10-02-2005, 03:13 PM
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Aghevli,
I don't know where you live, but have you tried any of the latest alfas (156, 147, and GTAs)? Yes, they are based on fiat (bravo/brava) but thanks god, alfa knows how to make "fun" FWD car. After all, it's been more than 30 years since the first FWD alfa, alfasud, came out to the compact car market and astonished everyone with its cannot-believe-it's-FWD handling (and its sheetmetal that's already rusty before it left the production line  ). Other FWD alfas that followed alfasud such as 33, 164, 145 boxer, 156, 147... they are head and shoulders above all other FWD cars (I didn't include 155 and non-boxer 145 because they handled exactly like fiat tipo...)! They are not the fastest, but what other FWD car give you driving preasure when you're driving in the city? And even if it's not alfa, FWD car can be fun to drive, such as peugeot 205GTI (this one's not available in the U.S. either)... As I mentioned in the previous thread, alfa DNA is still there, no matter which axle is driven by the engine!!
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[SIZE="3"][B][FONT="Arial"]Taiga [I]"Tiger"[/I] Inoue[/FONT][/B][/SIZE]
1991 Spider Veloce/1967 Sprint GTV (in Japan  )/1970 300SEL 6.3 (in Japan too  )
My mother owns 25 alfas 
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10-02-2005, 03:42 PM
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lets not make this a bmw vs alfa thread, as much as im biased towards alfa and love them, there are many more convincing arguments for the bavarian cars.......ahummmm m3,m5,m6.......
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Current: 89' Milano Gold(sold)
Next: 164 S
Be warned though, Alfas can have a strange effect on owners; ‘Alfaholic’ a recognised condition among car enthusiasts
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10-02-2005, 04:12 PM
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 Quote:
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Originally Posted by dave_fonz_164
lets not make this a bmw vs alfa thread, as much as im biased towards alfa and love them, there are many more convincing arguments for the bavarian cars.......ahummmm m3,m5,m6.......
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P.S. When I used to drive my old '67 GTV, so many people asked me if the car is datsun  . In case if you are wondering, yes, my car did have alfa grill!!
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[SIZE="3"][B][FONT="Arial"]Taiga [I]"Tiger"[/I] Inoue[/FONT][/B][/SIZE]
1991 Spider Veloce/1967 Sprint GTV (in Japan )/1970 300SEL 6.3 (in Japan too )
My mother owns 25 alfas
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10-02-2005, 05:26 PM
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I will agree that some FWD cars can be fun. Alfa Suds, 205 GTIs and Lancia Fulvias come to mind. I have to admit that I was never too impressed with the 33. I have no idea if the 1er is fun to drive or not - but like it or not - BMW sometimes make fun to drive cars. 2002s, E30s (especially the 318 and M3) and Z3 Coupe for example.
At the end of the day - it has been a long time since I bought my first and last FWD car - and I suspect it will be a long time before that happens again - no matter what badge they put on the grill.
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Past: '88 Spider
Present: No Alfas
Last edited by rloewy; 10-02-2005 at 05:31 PM.
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10-02-2005, 06:26 PM
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by tiger0529
Aghevli,
I don't know where you live, but have you tried any of the latest alfas (156, 147, and GTAs)? Yes, they are based on fiat (bravo/brava) but thanks god, alfa knows how to make "fun" FWD car.
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On many levels, I think that BMW is the kind of car that Alfa should be. I love Alfa but they do have financial limitations that keep them from being all that its serpent badge use to represent long ago. I'm sorry but, as far as I'm concerned, Alfa deserves to be more than just a luxury Fiat with FWD. This is an opinion that I stand by no matter how "fun" the new Alfas are.
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10-02-2005, 06:28 PM
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by tiger0529
BMW, AUDI or PORSCHE... This is alfa spider!! Why do they have to list the names of the cars that I hate ??
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Believe or not, Alfas can peacefully coexist with Porsches and Audis.
My wife's daily driver is an 01 A4 Avant and one of my other toys is
a 1963 Porsche 356 Super 90.
So far, I have not heard them yelling at each other in the garage. 
Best regards
Hans
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Alfasud Giardinetta, Alfa 90 2.0 V6, Alfa Sei Turbodiesel, Alfa 33 Absolute 1.7 8V
Hmmm, what's an Alpha Romero?? 
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10-02-2005, 07:07 PM
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by alfasudinusa
Believe or not, Alfas can peacefully coexist with Porsches and Audis.
My wife's daily driver is an 01 A4 Avant and one of my other toys is
a 1963 Porsche 356 Super 90.
So far, I have not heard them yelling at each other in the garage.
Best regards
Hans |
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[SIZE="3"][B][FONT="Arial"]Taiga [I]"Tiger"[/I] Inoue[/FONT][/B][/SIZE]
1991 Spider Veloce/1967 Sprint GTV (in Japan )/1970 300SEL 6.3 (in Japan too )
My mother owns 25 alfas
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10-02-2005, 07:34 PM
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Aghevli
I live in the United States but I am Italian and the last time I was in Italy (2004) I was able to drive a 156. Yes, its fun but I can easily say the same thing about a VW Golf Convertible.
On many levels, I think that BMW is the kind of car that Alfa should be. I love Alfa but they do have financial limitations that keep them from being all that its serpent badge use to represent long ago. I'm sorry but, as far as I'm concerned, Alfa deserves to be more than just a luxury Fiat with FWD. This is an opinion that I stand by no matter how "fun" the new Alfas are.
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[SIZE="3"][B][FONT="Arial"]Taiga [I]"Tiger"[/I] Inoue[/FONT][/B][/SIZE]
1991 Spider Veloce/1967 Sprint GTV (in Japan )/1970 300SEL 6.3 (in Japan too )
My mother owns 25 alfas
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10-02-2005, 08:02 PM
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Location: Adelaide, South Australia
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I am mad that when I went to Italy I did not have the appreciation for alfas that I have now (granted I was only 16 and still thought holdens were the best... eeek!)
However, looking through my photos I unknowingly took a few with some in the background.... 75's, 164's... mainly the older ones.
I was in Melbourne recently and couldn't believe the amount of 156's and 147's driving around there. That is actually Alfa heaven over there!
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[COLOR=Magenta]Quadrifoglio Rosa[/COLOR]
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10-03-2005, 04:59 PM
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by tiger0529
I wonder what would have happened to alfa if ford purchased alfa instead of fiat, in 1987. GTV/Spider sharing components with mustang, a "berlina" that's merely a badge-engineering model of taurus (or 500)....
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If Ford had bought Alfa then Alfa Spiders would have shared many components with the first generation Miata (since Ford has a controlling interest in Mazda). This would've made the Alfa Spider, in all likelyhood, a luxury Mazda.
Or better yet, Ford would've seen no need to develop the Miata because it would've acquired profit rights to the Alfa Spider in 1987 and maybe instead of Miatas selling like hotcakes throughout the 90's, we would've seen redesigned Alfa Spiders all over the place (in America at least).
Quote:
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Originally Posted by tiger0529
or even worse, ford might have pulled the "alfa" plug off, to let the historical Italian make we love join with oldsmobile, rover,... NO, I don't even want to know!! .
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And some people here believe that this wouldn't have been a bad idea.
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10-03-2005, 06:00 PM
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I've owned BMW, 540 and Audi S4 and they are definitely great cars especially the Audi with awd, but that BMW on page 1 is stinking ugly...it looks like a Hyundai! 
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87 Maserati Biturbo Spyder, 26k miles
91 Alfa Romeo 164S, 40k miles
96 Corvette Grand Sport, 10k miles
Former Alfa's (Dads)
59 Giulietta Sprint
65 2600 Sprint
74 Berlina 2000
76 GTV
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10-04-2005, 12:12 PM
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Talk about thread hijack...
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1994 Spider Veloce Ce (#88 of 190) 13K Miles
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10-04-2005, 01:02 PM
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The 147 is really great looking. I especially like the way they hid the rear door handles on the 5-door - I looked closely at one for probably a solid minute before I realized it wasn't a 3 door. There's some pretty stiff competition here in that segment, though, especially the Mazda3. It's way better looking than the 1-series, and not too far behind the 147, drives great, is available as a sedan OR 5-door, and is a heckuva lot cheaper than either the Bimmer or the Alfa.
-Jason
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Jason Arrington
'60 Giulietta Spider
'74 Spider - For Sale
'67 Super project
'98 M3 Sedan
'04 Mazda TurboCumminsSuperDieselMax MPV (Alfa tow rig)
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10-04-2005, 02:39 PM
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by rloewy
While I agree that the 147 is a better looking car than the 1er - at least the Bimmer drives the rear wheels, as god intended...
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Tarek Sharaf
[I][COLOR=Red][FONT=Garamond][B]2000 GTV '73 Parts car for now
[COLOR=DarkGreen]1750 GT Veloce '72[/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/I][/B]
[COLOR=Blue][B]Citroen Xsara 1.6 '02 Everyday car[/B][/COLOR]
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10-04-2005, 03:20 PM
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my guess, in the near future, with Alfa-Maserati working together, i see a heavier influence from Maserati on highpowered versions, rather than small fwd Maseratis....lolol
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Current: 89' Milano Gold(sold)
Next: 164 S
Be warned though, Alfas can have a strange effect on owners; ‘Alfaholic’ a recognised condition among car enthusiasts
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