Mad Alfa disease...

["Martin Hansen" <martinwh@domain.elided>]

All of this talk of new Alfas coming to America is quite depressing. Afte=
r
spending the last several years looking for good used specimens, I was
finally able to find a Verde and GTV6 to add to my stable. This is not an
easy task with all my fellow Alfisti out there also capturing these elusi=
ve
creatures from the wilds of normal society. Once captured, we of course a=
re
not satisfied by simply letting them sit unmolested, but instead, spend m=
uch
money and labor to bring them back to their once new glory=85or better. A=
fter
all, there will be no more new Alfas=85remember? And if we want a new one=
, we
will have to make one=85right?

With new Alfas coming, gone will be the days of rummaging for parts throu=
gh
greasy old garages owned by irritated past Alfa distributors who nag and
bark at you for causing Alfa to leave in the first place. After all, how
many Alfa people buy new Alfas? We will no longer have to plead with "sou=
p
Nazi" mechanics to work on our cars and bribe them with huge sums of mone=
y
to complete the work before next spring. Now we will be dealing with GM
maintenance managers, in shirts and ties, that remain calm and collective
(probably have no Italian blood whatsoever) as they explain the consequen=
ces
of not performing an expensive mechanical procedure at this specific time
even though the car is barely off warrantee.

I was standing in my garage, wrenching on my Verde motor, when I heard th=
e
news on the radio. I stood there and stared at my recent accomplishment o=
n
the engine stand. Its a combination of parts I spent much time and effort
purchasing from several corners of the globe, all collected together afte=
r
precise machining and assembly, into a new and improved heart for my
patient. Then I looked over at the pile of donor engines that gave their
very organs so that others could live=85and thought=85I wonder what a new=
 166
cost?

------------------------------