RE: Alfa Romeo: 50 years of Autodelta

[DeltaEvo2]

The best of the best...these are proper cars. Thanks!

[Camlet]

velocemitch said:

errek72 said:

To prevent Ford from getting their hands on it and having direct access to the -at that time protected- Italian market, as well as a name that with the right investments could take a bite out of Ferrari. They had a bit of a feud some years before because of Enzo. Apparently at the time Agnellis stated to have "added a retarded province to his empire", and the guy that messed up Italy so hard people actually voted for Berlusconi, our leftist friend Prodi, apparently saw to it that Fiat got Alfa under price.

Now, after years of neglect mr Marchionne is now actively kill off and burn to the ground all that is Alfa (and Lancia, and Maserati).
Hopefully it will get a mercy killing soon, so that someone like Tata can buy it and give it back its dignity.

I own a Giulietta by the way. Nice car, but has nothing to do with Alfa.

This all been covered before and shouldn't be in this thread really, but I'd say the Marchionne isn't trying to kill Alfa off at all, he's just trying to turn the Fiat group around. In that task he seems to be succeeding, but Alfa will have to hang on in there for a little longer while they sort out Chrysler and pave the way for a return to the US.

As for the Giulietta not being an Alfa, well nothing has since the 75 if you are going to be that picky about life.

Love the Autodelta feature though, and contrary to some opinions Alfa need to make more of the heritage not less.

+1. As a kid I had a series of Alfasuds. All of them fell to bits but the early versions were a joy to drive and for peanut money allowed me basement access to the wonder of Italian motoring.

But running a car business today - especially if your business is still too European-centric, has no room for romance. Just hardcore marketing and manufacturing strategies.

If it wasn't for Marchionne, Alfa Romeo would already be history. As an earlier contributor said, the bulk of Alfas before Marchionne time were awful. Alfa 6 anyone? ARNA anyone? Tragic efforts.

To succeed ( and to bring back glory models) Alfa Romeo will need to sell well in the US and in BRIC markets. Having been in LA last week and in Miami now (before returning to cold London later this week) I saw many Fiat 500s. They're positioned as cool and seem to be doing well. Who would have bet on Fiats selling in the US?

It will be a long haul but Alfa Romeo is an evocative brand and my guess is it has a firm place in Marchionne's plans. And compared to some of the clowns who ran Alfa previously, my money is on him to make it a successful and upscale mass global brand along the lines of BMW.

Edited by Camlet on Sunday 24th February 14:11

Edited by Camlet on Sunday 24th February 14:15

[errek72]

Camlet said:

If it wasn't for Marchionne, Alfa Romeo would already be history. As an earlier contributor said, the bulk of Alfas before Marchionne time were awful. Alfa 6 anyone? ARNA anyone? Tragic efforts.

Edited by Camlet on Sunday 24th February 14:11

Edited by Camlet on Sunday 24th February 14:15

The bulk of Alfas before SM were Alfa 6 and Arna you think? That explains your comment about the history. If that is what you remember, than yes, the souped-up Vauxhall Corsa that is Mito is not that much of a regression.
On the other hand, if you see it fit to consider the Alfetta, 75 or GTV6 as recent pre-SM Alfas, I would move that it would be far better to have Alfa remembered for making those, than for the two models currently in the showroom.

Some Autodeltas that you may have missed, including my personal favourites :

[SidewaysGav]

I guess you got something wrong here as Hubert Hahne lapped the Nordschleife in 1966 in under 10 minutes in a BMW 2000 TI and that was a big sensation at the time.
1966 umrundete Hubert Hahne mit einem BMW 2000 TI als erster Tourenwagenfahrer die Nürburgring-Nordschleife unter 10 Minuten. In einem Rahmenrennen zum Großen Preis von Deutschland fuhr er am 6. August 1966 die Strecke in 9:58,5 (oder 9:58,9) Minuten. May be you mean that the 1300 was the first small touring car to lap the NS in under 10 minutes 2 years after Hubert did in the Beemer.
Regards Gavin

[JBT]

If i'm having a bad day, then to make me smile I watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_YDsucU2Hs

About 4 minutes in is where he starts using the T33's horsepower. (or is it a TT33?)

My 156 V6 maybe a million miles from this, but I'm proud to at least have the same badge on the front

[Tuvra]

This still has a place in my Lottery win garage:

[ZesPak]

Tuvra said:

This still has a place in my Lottery win garage:

Hmm for some reason the wheels/bodykit of the Autodelta 147 has never done it for me, much prefer the regular GTA in terms of looks.

[dinkel]

JBT said:

If i'm having a bad day, then to make me smile I watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_YDsucU2Hs

About 4 minutes in is where he starts using the T33 12's horsepower.

Testbed for the later 12 cill F1 Alfa. Yummie.

[errek72]

JBT said:

If i'm having a bad day, then to make me smile I watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_YDsucU2Hs

About 4 minutes in is where he starts using the T33's horsepower. (or is it a TT33?)

My 156 V6 maybe a million miles from this, but I'm proud to at least have the same badge on the front

It also has a Giuseppe Busso designed V6 in the front, conceived alongside the TT's 12 (by Chiti).
That's where the heart is, rather than the badge I'd say.