On Aug 29, 2005, at 9:50 AM, keithw wrote:
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
For higher end cars and SUVs, a V8 engine is a big plus in US
auto marketing. It has little to do with actual performance
needs (although for some vehicles, added torque and smoothness of
a larger displacement V8 helps) but the US auto market has a long
history of favoring the V8 engine configuration.
I would love to see Alfa Romeo return to this market and be
successful. I'd hate to see them return and become a niche market
flop due to the same lack of understanding of the US that caused
them to pull out in the first place.
You got that one wrong, Godfrey.
It was the U.S. Government that sank Alfa in this country.
You know, the obeisance to Federal Auto Pollution Standards.
Hang-on, add-on compliance crap that crippled an engine and a car's
performance.
At that time, Alfa didn't like their sporting image destroyed, so
they said the heck with it.
In addition to which, adhering to US Gov't regulations was not only
quite costly, but it made their otherwise world class flexible and
nimble cars run like crap, so that was it...
I disagree.
Alfa Romeo put a tremendous amount of effort into meeting the US
specs post-1968 and did a very good job of it with the SPICA
mechanical fuel injection on the old four cylinder engine. Over the
next decade or so, unlike most other manufacturers, they didn't
advance their engine technology much and the performance declined,
particularly with respect to the antique but delightful old Spider
engine. The Spider chassis and body, designed in 1965, was simply
unable to be brought to compliance with modern requirements in crash
protection, and expected levels of interior luxury, without adding a
lot of weight too, which cut performance even further. They needed a
much more aggressive engine/chassis development effort. The Spider
engine and chassis, even in 1966, was really almost 10 years old in
basic design already.
The release of the transaxle Alfetta chassis and, later, the V6 in
the Alfetta GT and Milano, then the FWD 164 sedans in the mid-late
1980s, produced a competitive automobile, technically, but more and
more of the focus for success in the US has been on the quality of
the dealer network and overall reliability. There, on both counts,
Alfa Romeo fell down consistently compared to BMW, Mercedes, and
other marques that they were competing against (not to mention
Toyota, Nissan, etc). With such a track record and continual money
management problems back at home, and the buyout by FIAT, their
position in the US market eroded to an obscure niche. It's as if Alfa
Romeo and then FIAT just didn't 'get' the US market's points of
focus, or simply weren't interested enough to care.
To place the blame for their failure here purely on US governmental
intrusion, which I agree was more than just heavy handed, isn't truly
fair. Alfa Romeo, like several other Italian vehicle marques I'm very
well acquainted with, were doing a good job of putting themself out
of business by poor business management practices even before the US
emissions regulations went in. Other manufacturers who had to meet
the same regulations, who took the US market seriously and adapted to
it well, who ran their Business more successfully, did much better.
European regulations today are not that much different from US
regulations (they differ a lot in details, but not in overall
requirements ... and in some senses, the EU regulations are more
constrictive than US regulations) so the measure of whether a marque
is going to be successful in the US is more contingent upon how much
the automaker wants to succeed in this market along with how well
they read the real requirements (MARKETING needs!!) and how much
money they put on the table to make it happen.
Modern Alfas are wonderful: I've rented the 146, 156 and 149 on
occasion when I've been in the UK or Europe, they are wonderful to
drive and have every bit of the joy that my fondly remembered
Guilietta, Spider 1750, Spider 2000 and others have had.
They work a heck of a lot better too, dammit. I want one.
Godfrey
PS: Same goes for Citroëns. I had the pleasure of using a cheesy
little Citroën Berlingo with a turbo diesel while I was visiting the
Isle of Man this summer. I *wish* I could get a practical, roomy and
economical little slug like that here that wasn't also a bloated
monster. The Berlingo was quick enough, economical enough,
comfortable enough and fit well even with the tiny village streets on
the Isle. My friend who owns is has been very pleased with the
minimal service it's needed too. But if Citroën and FIAT and Peugeot
and all the others don't see a profit incentive compelling enough to
care, or just feel they have all they can handle in their current
markets, they don't make it here.
