Re: Italian v. German

[James Montebello <jamesm@domain.elided>]

On Fri, 20 Sep 2002 BrianPal10@domain.elided wrote:
> In a message dated Fri, 20 Sep 2002 15:39:54 +0000, james montebello writes:
>
> > Almost no American has any first or even second-hand knowledge of Alfas,
> > so it gets lumped into the general Italian category, fairly or unfairly.
> > Ferraris are outrageously expensive and cranky.  FIATs are
> > junk.

>Is your opinion of FIAT based on first or second-hand knowledge?
>Or, are you doing exactly what you don't want "Americans" to do to
>Alfa... propagating an old rumor.  I wont argue whether or not Alfas
>and Fiats are reliable cars, but I did do a little research of my own.
>According to some owners surveys from the 70s that I read, Fiat owners
>reported 1% fewer problems than Alfa owners.  1% is much difference,
>so I conclude they are about the same.

You entirely misunderstand me.  My opinion of Ferraris, Alfas, or
FIATs is entirely irrelevant.  The opinion of the *average American
consumer* is what I stated above.  If Joe on the street in Podunk has
any opinion of FIAT at all, it was most likely formed because a friend
of his cousin once had one in college, and it was always breaking down.
And no surprise, since that friend was always a little daft, and last
he heard drove something French.

Replace "FIAT" with "Alfa" above, and pretty much the same story goes.
Indeed, replace "FIAT" with "something French" and the story holds.
How many 505 owners are lamenting the fact that Peugeot isn't selling
the 506 over here?  I'm sure more than one owner of a DS21 wouldn't
mind buying a Xsara.  They're in the same boat.  Does any of this
have anything to do with the quality of the cars in question, or
just the perceived quality of cars that are now 20-30 years old?

I'm not propogating any rumor.  Everyone on this list is, pretty much
by definition, that wacky old college buddy.  We're the converted, the
Believers.  There's no point in convincing us.  We don't need convincing.
The other 280M people in the US, however...

For the record, I've owned three Alfas and one FIAT.  I loved the FIAT,
and might still have it were it drivable.  If I could find a 124 Sport
Coupe in reasonable condition, I'd snap it up in a second.  Same for
a Giulia Super, if I could find one at a good price.  This, however,
doesn't do FIAT or Alfa much good, since neither car is new, and I'd
have little interest in a new Punto or 156 even if they were sold here.
Not because they're Italian, but simply because I'm not interested in
new cars.

And I've never owned a single French car, but I did very much like the
Clio I rented in Spain a few years ago...

james montebello
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