Re: Alfa's return/FWD Alfas

[dsedon@domain.elided]

nicky,

yure certainly right that the dealer quality is what sells cars as much, if not more, than the actual product.  

re: the 164, for me, i dismiss it cuz it's a luxury car, (as michael smith sez - "it's *not* a sports sedan), not my cuppa, really.  if i ever wanted, or could ever afford a new luxury car, tho, you can be certain it would have *at least* awd, tho i'd prefer the simpler rwd layout...

yust in case ya wanted to know... ;~)

regards,

doug s.
=======
   Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 19:04:43 -0700
   From: Nicky Avery <nicky@domain.elided>
   Subject: Re: Alfa's return/FWD Alfas

   Thanks for the Autonews article, Ed Caribou! The article about the Brera
   was linked to this one
   http://europe.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=51627 and I think this
   is interesting as a pointer to where Alfa is at.

   It seems there are two big reasons for the delay in relaunching: lack of
   qualified mechanics in the USA and lack of money in Italy.

   I'm shocked.

   It looks like FIAT has finally listened to what everyone has been
   complaining about for years: FIAT has noticed that the overall standard
   of its dealers falls far short of what the Germans and Japanese have
   gotten out of their dealer networks. FIAT has also noticed that it is
   affecting sales. It seems to have occurred to someone in Italy that just
   signing up a bunch of GM dealers and sending the mechanics on 15 minute
   courses is not going to provide adequate support for relaunching a whole
   slew of models which are even more complex than the 164s. There are very
   few people with good Alfa skills in the USA, used on a daily basis,
   their knowledge is 7 years out of date and they don't work at GM
   dealerships. If Alfa can upgrade or purge its dealers in Europe as GM
   and Ford have done here, there is some hope for continuing growth and
   profits, which brings us to the other lack: money.

   Style, reliability, driving qualities - pick any 2. It is healthy that
   finally FIAT has concluded that a relaunch is going to take more than a
   20 dealerships and a few 1/8 page ads in the Wall Street Journal. I
   suspect they are considering some kind of blanket warranty along the
   lines of Audi's relaunch strategy. There's no point in bringing Alfa
   back to screw it up again. Let them take their time and do it when they
   can get it right. I think a surprisingly large number of people will
   care when Alfa returns with products like the 147 and 156 GTA backed up
   with assurance about service and resale values. Not everyone is so
   dogmatic about what an Alfa *should* be that he cannot get past it to
   see what it is, which brings me to the 164....

   I join Richard and (I think) George in defending the 164. I have to say
   to people who dismiss the 164 because it is FWD that you're being silly.
   If you want a RWD 2- or 2+2 seater sports car, you don't want a 4/5
   passenger FWD sports sedan. If you're disappointed that you can't buy a
   new Giulia or GTV, don't curse the 164. It wasn't designed to be that
   kind of a car and it also doesn't sail very well. However, it is a very
   good 4/5 seat sports sedan.

   Nicky

   ------------------------------

__________________________________________________________________
The NEW Netscape 7.0 browser is now available. Upgrade now! http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp 

Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided