Re: Auto Verde (and an apology)

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@domain.elided>]

Peter Webb, with "a casual glance over to Hertzman" (village pedant?) asks
"Were there ever any Verde's with automatic gearboxes and were any sold in the
US?  I see many references to Platinums with autos and the dreaded
self-leveling suspension."

Don't think so, although some will say that anything can happen on an ad-lib
Milanese assembly line, particularly after the free wine served with lunch. I
have never seen one mentioned, and the handy "75 Caratteristiche e
Prescrizioni" book of Alfa's Assistenza Tecnica shows them only on the 2.5 V6
(of the nine different engine variants listed.) D'Amico & Tabucchi list
automatics only on the 1971 1750 Berlina (tipo 105.73, 253 cars), the 1974-76
tipo 105.97 2000 Berlinas (about 800 cars, all for South Africa, which also
supplied Australia and New Zealand), second series Alfetta sedans for the USA
(about 1800 cars) and there were certainly automatic Spiders, starting I don't
know when -after '88 VIN numbers were in common within a model (i.e. all 75s),
not broken down by sub-types. I have heard of automatic GTVs, mainly South
African, but that would have been an easy adaptation from the sedans. And
there was a prototype automatic GTV-6 which never went into production. An
automatic Verde could easily be assembled by swapping engine, seats, and trim
into a Gold (automatics optional) or Platinum, (automatics standard after
1987) but I doubt any came here that way.

The self-leveling suspension shouldn't be dreaded; the shocks and the valve
are more costly than standard, but shouldn't be a prohibitive service expense
(compared to others-). They (like the ABS) are often converted back to base
specification. I understand that the reason for pairing self-leveling with the
automatic on the Sport Sedan and the Milanos is that the sheet-steel sump
hangs a tad low and would be vulnerable on bad roads with a loaded car, but an
aftermarket rear sumpguard would be no less reasonable than the common engine
sump guards on 105-115 cars.

On a different question, my comments on the GS 4R apparently annoyed one
lister, perhaps an owner, who felt I was dising (sic) the model undeservedly.
Cars are very much a matter of personal preferences, (like mine for classic
but un-retro things generally) and I want to apologize to any GS 4R owners or
admirers who took offense. None was intended.

John H.
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