The curious case of the option that wasn't offered

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

I am determined to stay out of the Spica vs. Webers argument; I know where my
best friends stand, and I am not the person to contradict either side, but I
am not above raising questions about statistical and/or marketing anomalies in
other countries.

Chris Prael, in AD7-517, writes:
 
"From fairly extensive direct personal experience of both fuel delivery
systems, I will argue that the Spica system is clearly superior to the
Webers for both performance and reliability."

Two paragraphs on, comparing two '69s he has owned, one Weber'd and one
Spica'd, he states that the Spica injected engine was at least as strong, just
as reliable, and 10% more efficient.

Dropping back to Fusi, whose production figures end at the end of 1972, we
find 11,530 Spica-injected 1750s and 1972 2000s out of a total of 226,160
cars. 5% Spica-injected, 95% carbureted. Not counting the 200,000 or so 1300
and 1600 Juniors in the same period, which bumps it down to the 3%/97% range.

I believe somebody suggested that the number of Spica injection pumps was
limited by production capacity. It has also been noted that in the years
1975-1980 the performance of the USA cars was severely savaged by all of the
other smog gear- cats, air pumps, lean mixtures, restrictive exhaust
manifolds, low compression ratios, and wimp cams. I believe USA sales suffered
severely during this 1975-79 period, so I assume Spica must have had some
reserve production capacity in this later period.

I infer, then, that Alfa COULD have offered the more sophisticated,
discriminating and affluent segment of the European market a later and better
Spica pump on cars with cams, compression ratios, exhaust systems etcetera
enhanced to take the best advantage of the Spica system's clear superiority in
performance, reliability, and efficiency- at a premium price, of course. The
fortunate European enthusiast would have had a choice of a "normale" with
Webers and the other run-of-the-mill equipment, or an optimized Spica-equipped
"Veloce" or "Quadrifoglio Verde". But they didn't do it.

I wonder why? Didn't they think that European enthusiasts were as receptive to
demonstrable technical superiority as Americans were? Curious. As, of course,
Alfa marketing decisions have been in many times and places.

Sincerely,

John H.
Raleigh, N.C.

------------------------------