Alfa 4C - "Without The Heart We Would Be Mere Machines"

It's because Alfas are so rewarding (if you get it they talk to you) to drive ... who cares if the heater, etc does not work. You either love that or you should not own an Alfa.
Pete (Alfisti)

 

Just read in my local paper (Newsday) that it is official: Alfa Romeo 4c will be sold not at FIAT dealers, but at Maserati dealers. Fiat dealers were promised (sort of) that they would get high margin Alfa. Comments?

 

Guess what? The Alfa Romeo, FIAT, Maserati names have now been removed from the construction site... Change of plans? Not coming after all?

 

Ok... here's the deal

Alfa will be sold in these new Maserati dealers but not Ferrari/ Maserati dealers.

Confused yet?

They are making new Alfa/Maserati dealers for when the new rear wheel drive Alfa's arrive and the new Maser SUV arrives to go with the Ghibli. I was at my Ferrari/Maserati dealer today and he said that Maserati has already sent to the US 900 Ghibli's last month. A couple of years ago that was an entire year's production. To sell that many cars, they need additional Dealers which will sell Maserati and Alfa together.

SOME, if not many, of these new dealers will be owned by local Fiat dealers. Others may be F and M dealers.

 

how is that going to work out, Alfa selling a Ghibli competitor in the same showroom. And there's also an SUV Alfa in the works. There isn't a whole lotta room in the FIAT Group for an upscale Alfa Romeo, the way I see it, Maserati is a much better fit for that market and is already there.

 

I just spoke to the manager of my Local FIAT Dealer. He was recently told that FIAT dealers WILL get the Alfa 4c..as "promised."

Confused further?

 

LOL!!!!

Well, let me stop by my local Fiat dealer today and see what they say. Most likely they know nothing. My F and M dealer says no way they are selling Alfa's or the 4c. They are going to have their hands full when the new Maser SUV hits the market. They believe this will be Maser's biggest seller of all time.

 

Agreed on the Maser.

 

Well, potential sales of it just went up 50% by not calling it the Kubang! Worst car name of all time!!!

"So... how is your new Maserati?"

"Well, the name is really well deserved. It went "Kuuuu... BANG!".

 

That would be a classic. I still like the Nova (no va). You would think that they would have renamed it before exporting it to Mexico.

 

Would anyone else here not be surprised if we never actually see the 4c in the US? Even if we do, we're right back to the stupid overweight US version of a great european. Pity.

Alfas aren't for everyone but for those that 'get' them it's love, plain and simple. Can't put your finger on it, however. It's a 'gestalt' thing. Hard to describe, maybe charming is the word.

My old '59 Sprint (stock 1.3 normale concours example that was frequently driven) could well be the car I miss the most. It was bought and sold cheap. And this includes nice 308s and longhood 911 hotrods. Weird but true. Now they're just too expensive to justify.

 

A name only equalled when GM decided to sell the Nova in Mexico. "No va": unintentional truth in advertising!

 

Ok... the latest from my "dealer".

Alfa WILL be sold in Fiat dealers but not all. Exactly how many depends on how well they do with selling Fiat but also their customer review surveys of how well the dealer treats them. It's not just sales -- it's also follow through.

He also said that this has changed back and forth over the past 6 months which is causing all the confusion.

No official US dealers have been announced.

Some dealers will sell Maserati. My dealer said they will put Alfa and Maserati in another showroom across the street (they are a huge dealer of all kinds of makes from Fiat to Rolls) and one of the bigger Chrysler dealers in the country. They haven't been awarded it but it's a foregone conclusion as soon as Alfa makes its decision on when to re-enter.

No one knows when the 4C will arrive in the US or much about it. We know more about the car than the dealers do. However, the discussion about bringing Alfa back to the US is always mentioned in Fiat dealer meetings. They know that it's coming but that's about all.

Of course, they could not find me on "the list" that I was on 6 months ago. However, no one really knows much about the car so I'm back on pretty much on top. I'm not worried.

Everyone's guess was about 18 months out before the first cars shows up. However, he said the same thing about Fiat Abarth and they showed up 2 months after being announced. With Fiat, you never really know.

It's terribly frustrating for us but also the dealers I can see. They want to sell the cars but Fiat can't seem to figure out how to get things started.

I left saying I want a 4c and the dealer said he wanted to sell me a 4c, but doesn't know when, where, or how.

Basically, 6 months down the drain.

 

LOL This all adds up to a typical Italian car launch!

How many pages long do you think this thread will be before one arrives?

 

Ferrari of Atlanta management advised me this morning that the decision has not yet been made but they have been involved in the process having provided feedback for the idea. Additionally, the idea of placing Maserati and Alfa together in a separate location has been discussed but that avenue will not be reviewed until expected sales figures are becoming realized. The Maserati SUV inquiries and Ghibli inquires have been even better than expected.

I believe the brand expansion will work in phases beginning with Alfa, Maser, and Ferrari all being under one roof. Once the Maserati SUV and following model Alfa's are rolled out then an additional building and dealer will house those brands exclusively leaving Ferrari alone and Fiat alone.

The new Alfa has no business being sold in a Fiat dealer IMO. That's not the right venue to reintroduce the brand which is choosing its reintroduction with a $60k+ car.

 

I went looking at the Ghibli on Saturday. It's a really fine car. However, my GF chose the Lexus as it's just more of a girl's kinda car. The Ghibli though is sportier and more masculine inside. I liked it a lot. I think they will sell all lot of them if you are bored with BMW and Mercedes. Maybe a little pricey but that's what you should expect with the Maserati name.

The 4c is only a limited production car. They might send 1 or 2 thousand to the states a year. They want to send 25K Maserati's to the States per year.

My understanding is that they are asking Fiat dealers to (once again) build separate showrooms to sell Alfa/Maserati separate from Fiat, but under the same management. BMW did a similar thing with Mini.

The 4c is the beginning of a new group of rear wheel drive cars coming down the pike, mainly hitting the lower BMW range. The 4c is a wake up call to what is coming. Everyone I show the picture to of the 4c thinks its amazing. Maybe, just for once, a little Italian style combined with reasonable pricing and some unexpected dependability might be able to bring Alfa back for good.

Maybe.....

 

Let's hope so!

 

Looks like the first ones are finally delivered. 5 so far -- one in Switzerland on Dec 13th.

Erster Alfa 4C der Schweiz geht an Pierluigi De Silvestro - AlfaVisione.net

 

Real cars are finally going to real customers! This is a photo from a new owner in Switzerland.

Gorgeous!!!
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I still don't understand the acne looking light clusters.

 

looks good from birds eye view. not so much from the road view though. maybe if roof came off would be better

 

Gorgeous view.

Did you see the car in person??? The best view is actually from the road facing it.....

 

Havent seen it live yet but short wheelbase looks awkward to me
Just dont see what the big deal is. Elise has been around long time already and this is same basic idea. As matter of fact i would rather have new v6 lotus in states than 4c

 

They said the same thing with the 246 Dino--- "I'd rather have a 911". And many did take the 911.

A few though saw past the direct comparison and realized, there really wasn't anything like it on the market.

 

Agreed.