Re: Anybody read Italian?

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

For years it has been standard information, an often-answer to a Frequently 
Asked Question, that to get the date of manufacture, color, and 
where-delivered for your Alfa Romeo, you send a FAX with the VIN #  to Alfa 
Romeo at "Centro Documentazione Storica" attention Ms. Elvira Ruocco, at # 
011 392 931 5746. Apart from this modest but much-appreciated service Ruocco 
has been famous for the lavish help she has given to all who were seriously 
interested in Alfa Romeo's history.

Now in AD7-711 Jaap Bouma reported "after repeated attempts I finally got a 
reply from Miss Ruocco (Archivio Storico) about the build date etc. of my 
car." and asked if somebody would translate the message, which is in Italian:

"Egregio Signore,

In relazione al Suo fax del 12 aprile, siamo spacienti di comunicarLe (??)
che i date richiesti non sono disponibili nel nostro Archivio.
Si tratta di informazioni reperibili su un sistema informatico al quale non
siamo collegati.
Le suggeriamo di rivolgersi alla Direzione Customer Care di Fiat Auto:
Largo Senatore Agnelli, 5 Volvera (TO).

Cordiali saluti. (etc.)"

Marc Mosko and Dr. Andrea Berardelli translated precisely (with slight 
differences encased in parentheses) what I suspect Jaap Bouma already 
understood generally: the message said-

"Dear Sir:
 
Reference (In relation to) your fax of April 12, we regret to inform you that 
the information you requested is not available in our files.(archives.)

That information is contained in an information system (computer) to which we 
are not connected.

We suggest that you contact, (enquire to) "Direzione Customer Care' (Customer 
Service) at: Fiat Auto, Largo Senatore Agnelli, 5 Volvera, Torino, Italy.
 
Respectfully.

Elvira Ruocco"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Nobody has commented on what seems to be the obvious: the gentle lady who has 
for years and years presided over Alfa Romeo's archives, generously helping 
individual owners and historians in innumerable ways, aparently no longer has 
the 
access she has had to Alfa Romeo's records, which were at her fingertips in 
Arese and are now at Fiat Auto in Torino.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On a slightly different note, Walter De Silva, who was in charge of Centro 
Stile at Alfa, and Wolfgang Egger, chief designer of the 166, and Zbignew 
Maurer, of the design team which did the 156, have all left for new jobs at 
Seat, the Spanish brand which parent company Volkswagen wants to move into 
Alfa's market niche. Concurrently, Andrea Zapatinas, who had done much of the 
work on the Fiat Coupe, Barchetta and Alfa 145 but moved with Chris Bangle 
from Fiat to BMW in 1994, has returned to Fiat to take charge of Alfa's 
styling.

A digestisti who had met Zapatinas in California (where he, like most of the 
other occupants of these musical chairs, studied car styling) mentioned 
trying to contact Zapatinas at Centro Stile by email, meeting a disingenuous 
sounding brick wall. (Who?)

Perhaps I am reading too much into all of this. Make your own interpretations.

John H. 
Raleigh, N.C.

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