Alfa - Audi comparison

[George Theofanous <gt_theo@domain.elided>]

The Audi story is much different. Audi improved their
quality and reliability immensely with the 4000 and
5000. At that juncture, in the early 80's, quality was
crucial, as automakers struggled to put the 70's
debacles behind them. While Audi was crankng out the
5000 which was a very reliable car, Alfa was putting
out GTV-6's with valve guides doing unholy gymnastics.
The statistics speak for themselves. Also, All the
niggling defects that are not serious for us, but are
viewed as prohibitive for most americans, were not
fixed, such as lights going out all the time, a switch
here or there breaking, etc. When a female friend
enamored of Spiders saw my GTV and gravitated even
more towards buying an Alfa, I asked what she would do
if her tail light went out; if she would fix it
herself, or take it to a shop. She said she would take
it to a shop. I told her she was better off without a
spider then. Also, from the Europeans I have talked to
over here, rust is still an issue for Fiat-Alfas. The
fact is that until the quality issues are addressed
these cars may not sell in the US. We have our own
poor quality Chryslers to buy which will support our
economy as well (I am speaking form the point of view
of your average american, not myself, I'd buy a new
GM-Alfa in a nanosecond).  I do think there would be a
chance for Alfa today. The overall quality of
automobiles has increased so much that even if they
are of poor quality in relation to Japanese and German
offerings, they will still go for 100k miles with no
issues, heck even my GMC Jimmy will do that now, and
they are so much more stylish than Audis et al. The
new 166 is a really handsome sedan, and the 156 still
looks great. The 147 is sooooo much cooler than other
economy offerings anywhere in the world. It seems like
the ugly-as-sin Toyota Matrix type cars are selling
well now, I have a feeling many of these people might
prefer a 147 if it was available. Only the Spider/GTV
is starting to look a little dated in my eyes. The
styring of the Barchetta has held up a little better.

ciao
Giorgio
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