Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione.....'Authentic Emotions'

[Broyax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gtam Alfa Romeo represents Italy and I'm proud to be italian. Think about it!!!!!!!

[Alfiat]

While in Holland I spoke to a company employee who is quite well placed.
He told me 2 important things about the 8C.

The good news: Maserati dealers are now able to take pre orders...
Bad... Spider was canceled.

I told him I had heard that 250 of each car would be made. He said that was the initial plan but they were unable to make the Spider work. To flexible or too heavy.

I was extremely disappointed. The spider was my favorite of the two.. but he seemed to be very sure of his information.

But, this being Alfa Romeo you never know!

[Nipper]

Quote:

I don't care you're italian or japanese or swedish. You don't have to be proud being italian since Fiat assassinated Alfa !!

[Russ Bellinis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nipper What is wrong with fiat? If there is one brand of car that could be compared with alfas of old it would be fiat. I'm pleased fiat own Alfa, heck I'm pleased Fiat own Ferrari. It's better than Lamborghini being owned by audi, Lamborghini is as good as dead. At least Alfa is owned by a company which used to make , and still may make, exciting cars that had the Italian spirit which car magazines praise. The fact of the matter is that Italian cars have a quality which delivers a driving experience that no other country can produce and if that means putting up with unreliable parts, rust and everything else Italian cars are mocked about so be it. You only live once

[Alfiat]

The new Fiat Grande Punto is a fantastic looking and driving car. It's selling like mad in Europe and is going to be the basis for the new Alfa JR.

[Quadrifoglio156]

Becouse of Maser front but quality is as always "fiat quality"

[Broyax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nipper What is wrong with fiat? If there is one brand of car that could be compared with alfas of old it would be fiat. I'm pleased fiat own Alfa, heck I'm pleased Fiat own Ferrari. It's better than Lamborghini being owned by audi, Lamborghini is as good as dead. At least Alfa is owned by a company which used to make , and still may make, exciting cars that had the Italian spirit which car magazines praise. The fact of the matter is that Italian cars have a quality which delivers a driving experience that no other country can produce and if that means putting up with unreliable parts, rust and everything else Italian cars are mocked about so be it. You only live once

[Berlinista]

no no no, a Lada is a downrated Fiat, not the other way around!

[Denny164l]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfiat The new Fiat Grande Punto is a fantastic looking and driving car. It's selling like mad in Europe and is going to be the basis for the new Alfa JR.

[dave_fonz_164]

fiats have always been tanks, the quality wasnt always there, but they were simple and realible, my relatives rave about the reliability of their Fiats, its the finishing that lacked in the past.

[Nipper]

I personally don't think fiats are unreliable, I'm just saying that people who don't like fiats think they are all unreliable. Half the time the owner is responsible for the unreliability of their cars. People know that a fiat isn't going to be as bullet proof as say a honda civic, but you drive a honda civic to get to places where as you drive a fiat (or any Italian car for that matter) for the fun of it. By the way there are plenty of outstanding looking fiats designed by the likes of Giugiaro, Pininfarina and Bertone.

[Denny164l]

I agree Nipper I dont know how these cars people say are unreliable.... Bro let me tell you somthing I saw with my own eyes man. You remember the 1980s-1990s little hatch back FIAT 600.. Man when I go on vacations down to the dominican republic let tell you that some of the roads down there are horrible and its very hot and these little cars just get up and go till this day these little facken cars undestructible man down there they are used as taxis carpool taxi which is the most stressfull and the drivers put the keys in and drive away I dont know why here people say they are unreliable. next vacation Im going to make sure I take pics of these cars and show what the go through and how they are used.

[kroehl]

My GF's 1975 FIAT 500 lived its life in Firenze and a hard one it was too, judging by the scrapes, bumps and dents in the bodywork. It subsequently spent 8 years living in a shed in Denmark, standing absolutely still apart from occasionally being pushed around to make room for the boats which it shared space with. The shed was also a grain drying facility so lots of dust. When we picked it up it looked like a barn find, which in some ways it was.

Aside from the bodywork, all I had to do to make it run and run well was to change the points and clean the carburettor. That's it. Nothing else. Once running I checked the fuses and lights and changed two rubber blocks which support the gearbox and it went through import inpection here in Holland (which is very tough) without further remarks.

Unreliable? I don't think so. These cars were made to run and keep running with simple maintenance and little cost in rural conditions.

Current models are, granted, a little more complex and have a lot more creature comforts. After some years, having been completely lost in the woods making large cars of questionable design which also didn't sell, FIAT is back doing what they do best: Building small, affordable yet extremely reliable and tough cars for urban or rural use. No autobahn stormers, no luxobarges but good, zippy little cars with great design and simple and robust mechanics.

They sell and they sell a lot.

Giugiaro stated at one point that the car he was most pleased with of all the cars he had designed through the years was the FIAT Panda because of its functional simplicity and economy of space. That's also the essence of small FIATs and why they are so good.

When my father was living in Nigeria in the 1950s he, in the beginning, worked for the BCS and had Austins and Vauxhalls as company cars. These would break down at very small intervals - not due to their engines failing or Lucas electrics giving out but because the suspension couldn't take the pounding on the poor roads and would simply be torn from under the car or collapse. The FIATs and Peugeots used by others, however, would just keep going across the washboard-like roads. Obviously the underside of the dash was made from some kind of cardboard and would soon hang like a hammock with all the wires in a tangle, the windows would disappear into the doors every so often and chrome strips, mirrors and badges would rattle off quickly and disappear but the cars kept going in these conditions.

/offtopic

[py105]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ Bellinis I would agree with everything you said except "unreliable parts." If you think Italian cars have unreliable parts, you haven't tried British!