Alfa Romeo heading back to the US

[Ultra]

Alfa Romeo, which has not been exporting cars to the United States since 1995, is to return to the US in 2009 with a variety of different models which will include the 159, 169, 8C Competizione, Brera and Spider models. The cars will be sold through Maserati dealerships across the United States and, according to Alfa Romeo's president Antonio Baravalle, the aim is to sell 20,000 cars in the UDS in 2010. Baravalle says that the company is aiming to sell 300,000 cars around the world by 2010. At the moment the Fiat brand sells just 160,000.

The ambitious plans for Alfa Romeo underline the fact that Fiat is now recovering well from its recent troubles. The company recently posted a profit for a seventh consecutive quarter, thank to the success of new models.

Alfa Romeo will no doubt be considering a sporting programme of some kind to support its US attack. The last time there was a US porgramme was in CART in 1989 and 1990 but that was not a success.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns17736.html

[Motorace]

Alfa Romeo, which has not been exporting cars to the United States since 1995, is to return to the US in 2009 with a variety of different models which will include the 159, 169, 8C Competizione, Brera and Spider models.

I'll believe it when I see them - I remember several announcements like this before.  I hope it happens.

[Ian Evans]

8C Competitzione coupe...   $230,000 -$250,000 USD  A very pretty car
Nissan GTR, similar in performance....   $70,000  USD  Not as pretty


Kinda leaves me scratching my head, and I am a serious Alfa fan

Where's a Giulietta Spider when you need one?

Ian

[Ultra]

8C Competitzione coupe...   $230,000 -$250,000 USD  A very pretty car
Nissan GTR, similar in performance....   $70,000  USD  Not as pretty


Kinda leaves me scratching my head, and I am a serious Alfa fan

Where's a Giulietta Spider when you need one?

Ian

Trying to cash in on the brand name is the real difference between the two.

[Tifosi]

I hope Road & Track will be able to road test one without breaking an axle, like the last 164 they tested.

Those sales goals seem awfully optimistic...



Dan

[@re]

As I am currently the happy owner of two Italian sports cars, I should tell you that owning an Italian car is not about relishing build quality and reliability. It's all about enjoying beautiful design while coping with minor quirks like terribly steep repair bills and fatal electric problems. So what if your 164 breaks an axle? Leave it as a sculpture in your driveway

[Ultra]

So what if your 164 breaks an axle? Leave it as a sculpture in your driveway

[Stephen M]

The original article is about a year old. I've just now seen roadtests of supposedly US-legal prototypes of the 8C. Haven't heard rumblings of the other cars being readied for our shores. Maybe I missed it.

So that having been said, 20k cars in 2010 seems like a pipe dream. Porsche averages around 30k a year, IIRC, and they've had a continuous presence for decades AND an SUV option. Just don't see it. 

Then again, upon seeing the 8C write-up in AW, the wife remarked "You could buy me one of those". So *IF* I manage to win the lottery despite never playing, then there's only 19,999 more Alfas to move. Things are looking up!

[Ian Evans]

As I am currently the happy owner of two Italian sports cars, I should tell you that owning an Italian car is not about relishing build quality and reliability. It's all about enjoying beautiful design while coping with minor quirks like terribly steep repair bills and fatal electric problems. So what if your 164 breaks an axle? Leave it as a sculpture in your driveway

Say, I've got one of those sculptures in My driveway

[Otto Puzzell]

25.10.2008 ALFA ROMEO'S UNITED STATES RELAUNCH PUT ON ICE

http://www.italiaspeed.com/2008/cars/alfa_romeo/10/usa/2510.html

[Ultra]

25.10.2008 ALFA ROMEO'S UNITED STATES RELAUNCH PUT ON ICE

http://www.italiaspeed.com/2008/cars/alfa_romeo/10/usa/2510.html

With the economy booming like it is I am shocked.

[@re]

Well, although this is not directly related to my car being Italian, I thought I'd share with you the joys (...) that my last week of owning a car has brought me.

I live in a suburb outside Bergen, Norway's second-largest city. Late Friday night, when I got back from work, there were no free parking spaces by my building, so I parked the car across the street, outside a nursery home. It was the only car there, which probably made it a big mistake to park there.

When I was leaving for work on Saturday, I noticed that the right-hand-side wing mirror was set at an awkward angle. When I stepped outside to check, I discovered that sometime during the night, somebody had broken it almost clean off the car. Now, there was no parking space to the right of my car, just a curb, so it was obvious that some other car hadn't hit it by accident - it was done on purpose, by hand. I called an Alfa dealer in Oslo to find out how much a new mirror would set me back - and was told that for no obvious reason, it was horribly expensive: The mirror and housing alone cost 3500 kroner (more than $500, about £330 or €400), excluding the fitting. My insurance company told me (no surprise there) that I would have to pay NOK 4000 (just short of $600, about £375 or €470) to have them "cover it".

So I got hold of a used one from Denmark. $170, including shipping. Cheaper, but it's blue and my car is green, so I'm going to have to get it painted... and fitted, of course. All because of some punk from my neighbourhood.

Then last night I went to a local garage to swap to winter tyres. As I drove onto the hydraulic jack I heard a bang, but thought no more of it... until this morning, when the clutch pedal went straight to the floor. I'm assuming that some tube or pipe ruptured, letting the hydraulic fluid seep out during the night, leaving me with no chance to change gears. Which is a problem if you own a car with manual transmission. So now the car has been transported to a garage. I'll find out on Thursday or Friday how much this will cost me.

Luckily, my 35-year-old Fiat, which has been left unused outside in the rain and cold temperatures for over a month, needed almost no persuasion to start. So I'll probably be using that as a daily driver until I get the Alfa back. I've never driven it as late as November before, but as the sun was shining today, I had a nice trip into town with the roof off, in 4-5 degrees C. Made some people look

[Otto Puzzell]

The downside of driving an older car. My cars are paid for, but we budget monthly 'payments' for tires, clutches, batteries, fender-benders, etc.

[Allan L]

@re's experience mirrors mine (if you'll pardon the phrase).
Many years ago I had AlfaSuds, and when I hadn't noticed that the wipers had frozen to the screen I stripped the drive gear in the wiper motor assembly. Had it been a Lucas item, I could have bought a new gear quite cheaply and rebuilt the assembly myself, but the Alfa agent could only supply the whole unit and at a huge price.
That was because AlfaSuds were fitted with electrical components from three or four different suppliers (which were interchangable as assemblies) so the agent couldn't be expected to keep spare pards for all of them.
I ended up driving 160 miles to buy a second-hand wiper motor from someone who was dismantling a 'Sud which (apart from my time) saved me quite serious money overall. (even including buying and  modifying a second-hand Renault 16 unit as a temporary fix).

[@re]

The downside of driving an older car.

I don't quite know what you're referring to there - I would have guessed that it would have been even more tempting to rip the mirror off, had it been a new Alfa Brera. In my opinion, neither of these two incidents are linked to the car being old - it's more a matter of bad luck.

Also, my 10-year-old car is the newest one I've owned by far, so by my standards, it's not old at all...

[Otto Puzzell]

I meant the hydraulic failure, tires, etc.

[@re]

If I sound grumpy, I apologise - I really am not!

Hydraulic failure as a result of a ruptured pipe after hitting a jack in the garage could happen to any car, so that hasn't got anything to do with the car being old. Regarding the tyres, all Norwegians have to change to winter tyres in November. I didn't need new ones, I just didn't want to change them myself because the bolts are set so deep that my tools don't reach them.