Re: Daily Drivers

["Alex" <alfaromeodriver@xxxxxxx>]

Biba (et al.),

Firstly, the rules you have about daily drivers don't wash.  Most folks in
our "car culture society" who are paired-up have at least two cars (more in
many cases!).  Regarding generators, be serious!  Are you saying that a
daily-driver must have ALL of its original features?  People who drove their
Model-Ts modified them with better stuff, VW Beetle owners did the
same...are those cars also not "proper daily-drivers"?

I drive a 1969 Spider 1300 Junior just about every day.  She has an
alternator instead of the stock "genny", and 185/70 modern radial tires, but
other than that, she's basically completely stock.  She gets up and runs
every day, and has only let me down as much as any other car (and usually
because of my own carelessness in not replacing things or maintaining
things).  I have poor compression (she has over 140,000 miles on her clock)
and I weigh lots more than I should...and I drive the piss out of her every
time I get behind the wheel!  Yet, I can (and do) cruise right along on the
highways and bi-ways, keeping up with (and passing most) of the traffic.  I
have driven her on 1200 mile trips, and am not afraid of taking her 300
miles on a whim!  I own an '87 Milano that sees very little use, I have
leased my Verde to an Aussie temporarily living here, my GTV is in pieces in
the garage...and my wife only lets me drive her pick-up when it snows or if
I have to tow something!

I drive the Spider to and from work (about ten miles each way) basically
every day, and I take a few good corners each way.  If I go shopping, it's
in my Spider, if I go out to eat, it's in my Spider, if I go see friends,
it's in my Spider.  If that isn't using the car as my "daily-driver", then I
don't know what is!

Can a Giulietta be just as reliable?  Sure it can!  Can it run with the
traffic?  Absolutely!  And it's really easy to fix!  Parts?  If you know
where to look, you can find anything you might need to keep her on the road
in just one-day (just like - or maybe better than - a new Chevy!)  So, can
you use an old Alfa as a daily-driver?  Yes!  And the same applies to any
number of other Alfas!  As some have pointed out, it's the later cars with
more complex systems that are less reliable...but I bet that even they would
be very reliable if properly maintained and driven (hard) on a daily basis.

Hey, in the end...it's just a car!  Cars are made to be driven.

Cheers,
Alfalex Csank
Norfolk, VA
'69 Spider 1300 Junior
'71 GTV (donor)
'73 GTV Race-Car project
'87 Milano Gold
'87 Milano Verde
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