LexFather

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...810259997/1065

"The broadening global financial crisis has forced Fiat Group Automobiles to postpone two targets it had set two years ago for 2010: returning the Alfa Romeo brand to the United States, and selling 300,000 units a year in China.

Alfa's return to the United States will be delayed by a year to 2011, Fiat Group and Fiat Group Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said Thursday."

GFerg

This company has more useless press releases than Honda.

No longer care if they make it here or not.

LexFather

lmfao....didn't know that was possible but I think you are right

marshmallo

Alpha who?

I8ABMR

I think we can wait. They really might want to expand their product line. They made crappy cars back in the day and that why they had to leave the US. I had a girlfriend who had an alfa spider. Lets just say I did most of gthe driving in my hinda because that piece of crap was always having serious engine issues

Lil4X

Alfa, like all European makes (with the notable exception of the VW Beetle) had a pretty miserable service record in the US back in the '50's - early '70's, when stricter bumper laws and emissions controls made it uneconomic to produce a US model. If you think about it, at that time the European driving experience was largely short-haul two lane roads - their vehicles were simply not designed for sustained high speeds on our freeways and interstates. Their small, highly-tuned engines were works of art, but unsuited for the American market.

Today, with the emergence of the European autoroutes, their cars have evolved into much more practical vehicles. Modern manufacturing techniques and quality assurance have vastly improved product quality over the old models. European taxation on engine displacement like the Japanese, has kept engine sizes small for most consumer vehicles, but they retain much of the performance that made them so much fun forty years ago.

I have long expressed a love for the Italian sports car - it would be interesting to see it return to these shores with a better managed and equipped dealer network, a la Toyota/Honda.

I8ABMR

I am intereseted to see as well. I hope they will open up their line a little. I think they will be offering only 2-3 models when they start selling here. One of which is a very exspensive sports coupe

Big Andy

Very true except for the fact that German Autobahns were built before World War II and in the 60s and 70s cars travelled up and down them at speeds in excess of 100mph when the US was trundling along at 55mph? Even the three lane motorways in the UK were derestricted until 1965.
Equally, if you've ever travelled the Italian Autostrada you'll know they don't hang about.

My wife was service receptionist for an Alfa Romeo dealer and would love an Alfa. As she says it's a car you buy with your heart, not your head. Unfortunately, the fact that she was a service receptionist at an Alfa dealership is also the reason she won't buy an Alfa!

Lil4X

Andy, your wife sums up the Alfa ownership experience perfectly! It's all about emotion, if it weren't, the Beetle would now own the world. The Autastrada for me are much like the Autobahn - without the German sense of discipline. Like the high-strung Alfa, they seem to be all about emotion.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

The Milano was a nice car back in the day. I remember it well.. It would be great if they import a small sedan to compete wit the Bimmer 3, Lexus IS, Merc C class here in the states.

Big Andy

You're right - every now and then I get tempted by a 159 or a 156GTA but then she slaps some sense back into me. She's seen too many owners collecting their cars and having to phone their credit card companies to extend their credit limit. The Autostrada are mad and we lost an Italian couple we were friends with in a pile up - but the guy did drive his BMW at 100mph at all times, no matter the traffic so it wasn't a surprise.

Lexmex

I remember them in Mexico and the thing that really hurt them is that their vehicles were always more expensive than comparable makes for the features/power/everything that you got. Peugeot suffered similarly for a while with their upper end before cutting prices, but Alfa never did this.