RE: Alfa Romeo Mito Quadrifoglio Verde SBK unveiled
Discussion
Possibly a little harsh, although I had a 75 V6 and loved it but still wouldn't call it 'great'. Definitely a case of Alfa designing the engine and letting the rest take care of itself, including the transaxle, great theory not so good in reality, the brakes, marginal at best, electrics (spaghetti hanging out the dashboard when it was new!) and switchgear was random to say the least. But as I say loved it all same. The GTV looked amazing, and still does, so I'll give you that one!
Alfa159Ti said:
......I have a 98 156 2.5 V6.....the brakes are terrifying,......
Ferodo DS Performance or DS 2500 pads on standard discs resolve this problem. They are not cheap pads but transform the brakes. If they save you once in an extreme braking situation they are worth the spend in my opinion! 
I unfortunately am also of the view that Alfa is on its way out. They sold 290 cars in December last year (UK) and cannot survive off two models and two models that fail to keep hold of the old Alfa brand image and name. FGA are waiting for a rise in the global market, but what they seem to hold no regard for is the customers who were loyal to them who now need to go else where to get a car that meets their needs and I think many wont return.
One of Alfa Romeo's problems is that in recent times they have been trying to become more mainstream to gain sales volume. Unfortunately because of their past reputation and a very shaky and expensive dealer netowrk the volume hasn't appeared.
The end result is a pair of reasonably interesting but remarkably average cars that appeal to neither the mass market nor the Alfa enthusiasts.
Yes there will one day be a bigger Giulia - but how many would forsake their BMW/Audi/Mercedes for one of those? The 4c which is imminent is probably going to cost more than a Cayman S and will be limited production. How many buyers will it find?
As for the Spyder/MX5 clone - it may be a fine car, but will it be nicer than the MX5 itself because it WILL be more expensive and again the real Alfa enthusiasts won't be thrilled by all the Mazda engineering and switchgear.
To survive and be strong, Alfa really need to look again at their strategy.
The end result is a pair of reasonably interesting but remarkably average cars that appeal to neither the mass market nor the Alfa enthusiasts.
Yes there will one day be a bigger Giulia - but how many would forsake their BMW/Audi/Mercedes for one of those? The 4c which is imminent is probably going to cost more than a Cayman S and will be limited production. How many buyers will it find?
As for the Spyder/MX5 clone - it may be a fine car, but will it be nicer than the MX5 itself because it WILL be more expensive and again the real Alfa enthusiasts won't be thrilled by all the Mazda engineering and switchgear.
To survive and be strong, Alfa really need to look again at their strategy.
Just to add my 2p worth, I think this is probably an attempt to shift some numbers sitting at the factory, I was going to order a Mito at the weekend and the dealer said as of 5th Feb he wouldnt be able to take any orders as the factory will start making the new facelift version. So I'm guessing all these SBK model will be the last of the 1st Mito!!
lewisf182 said:
I can't believe how short sighted alfa have been TBH. The 159 was a gorgeous looking car and seemed to sell in decent numbers, so why just let it die instead of bringing out a new version as soon as production of the old one finishes, like every other manufacturer does?!? They did the same with Brera and GT. It just makes no sense at all to kill models off instead of updating and replacing, and now they have a situation where they only sell two cars, which just does not cut it in this day and age when BMW, audi and Merc are filling nice after niche.
I agree with you completely but that's easy to answer. Sergio Marchionne is only interested in Chrysler at the moment. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff