GM and Alfa etc

[DirectAutoGroup@domain.elided]

OK..

I'm the new guy and I don't wanna cause trouble.. ahh.. what the heck :)

OK, I am a car dealer in America.. I used to own part of a Pontiac/GMC 
dealership.  I agree..  GM Simply does not know what the heck they are doing, 
in a lot of ways, when it comes to Marketing in this country.  It amazes me...

Take the Holden Commodore SS.  They can send them to the Middle east.. They 
can send V6 Commodores to Brazil, they can't send that car here.  It is a 
better car than anything in that size class that they offer here.  Ever heard 
of the Impala SS they made between 94-96?  A clean 96 is still worth $20,000, 
and, when I went to buy them as a dealer at auction, there was always a 
bidding war for them.

The Aztek?  Don't even get me started.  They just do not listen to their 
dealers.  (Granted, a lot of car dealers ought to be drawn and quartered but 
that is a separate discussion).  What Alfa would need would be dedicated, 
enthusiastic dealers who are committed to the brand.  What about some of the 
ones that were doing well before Alfa pulled out?  I'm not talking about 
sending a few parts books, $50K in parts inventory, A diagnostic machine and 
3 or 4 cars and a sign to "Bob's Buick-Pontiac-Isuzu-GMC-Cadillac (and them 
Alfa Romeos)" in some small market.

Because that's what they were doing in large markets!  If GM wants Alfa to 
succeed in this country it is, simply put, going to cost a fortune.  What 
they need is a proper dealer network.  Instead of handing the franchise off 
to SAAB dealers, they need to hand them off to people who are going to WANT 
to be Alfa dealers instead of "Hey Joe, you got a SAAB shingle, right?" "Uhh, 
yeah..."  "Hey, you wanna sell some Alfas too?"  "Uhh... ok".

Give these guys the proper support, marketing and resources to make it work.  
Find the players in a given market.  The people who are already strong 
dealers with good reputations, the guys who will work to make these cars a 
success.  Don't try to invade the US market with the 166 and 156.  As good as 
they may be, Alfa needs to bring in the cars for which they are famous.  The 
Spyders and GTVs as well as Cars like the 156 and 166.  I mean, if they had 
just held out another year or two... <sigh>... right as the roadster market 
got hot in 96-97... that new Spyder would have been a hit!

But from where I sit... they are setting themselves up for adversity 
already...

Bill in Orlando
91 164L (AC, O2 Sensor, Tranny linkage fixed... Getting there!)

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