What it would take to make new Alfae competitive in North America

["Joe Garcia" <corsanostra@domain.elided>]

Thus saith dsedon@domain.elided

>i agree that these [excellent dealer service, & "reverse" sticker shock] 
>are what got lexus' foot in the door.  *however*, the reason >lexus has 
>been able to maintain & grow its market against the likes of >bmw & mb is 
>due to the fact, that in areas of most concern to most >n.a. car buyers, 
>the lexus is simply a better car:  quieter, smoother, >better fit-n-finish, 
>better quality control, and better reliability.  >*these* are the tings 
>that sell cars in america.

Right, and THIS is where the "reverse sticker shock" becomes a factor. When 
the average sorta-affluent car buyer looks at the "quieter, smoother, better 
fit-n-finish, better quality control, and better reliability" s/he expects 
to pay $X. When the actual sticker price is $.85X the sale practically 
writes itself up. If all that same quality cost MORE than the potential 
buyer expected, sales will be rather disappointing.

>if alfa can do this, they will be successful, whether fwd, awd, rwd, 
> >sporty, or bland.  period.  i yust hope that they throw a bone to us 
> >lunatic-fringe enthusiasts, the way bmw does w/its *m* series, & audi 
> >does w/its *s* series...  lexus, it seems, is even getting into the 
> >*sporty* act, w/its 6-sp in the gs300, & the is300 w/6-sp.

Amen, Br'er Douglas, preach on. Testify.

-Joe in reasonably sunny SoFla


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