/edit 1/21/16
The enigmatic logo on this steering wheel has now been positively identified. It is not Allied Signal, but Magna International, a major manufacturer of steering wheels and air bags located in Aschaffenburg Germany.
Here is the lineage:
1974 - Kolbenschmidt (KS) bought a company in Aschaffenburg that produced complete steering wheels and also later airbags (Bayern-Chemie)
1993 - Kolbenschmidt sold this division to Magna
1996 - Magna sold this division to TRW
The wheels were manufactured complete with airbags and covered leather.
In a nutshell: the first leather covered airbag wheels for the 164 are Kolbenschmidt. The early face-lift leather (or PVC) covered wheels are also Kolbenschmidt; latter face-lift wheels are Magna, virtually unchanged. The maker of the wooden rim upgrade is still an open question.
I am grateful to Mr. Dittmar Schuster, Corporate Communications at Kolbenschmidt AG for shedding light on this subject. /edit
The thread Catalog of factory and aftermarket steering wheels, started by marksgtv on the Alfa BB in January of 2011 gives a wonderful overview of hand-crafted steering wheels for many of the most exotic marks including Alfa Romeo. Recommended reading for all.
The Italian specialty steering wheel maker “Momo”, formed by Gianpiero Moretti in 1964, had a very close relationship with Alfa. That is, until about 1990 when things get a little foggy. While the early wheels are from the era of “in-your-face motoring”—before the adoption of strict federal safety regulations (read: airbag and soft pvc crash absorbing material)—around 1990 things begin to change.
Perhaps Gianpiero Moretti, saw this change coming when he sold Momo to Breed Technologies in 1995, a huge manufacturer of airbags, crash sensors, steering wheels and seat belts. Breed gobbled up many smaller firms in the 90s, including AlliedSignal, an airbag manufacturer. Allen Breed, its founder, author of some 90 patents, was acclaimed by Wall Street “entrepeneur of the Year 1995”. By 1999 things soured so much that the company was forced to file for bankruptcy. That’s a familiar Wall Street story, no?, unbridled growth, too much debt, in a highly competitive market, company goes bust. Luckily Momo survived and today, after going through some hard times is thriving so it appears, owned by a group of enthusiastic motoring investors.
The very rare 4-spoke mahogany and leather steering wheel (381 mm) with integrated airbag module that Alfa offered on the 164 Super in 1996 and 1997 has always intrigued me.
While using the exact form and airbag module of the non-wooden type introduced around 1994, the mahogany work and leather cuffs are indeed artisan, the option costed approximately 770 Euro, a pretty hefty sum for 1996-97. It’s certainly conceivable that it is from the Momo workshop, yet there is no Momo badging or labeling anywhere, externally or internally.
Contrast this with the 368 mm mahogany and leather 3-spoke steering wheel for the Alfa 156, introduced around 1999, which is clearly stamped “Momo” on the back side of the wheel frame.
I’ve mounted several of the 164 mahogany wheels and never really paid much attention to any of the obscure markings inside. Well, my curiosity was killing me so I asked Muhammet of autoteile74 who kindly sent me a photo of the inside frame. Since the photo is unclear I’ve annotated some of the pertinent tidbits of information.
At the very top center, cast in the aluminum frame is “Alfa Romeo” in its distinct script. To the left there appears the casting “DE” and to the right an enigmatic logo. Muhammet guessed it could be “Mopar”, but looking closely it seems to be composed of the letters “A L L” with a dot between the two Ls, probably signifying an “i”. /edit [incorrect! it is "MI" for Magna International] /edit
Searching airbag history from this period I think I found the answer: AlliedSignal. The company was a major manufacturer of airbags and also named in patents for integrated airbag steering wheels and horn mechanisms. Here for example is a link to a patent (obviously not for this wheel) that includes AlliedSignal, published Nov. 2, 1995:
https://www.google.com/patents/DE4415765A1?cl=pt
As mentioned AlliedSignal was bought by Breed Technologies in 1997, just one year after it acquired Momo. Looking at the photo again you see that the Allied logo is repeated in the lower part of the frame on a white sticker with part number. This particular wheel is date-stamped "Feb. 1997".
So all put together—Breed owning Momo by 1996 and Breed becoming the new owners of AlliedSignal, it seems pretty clear that we have our answers:
Alfa Romeo contracted the work to a variety of firms, to... A̶l̶l̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶S̶i̶g̶n̶a̶l̶ Magna International, for the integrated airbag/steering wheel module, horn mechanism, & molded plastic; Siemens, for airbag ecu, software and clockspring; the skeleton of the wheel is a product of DE (Germany), and Momo, now under the ownership of Breed probably fitted the mahogany wood rim with leather trim, likely the last step in the manufacturing sequence.
But is it a leap of faith to say that Momo supplied the wood and leather work? Based on the similarity of this specialty 4-spoke 164 wheel with that of the Alfa 156 3-spoke wheel, and the fact that Momo had a long-running relationship with Alfa for earlier non-airbag wheels, I think it's quite plausible that Momo was the firm who did it. And here, another document I found, dated June 3, 1996, summarizes Breed Technologies aim:
BREED INTRODUCES INTEGRATED STEERING WHEEL TECHNOLOGY - Free Online Library
So, very much like the nature of the Alfa 164 itself, this unusual steering wheel appears to be the product of different companies based in different countries with Momo doing the final touches (my hypothesis until someone more knowledgeable and who lived these years tells his story).
The enigmatic logo on this steering wheel has now been positively identified. It is not Allied Signal, but Magna International, a major manufacturer of steering wheels and air bags located in Aschaffenburg Germany.
Here is the lineage:
1974 - Kolbenschmidt (KS) bought a company in Aschaffenburg that produced complete steering wheels and also later airbags (Bayern-Chemie)
1993 - Kolbenschmidt sold this division to Magna
1996 - Magna sold this division to TRW
The wheels were manufactured complete with airbags and covered leather.
In a nutshell: the first leather covered airbag wheels for the 164 are Kolbenschmidt. The early face-lift leather (or PVC) covered wheels are also Kolbenschmidt; latter face-lift wheels are Magna, virtually unchanged. The maker of the wooden rim upgrade is still an open question.
I am grateful to Mr. Dittmar Schuster, Corporate Communications at Kolbenschmidt AG for shedding light on this subject. /edit
The thread Catalog of factory and aftermarket steering wheels, started by marksgtv on the Alfa BB in January of 2011 gives a wonderful overview of hand-crafted steering wheels for many of the most exotic marks including Alfa Romeo. Recommended reading for all.
The Italian specialty steering wheel maker “Momo”, formed by Gianpiero Moretti in 1964, had a very close relationship with Alfa. That is, until about 1990 when things get a little foggy. While the early wheels are from the era of “in-your-face motoring”—before the adoption of strict federal safety regulations (read: airbag and soft pvc crash absorbing material)—around 1990 things begin to change.
Perhaps Gianpiero Moretti, saw this change coming when he sold Momo to Breed Technologies in 1995, a huge manufacturer of airbags, crash sensors, steering wheels and seat belts. Breed gobbled up many smaller firms in the 90s, including AlliedSignal, an airbag manufacturer. Allen Breed, its founder, author of some 90 patents, was acclaimed by Wall Street “entrepeneur of the Year 1995”. By 1999 things soured so much that the company was forced to file for bankruptcy. That’s a familiar Wall Street story, no?, unbridled growth, too much debt, in a highly competitive market, company goes bust. Luckily Momo survived and today, after going through some hard times is thriving so it appears, owned by a group of enthusiastic motoring investors.
The very rare 4-spoke mahogany and leather steering wheel (381 mm) with integrated airbag module that Alfa offered on the 164 Super in 1996 and 1997 has always intrigued me.
While using the exact form and airbag module of the non-wooden type introduced around 1994, the mahogany work and leather cuffs are indeed artisan, the option costed approximately 770 Euro, a pretty hefty sum for 1996-97. It’s certainly conceivable that it is from the Momo workshop, yet there is no Momo badging or labeling anywhere, externally or internally.
Contrast this with the 368 mm mahogany and leather 3-spoke steering wheel for the Alfa 156, introduced around 1999, which is clearly stamped “Momo” on the back side of the wheel frame.
I’ve mounted several of the 164 mahogany wheels and never really paid much attention to any of the obscure markings inside. Well, my curiosity was killing me so I asked Muhammet of autoteile74 who kindly sent me a photo of the inside frame. Since the photo is unclear I’ve annotated some of the pertinent tidbits of information.
At the very top center, cast in the aluminum frame is “Alfa Romeo” in its distinct script. To the left there appears the casting “DE” and to the right an enigmatic logo. Muhammet guessed it could be “Mopar”, but looking closely it seems to be composed of the letters “A L L” with a dot between the two Ls, probably signifying an “i”. /edit [incorrect! it is "MI" for Magna International] /edit
Searching airbag history from this period I think I found the answer: AlliedSignal. The company was a major manufacturer of airbags and also named in patents for integrated airbag steering wheels and horn mechanisms. Here for example is a link to a patent (obviously not for this wheel) that includes AlliedSignal, published Nov. 2, 1995:
https://www.google.com/patents/DE4415765A1?cl=pt
As mentioned AlliedSignal was bought by Breed Technologies in 1997, just one year after it acquired Momo. Looking at the photo again you see that the Allied logo is repeated in the lower part of the frame on a white sticker with part number. This particular wheel is date-stamped "Feb. 1997".
So all put together—Breed owning Momo by 1996 and Breed becoming the new owners of AlliedSignal, it seems pretty clear that we have our answers:
Alfa Romeo contracted the work to a variety of firms, to... A̶l̶l̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶S̶i̶g̶n̶a̶l̶ Magna International, for the integrated airbag/steering wheel module, horn mechanism, & molded plastic; Siemens, for airbag ecu, software and clockspring; the skeleton of the wheel is a product of DE (Germany), and Momo, now under the ownership of Breed probably fitted the mahogany wood rim with leather trim, likely the last step in the manufacturing sequence.
But is it a leap of faith to say that Momo supplied the wood and leather work? Based on the similarity of this specialty 4-spoke 164 wheel with that of the Alfa 156 3-spoke wheel, and the fact that Momo had a long-running relationship with Alfa for earlier non-airbag wheels, I think it's quite plausible that Momo was the firm who did it. And here, another document I found, dated June 3, 1996, summarizes Breed Technologies aim:
"MOMO SpA, a BREED subsidiary, is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of the finest quality wood and leather trimmed steering wheels. This high-end craftsmanship, coupled with BREED's advancements in complete airbag system technologies will allow the Company to offer Original Equipment Manufacturers and the aftermarket industry, a complete, high quality integrated product."
BREED INTRODUCES INTEGRATED STEERING WHEEL TECHNOLOGY - Free Online Library
So, very much like the nature of the Alfa 164 itself, this unusual steering wheel appears to be the product of different companies based in different countries with Momo doing the final touches (my hypothesis until someone more knowledgeable and who lived these years tells his story).