Posts by bevel450
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MiniCooper S. A nice cross between a skateboard and shifter kart, with the bonus feature of real gas mileage ( about 29mpg, only interrupted by some pushing and shoving with upstart German car drivers during which it delivers about 26 mpg. And a lot of smiles.)
Just found that there is a dedicated trailer hitch and trailer system now available for the little thang, so track days are happenin this year.
r.
Just found that there is a dedicated trailer hitch and trailer system now available for the little thang, so track days are happenin this year.
r.
brianmdavis said:
This is the real thang boy and girls....
I AM impressed. Five pages on this thread so far and nothing but pussy cars and blah blah blown and jacked up Detroit crap until now. NOW we're getting somewhere with a real circle track racer.
I truly bow to you Kaos ! ( And I'd love to see Rossi in the world of outlaws !)
YOU DA MAN !
b.
I AM impressed. Five pages on this thread so far and nothing but pussy cars and blah blah blown and jacked up Detroit crap until now. NOW we're getting somewhere with a real circle track racer.
I truly bow to you Kaos ! ( And I'd love to see Rossi in the world of outlaws !)
YOU DA MAN !
b.
kaos said:
The 'busa engined Sprite is a good idea. It had the same original engine as the original Austin/Morris Mini. The British mags have lots of kits for putting the 'Busa engine into the 1,110 lb. Mini to make it roar.
The better ones put a second 'Busa engine in the trunk for a "Twini Mini"
Leave it to the British to do something wild like that.
The better ones put a second 'Busa engine in the trunk for a "Twini Mini"
Leave it to the British to do something wild like that.
grinder96 said:
I agree. They are pretty wonderful and it is a shame that poor quality and a lousy dealer network did them under as a practical purchase option years ago. I had a several of them but my favorite was a black '67 Spider ( with the beautiful boat tail) that had a 4" chop job and lowered, track suspension. There was nothing on the street that looked as threatening as that car.
Too bad that Italian cars got such a bad reputation for quality we may never see Alfas in the US again despite rumors to the contrary.
Too bad that Italian cars got such a bad reputation for quality we may never see Alfas in the US again despite rumors to the contrary.
RotoRooterGuy said:
Franz,
I have heard the same thing and I hope it is true. Alfas, for me anyway, have always been pretty special. But I disagree with your statement that we can't or shouldn't expect them to be (as maintenance free) as a Toyota or Honda.
Sorry, but you are dead wrong if you think that will be enough in the current auto market here. There are several good reasons why it isn't, but consider that they don't have the cache of either Ducati (arguably) or Ferrari ( absolutely) to provide owner sympathy and patience for bad quality bullshit. If they don't come in with at least the reliability and cost of ownership of a BMW, then they better forget about it. The last Alfa that I bought new crapped out all of the exhaust valves within 6,000 miles and the tranny a few oil changes later. Mercifully it was taken from the SoCal highways by a high speed impact.
The best thing about the Alfa was that it introduced me to the jr. executive from FIAT Sales and Service Representative who was assigned to SoCal Alfa Romeo at that time and we ended up playing tennis for several years. I never had a bad quality Alfa again. His name was Luca de Montezemolo. Sure wish I had stayed in touch.
Cheers,
b.
I have heard the same thing and I hope it is true. Alfas, for me anyway, have always been pretty special. But I disagree with your statement that we can't or shouldn't expect them to be (as maintenance free) as a Toyota or Honda.
Sorry, but you are dead wrong if you think that will be enough in the current auto market here. There are several good reasons why it isn't, but consider that they don't have the cache of either Ducati (arguably) or Ferrari ( absolutely) to provide owner sympathy and patience for bad quality bullshit. If they don't come in with at least the reliability and cost of ownership of a BMW, then they better forget about it. The last Alfa that I bought new crapped out all of the exhaust valves within 6,000 miles and the tranny a few oil changes later. Mercifully it was taken from the SoCal highways by a high speed impact.
The best thing about the Alfa was that it introduced me to the jr. executive from FIAT Sales and Service Representative who was assigned to SoCal Alfa Romeo at that time and we ended up playing tennis for several years. I never had a bad quality Alfa again. His name was Luca de Montezemolo. Sure wish I had stayed in touch.
Cheers,
b.
fraz said:Alfa is supposed to come back to the US with the 159 and Brera as early as next year. Their new director came from building the M division at BMW to what it is now and he said US reentry is key to their strategy.
Part of the reason the dealer network tanked was because they were not owned by Fiat at the time. They were owned and operated by the Italian government at the time which was a bad concept no matter how you slice it.
The problem with quality mainly stem from the fact that these are not Toyotas or Hondas. They need regular maintenance and timing belt/tensioners just like our Ducatis. Lots of people drove them into the ground and they got a bad rep. I can state for a fact that I can drive my car at redline ALL DAY LONG and it will not miss a beat. Why? Because I am religious on the timing belts and mechanical maintenance. The cosmetic part and paint... err... that'll happen some day
The new cars are completely different beasts with Saab chassis and GM/Maserati engines and Selectronic transmissions bred from Ferrari. They should be much more user friendly. I have never owned a new car but will be one of the first to buy a 4wd 159 when they get here!!!
BTW... http://www.alfaromeo.com/cgi-bin/pb...yOID=-1073751366&contentOID=1073827171&page=6
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