knihc2008

iTrader: (1)

I'd buy a 159 over the IS I have now. Oh well, too late :/ I think the 159 is dead sexy.

videcormeum

I think the 159 will probably be introduced in the US w/ a base price of around $40,000. Price will depend heavily on the engine and drivetrain (fwd, 4wd, manual, auto) configuration and options selected, but the cars will probably approach $70,000 fully loaded. I think that's a reasonable price slot for Alpha's flagship sedan in the US market.

M.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

I can remember the Milano and 164 sedans here in the U.S. in the early 90's. Loved the Milano

mmarshall

Yes, the 164 was a nice car......but its one glaring fault ( besides the ubiquitous Italian unreliability ) was the rows of almost identical buttons across the dash...you couldn't tell what you were doing without taking your eyes off the road too long and squinting.

Alfa got out of the U.S. market in 1994-95 due to the tightening of safety and smog regulations at that time........they didn't feel they sold enough cars here ( about 1000 or so in 1994 ) to justify the expense of meeting them.

RON430

Without telling you how long ago it was, my first real experience with Alfa was deciding whether to buy a GTA or a 2002. The GTA would run away and hide from the bimmer but the bimmer was much, much better built than the Alfa. I don't think Alfa's can scoot away from equivalent bimmers anymore but if they still have worse build quality, you need to be careful. As for Alfa coming back to the US, this is just the last in a long list of "Alfa Returns" announcements. Maybe its true, maybe its smoke like the rest have been. I guess we will see.

GlobeCLK

iTrader: (5)

Speaking of ARs, I remember they had the "Q-System" sportshift automatic before. It's basically sport-shifting AT with the "H" shifting pattern that simulates MT feel. Very cool indeed.

UberNoob

thats cool
i just hope ppl dont keep kicking the e-brake or brake thinking its a clutch
lol that would be disastrous

but then the e-brake is probably an ordinary hand brake behind the shift?

nice cars
good to see them return to north america

but where is Citroen???
i want my C6!!

spwolf

kind of... their PR's say it is improvement, 3-5 year reliability shows they are worst cars on the roads in the europe.

Outside, 159 is awesome. It looks pretty darn nice. I personally did not like the interior when I sat in it, and back room is extremly small. Interior looked like Fiat tried to hard.

spwolf

whoa, whoa, whoa... nice. $40k eh? Alfa is around 25k car. 70k for 159? Wow.
159 is 3 series/A4 competitor... slightly cheaper than both, but with FWD and more equipment.

mmarshall

Traditionally Fiats and Yugos, not Alfas, have been Europe's most unreliable cars. ( That makes me wonder why Enzo Ferrari himself owned a Fiat as his daily driver ). The Yugo was a way-outdated POS Fiat 128 built under license. In fact, the Serbs may have done much of Europe a favor when they attacked and blew up the Yugo plant during the Yugoslav war....that got rid of one of Continent's worst lemons.

( I'm being faceous, of course...I know many innocent peope were hurt or killed in that campaign )

videcormeum

Well, I'm assuming Alfa will not offer their usual 5-10 powertrain options when they bring the cars over here (as you know, most European makes dump/standardize options and drivetrains when they US spec their cars). So I'm guessing we'll see the 3.2 liter V6 as base power for the 159 and possibly even their AWD system standard. There may even be GM-provided V8 (Northstar) engines available (my guess, as optional) in these cars by the time they hit the US market - as Fiat Group has a supply arrangement w/ GM.

So my estimate is based on those assumptions AND sales price in Euros of these vehicles (in Italy), a guess as to how much limiting the variability in manufacturing them will cut the price, and an attempt to discern Alfa's target. So Don't quote me.

I think Alfa builds gorgeous cars though and I'm excited to see their return.

M.

mmarshall

No arguements there. Italy would rule the world if a seductive design was as important as auto reliability.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

They should bring the Spyder back to the states as well. Price point should be in the mid 30's to garner sales.

spwolf

I am constantly amazed how you have opinions of which you really dont know many facts :-).

Of course, Yugo plant is in Serbia, and Serbs did not attack it - NATO did, to pressure Serbia from fighting Albanians in Kosovo. Furthermore, Yugo's were never really exported to Western Europe, so were not covered by reliability studies. Nevertheless, getting more than 60,000 miles out of Yugo, without multiple failures is considered pretty good.

And yes, Alfa's are currently one of the most unreliable cars in Europe, together with sister Fiat vehicles which they share many parts with.

spwolf

Again, Alfa's are FWD vehicles, that cost less than A4's and 3 series, with FWD and more equipment. Only top of the line models are AWD (torsen c, hello Toyota), and 3.2 V6, far away from base. To Alfa, their 3.2V6 AWD model is same as what S4 is to Audi - low numbers, high reputation vehicle. In fact, Alfa's are most famous for their 4cly engines.

Lets put it this way - if you think 159 should be an 40k vehicle, then base A4 should be 45k vehicle.
Cars in Europe are heavily taxed, so looking at european prices at face value gives you wrong idea of the actual price.

Alfa 159 should start at around 25k-26k and it might stand an chance in US market. Build, material and overall quality are far away from the German vehicles, even if outside style is evident (again, interior didnt look that special in person).