Alfa Romeo come back to the U.S. is a real possibility

Promising, for Maserati as well.


Forza,


Cavallini

 

a Northstar V8 in an Alfa??????......the head spins......and you could tub it, and stick in a Mustang II front end.......and a 'glide.....digital gauges, and some billet Boydz.......flames.....
i knew that GM/Fiat thing would somehow lead to unnatural things.....

 

yummy, i cannot wait for alfa to come back


it wouldnt make sense to use a gm v8 when u have a wonderful maserati v8

 

Oh vunderblat.

A GM powered, FWD, Federalized commuter box sold through Buick. I can't wait ...

... to see it plunge into the economic pit of the Inferno.

All the excitement of a Camry with Fiat reliability. The market will crucify them -- even without dealership problems.

Trying to get Buick/Caddy dealers to service Fiats is part of what killed Fiat in the 'States. Fiat's attempts to shift Alfa sales to Chrysler dealers is part of what killed Alfa in the 'States in the first place.

I guess recycling CEOs lets you make the same old mistakes like they were brand new stupid ideas.

The one bright side is that it might boost the value of the "real" (pre-Fiat) Alfas.

 

Alfa Brera with a rwd or awd supercharged 440hp Northstar coming to the USA?

That would be something very cool if it hit under 80 grand?

V6 versions coming in at 50g's?

Maserati versions with different body style, different motor, (500hp?) running 100 to 120 grand?

That would make a nice three stage auto lineup ..

Were there any mention of the meathod of distribution?

Ferrari/Maserati/Alfa romeo dealers?

Maserati/Alfa?

Audi/maserati/Alfa?

Cadillac/Alfa?

Ferrari/maserati?

I hope Alfa makes a comeback to the USA...I grew up from the early 60's on Alfa Spiders...1300/1600 duetto/1750...

And quite frankly there's nothing from Europe that compares...(except other fine Italian marques)

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but GM just paid bigtime to Fiat so they could get out of their 47% ownership.
Thus no Northstar anything on anything Alfa.

Call me old fashioned but I like Italian ownership of a company who's cars are Italian and their engines are too.

 

Actually GM's ownership position in Fiat Auto before the settlement was 10%, and the article cited above states that GM will provide the Northstar to Alfa after the breakup. The bigger question is what car will the Northstar power? I have heard mention somewhere of an Alfa SUV-type vehicle.

 

I stand corrected

 

Alfa Romeo is dead.

Any car that makes it to the USA will only be an Alfa Romeo by badge only ... it will be a FIAT with a GM (Australian) built engine ... and you don't put non-Italian engines in an Alfa Romeo!

Rest in peace.
Pete

 

"Maserati will base its next-generation Spyder and its Kubang crossover on Alfa's Premium platform."

isn't the next-gen spyder (2006) already done and based on the QP-platform?...

 

can't recall. what year did they bail?

 

The word on the net was that Alfa's next model would be based on the GM "Epsilon" platform -- the same as on the new Saab. Supposedly, that would "facilitate" bringing the "Alfa" to the States. (Eg. crash tests already done under other labels.)

I had a mental image of Fiat shipping a crate of Alfa logos to a Buick factory.

So is that all over, now?

I'd'a thought the European Touring Car series would have taught Alfa that putting the drive wheels on the wrong end means that BMWs can beat you, even if your engine is putting out way more ponies. But I guess suits don't learn from racing.

I think '94 was the last year for Alfas in the US. The Fiat take-over was around '88. Fiat dropped out of the US about '76 or '77 or so, I think.

 

That's what I'm afraid of

 

Sounds like another Christler LeBaron with Maserati badges (done before and bombed) or at best a reworked Pinninfarina built Lancia Gamma with american drive train (done before as an Aliante - bombed) Some people never learn.

 

"I think '94 was the last year for Alfas in the US. The Fiat take-over was around '88. Fiat dropped out of the US about '76 or '77 or so, I think."

Alfa bailed 94/95;Fiat in 81/82. I had an '81 Strada (Ritmo in Italia) that was more reliable than my bud's Honda Civic. Fuel Injection made all the difference. Car still rusted around me but engine and tranny were dead reliable.

I have an Alfa Milano now that has more leaks than the Titanic;however, they are making some nice cars in Europe. A V-6 AWD 166 with Selespeed and 50K mile free maintenance is a nice place to start. It worked for Audi...

 

Since you guys don't get much actually exposure to Alfas you are wrong to say Alfa is dead. They are making pretty decent cars these days with the 147 and 156 line, including the new Alfa GT. Their 2.0 litre JTS twin spark engine are quite peppy matched with their own Selespeed (F1) transmission. Plus their 3.2 liter GTA engine are absolutely stonking....

The 156 line came out in 98 and was one of the better new designs out there. Alfa's are delivering great looking car with nice performance, their fit and finish and quality of material are not at the BMW or Audi standard yet but at least they are not priced at that level either. It's only the North America market that does not get Alfas, they are still available all over Europe and Asia. The only reason they are not in the US market is due to the gov's stringent testing standards. So bascially the car is safe enough for the rest of the world but not for Americans.

Has anyone peak under a Saab lately, don't be suprise to find GM or Subaru parts.

 

Here's my 2001 147 with 1.6 liter engine and 5 speed. Only cost me about US$16,000. It has tons more character than a Volkswagon Golf or any japanese rice rocket. On the reliability front it's quite a basic simple car, it even uses Japanese air condition componenents.

So don't knock it just because you don't know it.
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You lucky bastard... what a nice Alfa!

With the exception of Ferrari, the Italian auto industry is still in trouble. Lancia, Fiat aren't doing so well. Alfa seems to be doing fine, but from what I read in European car mags, they need to expand their dealer network and work on their image/reliability. I think that they should regain market share in Europe and start making money before they come back to the US.

In Europe Fiat already has a dealer network to work off of and they don't have to spend any extra money to make the cars meet US regulations. It's easier for them to make a profit.

 

sweet alfa, nice color combination.

 

haha, my milano leaks from the valve cover gasket, cambelt seal and tranny, so many oil stains everywhere.

and my dad had an 83 ritmo 1.3, thing was unbreakable

 

too bad Alfa doesnt know how to market their car in the USA, they would beat BMW 10to 1. The newer BMW's are so generic in shape.

SOmething about alfas design is soo sexy and sleek. leave it to the italians to make beautiful cars and clothes.


-Leonardo

 

Is it the VIP edition?

On the topic of Alfas, I like my 2.0 GT just fine.