Speculation re: Alfa and the Americas

[ian <iann@domain.elided>]

I think the prospect of Alfa returning to the States any time soon is
remote indeed.  I have a theory that the return, if it comes at all,
will be preceded by the efforts of a well financed group or individual
testing the waters with a a non-affiliated distributorship.  That group
would necessarily have to have the vision to do so and enough faith in
the reliability of the product, the viability of the market and whatever
parts support the factory might be willing to provide to undertake the
business of servicing a warranty program internally without the assured
direct cooperation of the manufacturer.  I believe  that safety and
emissions issues have nearly reached the point that they are essentially
standardized globally for the major manufacturers, so structural and
engine controls would require little if any re-engineering to meet the
requirements of a foreign market.  If this privateer group could show
Alfa that the market exists they might be more amenable to considering a
return.  Seems to me that this is how it went some 45 years or so ago
with Max Hoffman did it not?  Granted today's market is decidedly
different from the mid 50's, with a better educated, more savvy consumer
demanding value, performance and reliability in exchange for what has
become a sizable investment.  The competitively priced entry level
roadster is likely forever gone as a result, making for a tougher sell
and narrowing an already slim somewhat esoteric customer base made up of
spirited drivers, past owners and others who all share an appreciation
of the "different drummer" crafted in cast aluminum and clad in sculpted
steel.  The damage caused by the ineptitude and inefficiency of many of
the service and parts providers of the early and late 70's may still be
considered a factor working against new retail sales, and Alfa is not
totally without blame in this area as well.  I was working in a
dealership during that time period, and found most technicians lacked
the training necessary to make diagnosis and repair of a hard starting
Spider as profitable as say a brake job and 3 quick tune ups on a
Nissan, sorry, Datsun 280ZX.  Consequently enthusiasm ebbed except for
those few of us that already were familiar with and loved the marque.
Add to this the quality  problems being experienced by Fiat/Lancia
owners, a sister line handled by ours and other's dealerships, guilt
through association.               Suppose for a moment if a group of
engineers had elected for 1987 to draw up and produce an Spider with
the 2.5L or the 3.0.  By then Fiat had been gone from these shores for 5
years and Pininfarina 2.  They would have transformed a pleasant enough,
nice handling if a bit docile (no offense) roadster into something with
little to compare to but XKE and present day BMW M3.  I wonder how this
would have affected the Alfa marketing results.  The one positive result
to the pull out is that we have been left with a supply of readily
available true driving enthusiasts vehicles that for the money are in my
opinion a tremendous value compared to what's available in the same
price range.  As Luca says "No Doubt"

     Sorry to go on so long, but that is the gist of my theory.  Likely
in today's climate that its only a dream,   I wish someone, or better
still Alfa Romeo would prove me wrong.

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