Alfa Romeo . . .

[i_rebel]

They make way too many cars to have almost no presence in N. America . . . what gives?

[dmer]

Emission and crash testing requirements were the first nails in the coffin then came an abyssmal service legacy. The dealers were't commited or supported by the distributors and weren't given a big enough product line. The (non-existent) parts supply network made sure the hammer was gonna fall. Other than that, everything was just great. Rumor has it that GM owns a chunk of Fiat and Alfa and is plannng a return. With the General at the helm, they may sink the parent companies in Italy!

[Hudson]

Alfa Romeo's American problems were with their dealer network and spotty quality...not emissions testing or crash testing. Near the end, they had formed a relationship with Chrysler where Chrysler would distribute the cars through selected dealers. When sales didn't pick up, the company stopped marketing cars in the US. The final products were the 164 and Spider in 1995.

As for the Fiat/GM tie-up, it's no rumor...it's fact. Fiat SpA purchased 5% of GM and GM bought 5% of Fiat Auto. GM's not "at the helm", it's just a corporate relationship. Fiat and GM have begun designing vehicles together and the first joint-designed vehicles will arrive in the next 3-4 years.

Alfa Romeo will return to the US in 2005 with the new Spider. The replacement for the 166 and 156 are expected to follow.

Fiat is not at risk of sinking due to the link-up with GM.

[dmer]

Thanks for the interest. My posting was a little "tongue in cheek" however. As misguided and myopic as the General is, I don't think they could really sink Fiat or Alfa...............could they?

[bugfighter]

What a shame about them leaving the US. I hope they come back in good shape in '95.

[Ssom]

Originally posted by bugfighter
What a shame about them leaving the US. I hope they come back in good shape in '95.

[Ssom]

Originally posted by bugfighter
What a shame about them leaving the US. I hope they come back in good shape in '95.

sorry n00b thats when they left

[gemballa]

if your interested in buying an 1997 alfa romeo spider with only 14,000km
send me an email at ruf996@hotmail.com

[Chris]

A simple misttype, Moss, 9 is right next to 0. He meant 05, obviosly.

[taranaki]

Nov.2001 owns Apr 2002.
Merc owns Jetta
Merc#2 also owns Jetta
Porsche uses Jetta as ashtray.
Just because the guy doesn't flap his gums like you do,moss,doesn't make him a n00b.

[delamothe]

One of my favorite Alfa's took me by storm when I went to Italy a year and a half ago. The 147 Sportwagon is one of the most beautifully sculpted Alfas in a long time.

Actually, it is my opinion that the Italian design houses are finally awaking from a 30 year slumber. I was amazed at the looks of the new Lancias and other cars we seldom see here in the states.

Has anyone seen a Sportwagon? I'll have to post a picture of it if you haven't seen one. It is a beautifully proportioned car.

[delamothe]

Here it is

[Jimster]

It's a 156 Sportwagon


But nonetheless it is a breathtakingly awesome car

[gemballa]

the problem with alfa in the us was that they didnt want to change the specs of their cars you know that thje cars that are brought to us are ass they want them to be!so alfa refused to change their cars they wanted that all the cars where the same so they said Fu9k us!

[Stefanel1]

They didn't want to f..k you
Seriously, Alfa took the same way as Peugeot in the same time. The After sale service was bad. And there was not a big network. Then American prefered to buy Japanese, German or American cars because they were better implanted.
But Alfa is going to recover the American marcket (as Peugeot) in 2006-2007. So be patient !Hope that they will be better. A good thing is that Pug and Alfa have really great cars today, as BMW or VAG.
Alfa and Peugeot were very expensive and had a bad A/C. This last point was a detail in Europe, not in the USA. But the handling was excellent, especially for Peugeot, and Americans don't care, but it does cost.