home....and with Alfa last time.

Depends on the product Alfa brings here. I spent a lot of time comparison shioppng between a 2002 and a GTV in the 70s. The GTV was quicker but the build quality of the bimmer was vastly superior. The GTV wasn't down there with Lotus in the professionally built kit car league but their engineers spent too much time figuring out how to make the wiring look like a pasta dish for my tastes. European marques often get government regulations to assist their domestic manufacturers. Italy helped Alfa but whether that will result in a world class automotive product today needs to be seen.

Many French and Italian industries are now heavily subsidized by their governments. Without a profit motive, rewards come as the result of "making quota". All sorts of evils follow when products are pushed out the door with an eye toward production numbers rather than quality. Quality is the first casualty of the loss of pride of workmanship.

Last time I was in Italy, most of the business contacts were driving Alfa's due to their displacements. They were the only ones making good sized cars with tiny motors to avoid the displacement driven taxes. Not a way to market to Hemi heads in the US. At least not yet.:)

Alfa are most beautiful cars... but their engine option are few and not powerful...
I wouldn;t get one with lesser engine and FWD where there are much more choices with similar price cars...
and I heard they will charge a lot...:(

Renault and Fiat proved that when they were in the U.S.

in case of Renault and other european cars it's wrong. Renault is inpendant and it won't back on the us maket, it will be too expensive and why, because Nissan belong to renault. The quality is near of most germans cars and so much better than a Dodge caliber or a Chevolet (of course on the Bayou you have never seen an european car exept germans cars).
Peugeot would like to go to back in the us. When, that is the question.

Although Renault is doing very well down here, companies like Peugeot, Alfa Romeo and even Fiat are having a tough time down here, and I don't hear good quality ever mentioned.

Peugeot has long specialized in luxury-car diesels. Their only real bugaboos, when they WERE in the U.S., were the typical unreliability of French cars and the quirkiness of their dash and stalk controls to people not accustomed to them ( which, of course, included most Americans ). Yet the company made an excellent diesel engine irrespective of the unreliability of the rest of the car, and the cars were well-known for soft, comfortable seats and suspension. Peugeot diesels, like those from Mercedes at the time, were designed from the block up to BE diesels, and were not POS converted gas-engines like on some other makes....the terrible GM 5.7 diesel V8 was perhaps the worst example.

IMO, if Peugeot can up the quality control ( and they have had 20 years to do it since they left the U.S., put more American-user-friendly controls in their products,( at least the U.S.-market ones ), and maintain the same high ( or better ) diesel quality they have always had, I think the stage may be set for a trial return to the U.S.......particularly now that we have the new ( but more expensive ) low-sulphur diesel fuel.

Alfa's are still crappy quality, no matter what their PR's say.

Even after 2001 (when their big "quality" initiative started), their quality ratings are at the bottom of European scales, and resale values are very low for used cars.

Interior quality is pretty crappy too, a lot like GM, even if it sometimes gets good reviews from the press or looks good on the pics.

They do look and sound great though.

Well, chief, I'll have to take your word for that on the quality, since you are in Europe and see them regularly, whereas here in the states they are few and far between, and we don't see many of them ( yet ) to form a basis of opinion on, except in pictures. But those pictures DO show some good-looking cars.:thumbup:

Alfa, when it was in the U.S. before 1994, like most Italian products, developed a reputation for poor quality here as well...but that was a while ago. And look how quickly Hyundai and Kia turned their poor quality reputation around.....in just 7-8 years or so they went from some of the poorest-quality vehicles in the industry to some of the best. So it shows that it CAN be done.

to be honest Italians (ferrari include but not lamborghini) have the worse quality cars in Europe but better than a corvette c6 for example, but since few year they try to be better, and I think they are in progress.
Lamborghini's quality is near perfect since it belong to wolkswagen-audi.
The alfa problem is reliability. My neigbour (alfa-romeo commercial), just receive his new Alfa 159. Beautiful car, almost same size of lexus IS, but quality under Toyota. I asked to him if he was happy about his new car, he told me yep, i hope this model will be reliability.
Like all Italians engines : greats engines but reliability problems

I think Alfa and Subaru both win for "most anatomically correct female grille"

Aren't you forgetting Renault?

I reviewed a new 2006 Corvette C6 in December 2005, and its quality, enginering, and ease of driving were far better then previous-generation Vettes. I haven't seen a new Alfa since 1994 so I can't comment on its relation to Corvette quality. I will review a new Alfa, of course, if they become available here in the U.S. again.

If you ever get down to Mexico City before Alfa opens its doors again in the U.S., let me know and I can try to arrange something here for an extended test drive.

Thanks, Lexmex.....I don't have much time for travelling now, but I may have more time when I retire..that won't be far off.

Since Afas apparantly are available in Mexico, what do you think of them? Have you had a chance to drive any new ones? I imagine that in an enormous urban area like Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, there has to be a least one or two dealerships. Keep in mind. too, that Mexican-sold Alfas are not likely to be built to U.S. standards.