[alfa] Retraction regarding Skoda

["eric h" <ejham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

For the record, I want to retract my little jab against Skodas. My comment
against these cars was unfounded as I have no personal experience with that
marquee.

In retrospect, I behaved no better than an average American who views all
Italian autos with suspicion as they had a 3rd cousin twice removed who had
a friend in Montana who, in 1980, bought a second-hand Fiat X19 and had
'nothing but trouble' with it.

The source of my bias stems from poor quality of steel in our '70s and early
'80s Alfas. The story goes that the Italian government brokered a deal to
assist the Soviets with their flailing attempt at constructing autos that
were actually usable. In exchange for scrap steel, Fiat provided engineering
and consultation. This resulted in the early Skodas.

Unfortunately, the steel proved to be substandard. Worse yet, the steel was
shared between many Italian manufacturers including our beloved Alfa Romeo.
Ferraris suffered the same fate. The latter efforts of De Tomaso -- esp. the
Longchamp -- were adversely affected by the easy corrosion of this recycled
steel.

As I was not present at the time, I have no idea if any of this is accurate.
It's simply a distillation of things I've been told over the years. YMMV.

It is, most likely, the fact that my rust-free 1993 164 was galvanized and
dipped in paint that it remained completely rust-free. The older
manufacturing technologies used in all my other Alfas (1979 and 1976
Spiders, 1982 and 1983 GTV6's, 1978 Alfetta GT, 1987 and 1988 Milanos) were
probably responsible for their perforation.

While I can't help but think late 70's and 80's Italian cars may have been
better off had assistance not been given to Skoda, it's unfair to bash the
company today. The fact that European buyers chose to buy Skoda amidst the
heavy competition is a testament to the marquee.

- Eric H., Marietta, GA
1976 Spider
2004 RX8

Rusting somewhere on my property: 1978 Alfetta GT. Not rusting: the
remaining 50% of a 1993 164L.
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided