Sheesh!!
The emotions here are running pretty high, aren't they?
You know, I believe that we are ALL Alfisti and I will tell you why:
PASSION!!! That's why!
Please go back and read all the posts in this thread again. What you will see is that everyone has a very strong opinion about Alfa Romeo, the history, the marque, the mystiques, the myth and the reality! That is what makes us ALL different from those who buy Chevrolet, FIAT, etc...
My opinion? Time doesn't stand still...not for anyone! Whether you like it or not, things change. Alfa Romeo is a company that builds and sells cars...but many of those same people who design, style, engineer and market these cars are Alfisti too...and they always have been. They are, in my opinion, doing a pretty good job right now, and the future of the company producing great cars seems pretty bright to me.
Oh, and by the way, just so everybody gets the history thing right, let's remember that Alfa also produced some vehicles that were not very sporty throughout the same period that they produced the GTA, TZ, TZ2, etc: They built a truck (van in Europe - in various forms) which was used to deliver groceries, cars, and other stuff. They also produced a vehicle like a VW Microbus, a military jeep, several very under-powered diesel Giulia sedans, a few station wagons (estates), etc. Alfa even produced docile family cars in their pre-war heyday! And that tradition has continued into the introduction of the Giulietta series in 1954, the 105 series in 1964, and will continue in the future.
Alfa has a proud heritage, this is true. But that heritage is not just vased on their racing cars of the 1910-1971 period! It is based on the approach that Alfa has had to engineering, tuning, styling and building the cars. They are built with much of that same passion as you all feel. And they are still built that way.
Future Alfa Romeos will hopefully be faster, better handling, more powerful, better quality and more beautiful (and maybe even RWD!!)...I certainly hope so! But, just as they always have, they will also build small economical cars, diesels, family cars and yes, maybe SUVs and who knows??? More trucks?
In my mind, that's OK. And I am glad that all of you are so passionate about this whole question! It shows that the true spirit of Alfa is alive and breathing!!!! You are all infected!
My name is Alex and I am an Alfaholic.
Cheers,