Re: Alfa SUV's, Am I still an Alfista? and the demise of the flat four...

["Ian Preece" <ian_preece@domain.elided>]

The Alfa SUV thing surfaces every so-often, and it's interesting to hear =
the
many opinions, mainly from US digesters. Allow me some bandwith to give a
European slant....
It's easy to forget that Alfa is actually part of FIAT-ALFA_LANCIA Spa (I
think in that order). Since Alfa and Lancia were bought out by Fiat, Fiat
have pretty consistently sang the same tune, that they will supply the
domestic and export market for small to medium sized 'family' cars, like =
the
Bravo, with the odd quirk like the coupe. Lancia will supply the upper en=
d
of the market, and Alfa will concentrate on the 'sporting' side. It makes
sense not to overlap the market too much, otherwise you are only in
competition with yourself.
Alfa are the only one of the three to be seen in regular motorsport
competition, although in the UK Fiat has some presence (but, to my
knowledge, no dealer input).
So, where is all this leading? My monies on a Fiat SUV if one does come t=
o
fruition, and I think Alfa will carry on with it's (relative) niche marke=
t.

Here's something to ponder on...........

The success of the 156 and GTV/Spyder has had a curious effect on me.
Suddenly, Alfa's are being bought by people who potentially know nothing
about their pedigree, apart from the fact that a cute little red one was =
in
the Graduate film, and that they used to rust a lot. It's hard to put int=
o
words, but after all the years I have supported and followed the cross an=
d
serpent, and taken a lot of knocks into the bargain, I sort of resent the
fact that when a genuinely good Alfa comes along, people queue up to buy =
it
who would not have bothered about Alfa's before. I guess I should be plea=
sed
that the company are successful again, but it just makes me feel uneasy,
kind of takes the love/hate thing away. The yardstick over in Europe for =
the
mid-sector, sporting family car, is the BMW 3 series (forgive me for
uttering those three letters in these hallowed pages), and it's the one c=
ar
that all others in the class are judged against. To me, it's a very capab=
le
car, but a clich=E9, a minor status symbol, and incredibly boring. Many
magazines carry road test putting the BMW and the 156 together, with
headlines such as, 'Has BMW met its match', you know the kind of thing, T=
o
be contemplated in the same company, I worry that Alfa itself will be
producing a clich=E9, taken at face value it has to, to compete on equal
terms, but  in doing so it may actually devalue itself....
I guess I can sum it up like this. When Alfa made quirky cars, I enjoyed =
my
Alfa's because I enjoy being different from the rest of the herd. However=
,
if they end up pretty much like the other major player offerings, the app=
eal
may start to diminish. Whatever happens, I guess they will always be spec=
ial
to the true enthusiast. Since I always considered myself a true Alfista,
these thoughts niggle me. Guess I need a good shrink!!

Here's another thought. I always rated the boxer flat four engine in the
'Suds and Sprints. Alfa only did limited development work on this format,
switching to the twin spark and 16 valve layouts for it's stock powerplan=
t.
Subaru, on the other hand, have won the World Rally championship with a
similar layout, producing around 300 horsepower. Most of their range are
powered by flat fours, with 4wd to boot. From a servicing point of view
there are advantages, plus the low cross section/low centre of gravity mu=
st
be appealing to designers. I guess at the end of the day the bean counter=
s
at Fiat had the last say............

Ciao,
Ian

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End of alfa-digest V7 #907
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