Pix of 166

[Alfisto@domain.elided]

While visiting family in London, I was fortunate to be able to closely look 
at a 156, a 166 a new Jaguar S-Type and a new Rover 75 all in the parking lot 
of our apartment building. If I had my druthers and $50K to spare, my choice 
would be the Jag. for beauty, finesse and quality. The 166 was a close second 
but like the 156 it was marred by what appears to be a very mediocre paint 
job, something which was common to all the recent Alfas I saw in the UK. Many 
of them had very small scratches in the paint. The interior of the 166 was a 
great improvement over the 164 and it certainly is extremely attractive, 
especially the fascia layout. The car itself is quite lovely from all angles, 
but especially from the front. The 156 I found to be a disappointment - it 
seemed quite ordinary among all the current crop of small 4-door sedans 
available in Europe, especially those from Renault, Peugeot, Volvo, Fiat and 
believe it or not, the new Skoda!.. It did not even sound like an Alfa 
although I did not hear/see one running at high revs. Please note that these 
are my own personal opinions only and based on viewing the cars while parked- 
I did not have the chance to drive any of them.
For those not familar with the 166 I have posted a couple of pictures of it 
at the following URL:
http://members.aol.com/Alfisto/Alfa166.jpg

Graham Arlen

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