[alfa] Re:stirring up trouble

[George Graves <gmgraves@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Feb 28, 2004, at 9:46 AM, alfa-digest wrote:

>
> Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 06:33:34 -0800 (PST)
> From: danny P <robustful@domain.elided>
> Subject: [alfa] stirring up trouble
>
> These Alfa digests are starting to be far and between
> so I'm going to put something out there to you all.
>
> America is the toughest automobile market in the
> world.  It's the biggest for a reason.  Your product
> has to meet the highest standards or else no one will
> buy them.

I'm going to slightly disagree with you here. Quality in the eyes of 
American car buyers is different than it is for European buyers and it 
always has been. Its a bit of a paradox, really. Traditionally, all 
quality has ever meant to American car owners is RELIABILITY. Our cars, 
have been, since early on, nothing if not reliable. The lowliest 
American car could always be counted upon to start, and to run, and not 
break down very often. Starting in the 1920's, US carmakers realized 
that the most important aspect of the car is that it last, 
trouble-free, for a certain number of miles. Before WWII, that was 
probably 50,000 miles and after the war it went to 100,000. That's what 
people cared about, and largely speaking, that's what they care about 
today. Quality? Look at a 1955 Buick, and then look at a 1955 Jaguar 
XK140 or MGA, or Triumph TR2 or even a 1955 Giulietta sprint. Check the 
fit and finish, is the Buick as well made as either the Giulietta or 
the Jaguar? No, it is not even as well made as the cheap MGA. All of 
these cars exhibit a level of craftsmanship unseen in even the most 
expensive of American cars. But even the cheapest Chevy in those days 
could be counted upon to generally give it's owner close to 100,000 
miles of trouble-free motoring while the Jaguar would, likely as not, 
break-down on it's way home from the dealership. Alfas, Jags, Triumphs, 
MGs, Austin-Healeys, even Ferraris had a reputation for being both 
temperamental and unreliable. To the average American buyer, this lack 
of utter reliability negated all of these other cars' considerable 
charms. The only reason that the Japanese got a foothold in the US 
market that almost NO European marque (except for VW, and guess what? 
VWs were simple and reliable and virtually trouble-free) was ever able 
to do was because the Japanese cars proved to be just as reliable as 
the big American boats that US buyers were accustomed to buying.

So, in the eyes of American buyers, cars must be reliable above all 
things. Now, certain cars, the more expensive and exclusive makes like 
Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Jaguar, Aston-Martin, etc., rise above 
this requirement simply because the cars are expensive, usually looked 
upon as toys, and are bought by the rich who don't care very much about 
the cost of ownership.
>
> Does Alfa have any models out that can do what the
> competition does well?  2004 models come with 12
> speakers, memory seats, leather throughout cabin, one
> touch open and close sunroofs, compass, satellite
> radio, ice/snow traction, 4 wheel drive, traction
> control, cup holders for small, medium, large drinks,
> headlights that can be aimed low or high, trip
> computers, tire rotation/oil change reminders, 7
> yr/100k warranties, holders everywhere for every
> paperwork you can conceive, and reliability(the alfa
> tensioners are pathetic).  On top of this, parts
> availability for decades to come?

Alfas have what most makes have. They have the stereos (usually Bose), 
the computer navigation systems, Cup holders, power memory seats, etc. 
All current Alfas are front wheel drive, but that's about to change for 
some models, anyway. I do not know about Alfa's current warranty.

I go to Italy every year, and for the last 4 years, Alfa has loaned me 
a car. Last spring, they loaned me a new 147GTA. It ran like a top. 
Totally reliable with no problems whatsoever (except that while trying 
to change the navigation system to English, my buddy managed to get the 
system computer 'hung' in the on position. We couldn't get it to turn 
off even by shutting the car down! Finally, a mechanic at an Alfa 
service stop on the Autostrade disconnected the battery for us, and 
reset the system). The year before that I had a  147 with the 1.6 Liter 
Twinspark engine, no real mechanical  problems with it either, and the 
year before that I had a 156 with a 2.5 liter V-6, and the preceding 
year, I had a 156 with a 2.4 liter Diesel. On the first 147 I had, the 
CD changer was kaput (as it was also on the GTA), but the first 147 had 
intermittent sound. The remote radio controls on the steering column 
had a loose connection, and anytime I turned the wheel more than a few 
degrees, the sound cut-out. The two 156s, OTO, were flawless.  I have 
to say at this juncture, that all of the Alfa -provided loaners that I 
have driven for many thousands of klicks in Italy were press cars, and 
probably indifferently treated by members of the motoring press and 
both non-functioning CD changers were Blaupunkt units.

I also read a UK- based newsgroup site devoted to Alfas, and while I 
can only generally comment about my impressions of the various modern 
Alfa models gained over a fortnight each of living with them, other 
denizens of this group are actual owners of current Alfa models. Now, I 
realize that judging the reliability and quality of any car from a 
newsgroup dedicated to that marque is about as good a bellweather as 
going to a web-site named windows-problems.com in order to judge the 
quality of a Dell computer. Nonetheless, I do see a lot of complaints 
about fairly new Alfas with blown engines(!), suspension failures, 
electrical gremlins, and most of all, Selespeed problems (Selespeed is 
Alfa's paddle-shifted electronic sequential transmission).

Alfa left the US market in 1995 because they sold only about 500 cars 
in all of North America in that year. The reason was partly because of 
Alfa's reliability and rust reputation, partially because the Mazda 
Miata was stealing potential Alfa Spider sales, and partially because 
Alfa Romeo simply had nothing to sell here. The 164, while a nice 
sedan, was not what Alfisti wanted, and others, in the market for a 
sport sedan, were put-off by Alfa's reputation as a 
maintenance-intensive, exotic car. The Spider, no matter how tastefully 
face-lifted, was still a 30-year-old design, and it would have been 
difficult for even the most die-hard Alfisti to justify another one, 
just like the other one. So I'd say that Alfa's failure in the US 
market was partially, quality, but equally the fact that in the early 
transitional years of Fiat's takeover, that they simply had nothing to 
sell that many people wanted. Perhaps if they had waited a couple of 
years to make the decision to pull out of the US, the 156, the new V-6 
GTV, and the new V-6 Spider would have turned their fortunes around. 
Who knows. But I do think that the 156 and 156 wagon would have sold 
like hotcakes on looks alone. They are beautiful cars by anyone's 
standards.

>
>
> I believe this would be the starting point for any
> competitor in the U.S. market.  Design and passion
> would come second to most U.S. consumers.  Can Alfa
> today do what everyone is already doing?

Good question. The answer is unknown. Alfas seem to still have quality 
control issues, but how pervasive these are I cannot say. A week or two 
spent on alt.autos.alfa-romeo will have reveal a lot of complaints from 
a lot of owners about failures. Whether or not this actually means 
anything other than the fact that a few Alfas, like a few Mercedes or a 
few BMWs or even a few Buicks and Toyotas have problems, or is just the 
tip-of-the-iceberg in a quality and reliability nightmare, I cannot 
say.


>
> Danny
> dallas, texas
> 91 164L x2
> 83 gtv6 3.0
> 90 civic
>
>
George Graves
'86 GTV-6 3.0 'S'
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