No Alfas in US distillation

[adoherty@domain.elided (Adam Doherty)]

Had to interject a little something here, although whats been said so far 
has been entertaining to some degree, and I risk not measuring up.... 
FIAT/Alfa, in my perhaps myopic view, dropped out because the cost of keeping in the game was 
too much--simply. Sure, they could've stayed and weathered for a couple 
of years, or they could return and rebuild the network and reputation. 
Either scenario though requires patience and a goodly amount of 
money--neither of which FIAT/Alfa had or currently has. I wouldnt expect 
FIAT to return Alfa to the US market any time soon, but perhaps a new 
"better-heeled" (ask John H for the root of that phrase...) marque owner 
could (Ford). FIAT clearly has bigger issues on their mind, such as 
whether to sell the car business or not. Was Alfa marketed and managed 
very poorly in the US? Absolutely. Was the US gubmnint to blame? They may 
have exacerbated the problems FIAT had, but dont forget the regulations 
et. al. were not selective: BMW, Nissan, MB, Audi, Jag and the like all 
had to work under the same rules. They all made it, in different ways, 
but it took a committment and a sort of long-term vision to pull it off. 
Could FIAT bring back Alfa? Surely, but I think if I were in the boardroom I'd 
insist an outside firm be hired to strategize.... 
Marketing/selling/distributing through Ferrari is an interesting and 
possibly viable option, and a likely route, especially since in the US 
there were/are several dealerships extant when the "pullout" occured. 
Stand-alone Alfa dealerships in the US are likely a thing of the past. 
Sorry for the ramble, but im in the middle of my late Kung po shrimp and 
not fully engaged here. Also, I fear i'm getting a touch irracible in my 
31st year.....

Adam

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End of alfa-digest V7 #1338
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