Discount Steel from behind the Iron Curtain!

Many jokes are made about vintage Alfas' propensity to rust out.  But it's no joke that these cars were built from very low quality Soviet steel in the 70s.  I recently found this alarming photo of the roof of a badly abused Alfetta GT Coupe.  For those who want to call it a myth, here's your evidence! There are bombed out Soviet tank carcasses in Afghanistan in better shape than this heap!

via the Alfa BB

Perhaps the sky isn't falling?

Given the animated discussion on the previous thread, I thought Car and Driver's chart below might put some of this in perspective.  It is true that Alfa is closer than ever to re-entering the US market, and it's a verifiable fact that the FIAT 500 was at the New York Auto Show and most certainly will soon be available here.  However, given the history of promises that Alfa's return is imminent, perhaps once again it's just a matter of blowing smoke...

via Car and Driver

Dear FIAT-CHRYSLER - Please sell Alfa Romeo to VW Group NOW!

The past few days, the internets have been swimming with stories I have found deeply disturbing.  First there are the confirmed rumors of an US Market Alfa Romeo SUV based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee.  Then yesterday, the Dodge Viper-based Alfa TZ3 Stradale was announced.  "The Heart of a Viper and Soul of an Alfa" was the tagline in the press release.  Excuse me?  What?  Since when is it ok to drop a body onto another manufacturer's chassis and call it an Alfa? Sure it's not an ugly car, but neither is it an Alfa!

To see this steroid-addled monstrosity next to the original 4-cylinder Tubolare Zagatos is especially humiliating to Alfa Romeo, which has always prided itself on its proprietary engines as well as unique chassis dynamics.  Even the least attractive, lowest end Alfa will drive and sound like magic.  That is the core ethos of the brand. And if this Viper TZ3 is any indicator of the way the wind is blowing, I think we'll soon see the end of Alfa Romeo as a truly special car company with any pride, authenticity, or soul.It doesn't have to be this way.  Alfa has been making some stellar road cars for years now, with excellent looks, quality, and driving dynamics. But Sergio Marchionne and the FIAT management are about to sink Alfa into yet another Italo-American platform-sharing morass not seen since Chrysler's TC by Maserati.  It irks me even further to hear so many long-suffering American Alfisti get so excited about Alfa's return to our shores! Sure that is great in theory, but forcing Alfa to compete in North America's volume-driven marketplace may ultimately undermine everything about the company that made it special to begin with.  Furthermore, there is much hand-wringing among certain Alfa fans about the idea of VW Group buying the brand away from FIAT and complaints that Alfa will "no longer be Italian."  Get your head out of the sand, friends! Alfa's about to become nothing but a phony "made in Italy" fashion label on a cheap shirt, and sale to VW is actually the only way to save it from some very bad decision making at FIAT-Chrysler that could damage the brand irreparably.  If VW Group were to purchase Alfa, chances are that Walter De Silva, who was the design director during the Italian marque's most recent heyday, and currently overseeing all VW Group Design, will be one of the guiding lights managing the company.  Alfa needs to be in the hands of a true believer like De Silva. Not in the hands of a soulless businessman like Marchionne who treats a venerable brand as a commodity.  It's disgusting, and it's time that American Alfisti stop drinking the kool-aid. FIAT needs to sell Alfa to VW Group before it's too late.

Have they failed to learn the lessons of the past?

Alfa 164 PROCAR - Wildest sedan in history?

This is what happens when you take a Formula 1 chassis and engine, and place a nearly stock-looking body right over it. The result?  I'd say you can't get more "sleeper" than this monster!

In the back was a 3.5L V-10, producing 620hp in a car weighing less than 1,700 pounds.  The fact that this car could achieve 211 mph with essentially a stock body shape (made in carbon fiber, of course!) is a real testament to the aerodynamic work Pininfarina did on the production 164.

The underlying idea was to gain more marketing exposure for Alfa, to ensure a greater ROI on their F1 engine program, while fully utilizing all of the Brabham F1 facilities they also owned to construct the cars for a one-make series that would support Grand Prix racing events. Previously in 1979-80, BMW had been the single-make for the PROCAR series with the M1.

Sadly even the consumate wheeler-dealer Bernie Ecclestone -who was boss at Brabham at the time- couldn't sell the idea all the way up to the top Alfa brass and this unusual project was shelved.

Watch it in action!  Additional video is HERE. I couldn't embed it, unfortunately.

Video of the Week: Alfa Montreal Track Day

I've never seen so many Montreals in one place. What a a fantastic combination of sights and sounds in this awesome clip!