Re: bananas (slightly off-topic)

["Rich Wagner" <drsavage@domain.elided>]

Dennis:

>I owned, but I did not enjoy (and definitely didn't appreciate)
>my Honda Accord :-) :-) :-)
>
>Alfa content: It was one of the motivations for buying a GTV6 :-)

Really?  My motivation for buying my first GTV6 was EXACTLY the same
motivation that made me desire a Civic S Hatchback, a (series 1) CRX, or a
CBX.  Each of these machines was designed by the best engineering
departments in the business, and each was designed and built the way an
ENGINEER would design and build a car (or motorcycle)--not the way a
marketer would.  Admittedly, Honda isn't the same company it was before the
loss of Soshiro and Irimagiri (spelling?).  However, the designs from their
heyday, like the 3 liter V12, the 1 liter straight six, torsion bar valve
springs, ovalized cylinders, controlled vortex combustion, and a TON of
other serious advancements, illustrate just how parallel their philosophy
was to that of Alfa.  If you can't see that, then you're oblivious to some
of the most impressive attributes of your GTV6.

I agree with many others who feel that most of the vehicles available in
the U.S. today have been designed by marketing departments, and are rather
bland.  However, I get very irritated when parochialism comes into play. 
Not all drivers of Hondas, KIAs, Toyotas, SUVs, motorhomes, etc. are
mouthbreathing, unappreciative imbeciles.  Some of them do care about what
they drive.  Some of them do know how to drive and are actually interested
in improving their abilities.  To my dismay, I have found just as many
poseurs driving Alfas, as I have found in the world of SUVs, motorcycles,
airplanes, houses, skiing (ESPECIALLY skiing!), and lots of other
endeavors.  That kind of person is out there.  But to simply and
automatically associate that personality with the kind of car a person
drives is flat wrong.

Own your Alfa to enjoy it.  Don't hold it over someone else's head.


Rich Wagner
Montrose, CO
'82 GTV6 Balocco

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