Ooops, the Alfa image....

[L O <alfetta82@domain.elided>]

Uh uh, it seems this discussion is burning, after some
days of peace. 
Reading the messages, I saw many different positions,
and I agree with some and can't agree with others.
Anyway, this isn't important. The important is to say
to the guy who wrote about the "vintage alfa digest"
that, in facts, the situation is so not only in US but
worldwide. Surely you can find also other sites, other
discussion boards on recent Alfas, but see in depht:
my experience teachs me that the site about recent
Alfas are built by guys who don't know anything about
Alfa and they are at their first Alfa. If you ask
something of the Alfa history, of the past Alfa, of
the factories location, of someother things they can't
answer you simply because they ignore it. You can say
I'm too annoying, but surely in my opinions these
persons are not Alfisti, are Alfa driver, and it's
different!
If you see, instead, scripts and web pages of
vintage's drivers or collectors, you can see they know
the past and the present, and they also are looking
for the future. 
The fact is this: experience confirm that, in most
cases - not in all cases, of course - the real Alfista
own a past production car or a past production car
near the newest Alfas. 
This is reflecting also in the image Alfa had and has:
someone was telling about the Alfa image in Italy.
Alfa image changed a lot: in the '60s and '70s there
was no doubt Alfa was a prestige brand. In the '80s,
paying some Alfasud's problems and other discussions -
I suppose with the "placet" of Fiat - Alfa had a very
dim image. Obviously we have also to thanks the owner
who fitted on the car spoilers, extra size wheels and
other not original aand ugly stuffs. And then,
loosing, during the last '80s, the traditional buyers,
ALfa loose also the prestige image, because Alfa was
drived, so tuned with extra size wheels and other
stuffs, by the typical "truzzi", as in Milan are named
that type of boys that don't know where the "prestige"
name has home. So, a clean Alfa was surely owned by a
lover, a dirty quite new Alfa was surely owned by a
"truzzo". This was the image, and it's still so. 
The 155 and 145/6 era affirmed this image. Loosing the
true Alfa lovers, Alfa Romeo was bought by ex-other
makes drivers, ex Fiat, ex Renault, ex Peugeot. The
"truzzo" who wrecked his 205 rallye surely would be
interested to the 145, even if in his dreams he had
the Golf GTI. And so on until the 156: the fortune of
the 156 was to have a decent line, recalling the past
Alfa's design. Look the 155 and then tell me if it
isn't the copy of the Tipo (doors), the Dedra
(pilories) and Tempra (tail). Is this an Alfa, than
with front wheel drive? Was this the "new 75"????
Puah! What a s**t!
156 recalled many old Alfa owners (the 75 owners, not
the 155 owners) and other makes (prestige makes, as
Audi) to enter in a Alfa dealers. But the problems of
the first units were quite serious, so actually the
156 is still a prestige car, but its image is dimmed. 
I know very well the Audi and VW drivers, my friend
has a Audi/VW dealer and workshop. There was,
sometimes ago, a problem on all the Passat and Audi 80
about the rear electric windows. Some owners paid
about $ 400 twice to change the electric engines,
before Audi found the problem was about switches ($ 25
each). Noone of these owners become angry with VW.
Everytime a Fiat Panda ($ 4500 priced new) has to
replace a light, the same "Eh, natural, it's a Fiat!".
A light against two electric engines/motors, $0,30
light against $ 400!.
So, it's clear actually Fiat has not a good image,
even if produce good products. To loose the image is
easy, to rebuilt an image needs products, very good
products, and years. Do you agree?


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