Digest ramblings (more than my 2 Lira worth)

["Enter your name here" <karld@domain.elided>]

Catching-up on 15 digests:

- - The brake sleeving place in Virginia is http://www.whitepost.com. The
pre-war American collectors love them.

- - I like the thoughts I saw about the younger generation falling in love
with (Mexican-built, marketed as "German Engineering") VWs. They are not as
concerned about quality as they are about the brand or image (Acura/Honda
backlash, possibly?). Impressionable young market to which General Fiat
could do some  target-marketing and carry the brand for a long time.

- - Quality perceptions: I make analogies in my mind between car manufacturers
and Silicon Valley products. Some companies can make a really high
performance prototype product in the lab, but can't make a million copies
that are reliable or of high build quality. Within the world of great lab
prototypes, some are operating at the limit of their operating abilities and
some are quite robust in their design. Where does Alfa fall (IMHO)?
Excellent prototypes, stretched a little further in their operating
abilities than most automakers (intentionally! we're not talking farm
tractors or Tauruses here...); Their making a million copies (or 50,000
copies) is not executed as well as other automakers, however, for whatever
reason. Remember the old 1970's adage not to buy the first model year of a
new American car, because that's when they work-out the bugs? Alfa may be
slower in that bug-fixing process from a high-volume manufacturing
perspective. (Ducking for cover...last time I opened my mouth, I started the
"diesels ain't so bad" thread. We could always go back to motor oil or car
wax comparisons!)

- - To Joe Corbacio's note on whether I bought a new Alfa during their last
few years: Yes, I did! However, I waited until after they announced their
departure, and therefore didn't help matters! I was a vulture and not an
ARDONA booster. $10K off of sticker price made me do it. It was my last
chance to buy an Alfa that didn't have "previous owner syndrome".

Karl

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