I must agree with my esteemed colleague, Alfa Bill when he says:
>164 did NOT compete on quality, when compared to the Volvos and large
>SAAB it was in the running with. The biggest pitfall to selling a 164
>(I
>put 2400 miles on a 91 "demo"ing it to ever breathing person i saw
>including the Volvo corporate mystery shopper
>The customer's biggest objection was perception of reliability. If my
>164 was a typical example, Alfa croaked on warranty claims...
I personally believe that the single biggest stumbling block to any
attempted reintroduction of Alfas in N. America would be the perceived
low quality/reliability of the cars. I cannot tell you how many times
someone has looked at my 164, said "what a lovely car" followed
immediately by "I heard they are a nightmare to maintain" or something
to this effect. Read any classic car magazine's review of an
Alfa/Fiat/Lancia and what do you always see "great
engine......wonderful car" but "dodgy electrics.....unreliable" or a
similar comment. The Japanese manufacturers have set the bar
incredibly high in this regard and the public will accept no less
these days. I think that Alfa would have an incredibly difficult time
overcoming this issue today. Having said this, I personally believe
that a '91 BMW 325/525 is no less reliable or cheaper to maintain than
my 164.
Kevin Fillip
Dallas, TX
'91 164
'91 Spider
'91 Spider Veloce
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