Profitability of Alfa

[Neil Smith <neiltbag@domain.elided>]

I think that the issue of how many of us Alfa owners would buy a
new one is rather a moot point. We represent a tiny fraction of
the market Alfa would need to tap, so it is more important to
address the issue of whether everyone else would buy one. My
take on it is this:

Living in the Bay Area I see SO MANY B*W M3s. These are
expensive, enthusiast cars. Many that I see are the four-door
model. I suspect that these people would have checked out an
Alfa 156 at the time of purchase if Alfa were to have a presence
here. The same goes for the Audi A4 Quattro. How many people
choose the 4WD over the 2WD? Lots. This is an enthusiast choice.
These people want something a little different, a little extra,
and will pay for it. What about the Volvo T5? There's quite a
few of those about. All of the owners first made the decision to
buy a Euro car over a Japanese. They then made the decision to
pay extra for the performance / interesting equipment level.

There'll always be a lot of "car as appliance" drivers. But I
think there are more people out there who look for something a
little different and a little quicker than we give credit for.

Final word: whoever made the point about lowering current import
barriers or merging Euro and US standards was right on. If this
happens, we'll not only have Alfa back, but all sorts of other
cool stuff too.

Now, back to my overheating/ christmas-light-ARC/ need-new-
clutch-cylinder/ stretched-parking-brake-cable Milano...

Neil.

===
Neil A. Smith, Musician
'87 Alfa Romeo Milano Gold
neiltbag@domain.elided
neils@domain.elided
(408) 888-3450 vm
(650) 875-6880 w
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