More alfa articles (long)

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Document 1 of 23.
Copyright 1998 Information Access Company, a Thomson Corporation Company;
ASAP Copyright 1998 Chilton Company Automotive Industries 
October 1, 1998 SECTION: Pg. NA ; ISSN: 0273-656X IAC-ACC-NO: 53179695
LENGTH: 1276 words 
HEADLINE: Alfa Launches New Flagship. BYLINE: Phelan, Mark 

BODY: Mark Phelan Alfa's back. Not back in the U.S. unfortunately, there's
still no firm plan to bring the storied Italian marque back to the world's
biggest market. But it's back at the forefront of the European sport sedan
segment thanks to its new 166 flagship. Hot on the heels of last year's
European Car of the Year, the smaller Alfa 156, the five-passenger 166
demonstrates that Fiat's Alfa marque can compete with the best midsize
sedans from BMW and Audi. Mercedes is another story, but in Flat's complex
platform- and brand-management system, Alfa's not supposed to compete with
Benz. That job falls to Fiat's Lancia brand, which is due for a renewal of
its own now that the reworking of Alfa is complete. The 166 goes on sale
in Italy this month as a 1999 model, with prices ranging from 60 million
to 80 million lira ($ 36,000 to $ 48,000). Sales across Europe follow, and
the sedan will eventually hit the market in 60 countries - the most for
any Fiat Group car. Fiat expects to sell more than 50% of 166 output
outside Italy. Production in the first year at the Rivalta assembly plant
near Milan should total 50,000 units. 'We never say 'Never,' but there is
no schedule for Alfa Romeo to return to the U.S.,' Fiat Auto CEO Roberto
Testore says. 'Our first job is to improve the Alfa brand where we sell it
today.' Alfa will keep total production around 1998's 200,000 units until
Fiat is thoroughly satisfied with its brand image and dealer network, he
says. 'Long-term we would like to sell slightly more Alfas.' The 166 aims
to compete with the BMW 528i and Audi A6, and it appears to be up to the
job. First and foremost it brings to the task Italian flair, a gorgeous
exterior and stylish interior that clearly separate it from the German
brand. In development for about three years - an earlier effort was
scrapped when Alfa wisely decided to first replace the 155 with last years
156 - the 166 is about three inches shorter than the A6 and 5-Series.
Interior space is notably less than the BMW, with a rather cramped back
seat. Fiat classifies the Alfa 166 as sharing the platform of the
four-year-old Lancia Kappa - itself due for replacement in 2000 - but just
13% of the Alfa's parts are common with the more conservative Kappa. The
cars share some floorpan and structural parts forward of the passenger
compartment, but all exterior panels are unique, as are the Alfa's new
suspension and heavily revamped powertrain lineup (see spec box p. 57).
Fiat has owned Alfa for 12 years, and that's long enough to learn that the
brand lives or dies on styling, engines and suspensions. So the 166 and
all future Alfas share none of those systems with either Fiat or Lancia
models. Design The 166's appearance defines what Fiat chief of platform
strategy Giuseppe Perlo calls 'the Alfa temperaments' Alfa originally
planned to launch the 166 two years ago, but the 164 was still selling
well despite having bowed in 1987, and the smaller 155 was sucking wind.
Fiat decided to pull forward the 156 and took the time to rework the 166.
That meant substantial interior styling changes to fit the new 'Alfa look'
of the driver-oriented 156 dashboard. Alfa's head designer Walter de Silva
calls the uncluttered interior 'an Italian way of being a flagship. When
you look at it, it's as if you were driving it.' The instrument package
consists of four main white-faced analog gauges in front of the driver,
with three more round instruments angled toward the driver from the center
of the dashboard atop a Siemens video unit that integrates climate
control, stereo, navigation system and trip computer. The exteriors long
hood/short rear design hearkens to past Alfa. The long hood look is
accentuated by locating the passenger compartment more rearward. This led
to a cabin that's smaller than that of the 5-Series but competitive with
the Audi A6's, although rear legroom is somewhat limited. The roomy trunk
benefits from a wide opening for easy loading of large packages. The front
Alfa badge nestles into a grille designed to look like a cat's whiskers
another new brand identifier. A small crown in the hood over the badge
will also be common across the Alfa line, as is the V-shaped stamping
running forward from the corners of the hood. The taillights are
consciously small for the size of the 166's rear end. They have red lenses
for a unified look - the indicators get their color from LED lamps.
Powertrain The 166 offers a broad army of engines and two new
transmissions. The engine line comprises a V-6 family available in 226-hp
dohc 3.0L, 190-hp dohc 2.5L and turbocharged 205-hp sohc 2.0L derivatives;
a 155-hp 2.0L 16-valve Twin Spark inline four, and a 2.4L common-rail
direct-injection turbodiesel producing 136 hp. VM Motori, a unit of
Detroit Diesel Corp., supplies the turbodiesel, which achieves 23.7
city/41.2 highway mpg in European Union tests. Alfa's dohc V-6 is as old
as the hills, but it remains one of the industry's most enjoyable,
free-revving engines. For the 166, it gets a new Bosch drive-by-wire
electronic throttle with integrated cruise control. A switch near the
shifter allows the driver to select throttle response rates for either
sporty driving or more subdued urban driving. Other new features on the
V-6 include oil spray to cool the piston crowns, an air-oil radiator for
quicker engine warm-up, coil-on-plug ignition and dual knock control. The
2.0L Twin Spark delivers better fuel economy (24.2 mpg European Union
combined urban/out-of-town), while still offering the sporty, high-revving
driving Alfa owners want. It produces 90% of its maximum 138 lb.-ft of
torque from 2,000 rpm. The iron block/aluminum head engine features
counter-rotating balance shafts, a structural oil pan and crankshaft
torsional damper. Complementing the gasoline engines is the surprising new
2.4L turbodiesel. Virtually silent and smoke-free, the engine accelerates
the 166 to 62 mph in just 9.9 seconds and - mated with the six-speed
manual transmission - loafs along at 1,800 rpm at 100 mph on the highway.
Alfa will offer two different axle ratios with the diesel: one for good
acceleration and one for ultimate fuel economy. Alfa builds the new
six-speed manual transmissions in house. It developed the Sportronic
four-speed automatic with ZF. The transmission is the latest application
of ZF's ubiquitous 'clutchless manual,' and when manually shifted it
provides crisp, positive downshifts. The manual mode is operated by
pushing the shifter forward and back. Impressions Alfa clearly has the
166's engines and styling right, and a brief test drive through twisty
country roads and down the Spanish autopista suggests the 166 also has the
handling the marque demands. The double-wishbone front and multilink rear
suspensions attack curves eagerly, settling in for smooth acceleration
coming out. Despite the 166's decidedly nose-heavy bias, the car should
compete strongly with its chosen BMW and Audi targets. So Alfa's back, but
you can believe the executives when they say not back to the U.S. anytime
soon. The brand has its plate full of tasty pasta getting the business
right in Europe and its other 50-odd markets. It doesn't have enough
volume to serve the U.S. in any meaningful way at the moment. And if those
reasons weren't enough, crafty executives point to the one thing that
proves the 166 isn't coming to the U.S. within at least the first four
years of its six-year product cycle: 'It has no cupholders,' they say
triumphantly. 'We may not sell in the U.S., but we study the market. We
know cupholders are mandatory.' LANGUAGE: ENGLISH IAC-CREATE-DATE:
November 5, 1998 LOAD-DATE: November 06, 1998 

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