Alfa Confirmed for US in 2007

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Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said during a conference call Wednesday that the Alfa Romeo brand will return to the United States in late 2007. Over the past few months, rumors intensified of Alfa’s return, but they were not officially confirmed until Wednesday. The cars are expected to be distributed through the existing Maserati dealer network. The new Alfa Brera Spider and and 159 Sportwagon (and/or sedan) will most certainly be among the vehicles headed for U.S. shores. We also have a sneaking suspicion that Alfa might coincide the U.S. rollout with the launch of the production 8C Competizione.


^^^Bera Spider

feb21alfa_3.jpg

^^^159 Sportwagon

mar6alf_3.jpg

^^^8C Competizione
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...Sweet, I really want the 159 Saloon, but that will come later...
 
So Alfa finally overcame the many obstacles placed in front of them to come back to US, eh?

Im not liking the shield grille, but thats just me....
 
They should do decently well if they are priced accordingly. I presume they are going to be sharing a market more with the Saab and Cadillac types, so they may be "affordable" for most average-Joes to consider for entry-level luxury.

But, I hear that there won't be any independant Alfa dealers for a while. Apparently they are going to be sold at Maserati and Ferrari dealers across the country untill a footing is re-created for the company...
 
If their reliability has improved, they'd do great, I would think. Beautiful, beautiful cars. 👍
 
But unless Alfa decides to build factories in US their car prices will be affected by world currency values, which will make their prices fluctuate and inflate according to rates.
 
I hope this includes Canadian soil too! I love the look of the Brera, it looks so pissed off. Well msot of the current Alfa's do, which is what I like about 'em.
 
I always see Alfas driving around in Aus, the reliability is meant to be pretty well sorted these days. There will always be a stigma about them, though, but this won't phase the "stig"!
 
That's sweet news for America. Alfa Romeo will probably get most American car fans to realize that Ferrari and Lamborghini aren't the only Italian car companies. Thing is, will America readily embrace them like we've embraced Renault and Peugeot and even TVR (well, there is a TVR repair shop about 15-20 minutes north of where I live here in Houston)? Will Alfa Romeo deliver exciting and wonderful cars for the American consumer to check out and enjoy? Or will there be criticism since many recent Alfa Romeos are FWD or even 4WD?

You like the 159 Saloon, YSSMAN? I actually like that 8C Competizione. What a sexy car that is. Who wouldn't want something as alluring and attractive as this hot dame? That would be a dream car for those who don't have Enzo salaries. The 159 Sportwagon looks pretty nice. That's my first time seeing that model. I think the Bera (or do you mean "Brera?") Spyder will surely be some Miata competition, only as long as its priced well. If not, it may be a challenger to those Mercedes-Benz SLK Class roadsters.

I've seen only ONE Alfa Romeo in my lifetime, and it was (I believe) an Alfa Romeo 155 from the early-mid 1990s, which was probably ported from Mexico. I can imagine many more Alfa Romeos on the road. It's Italian engineering that all adds up to some very interesting automobiles. The shield design has long been Alfa Romeo's "corporate face." Maybe the lovliest car from its past was in GT4- the Spider Duetto. Alfa Romeo wanted to make this return to America. And if they want to make their case known much like Cadillac is trying to do on the global luxury market, then more power to Alfa Romeo. At least now there will be Italian cars you can actually AFFORD and enjoy about as much as... those other two Italian car companies who has six-figure price tags on their lustful cars.
 
I see alfa romeos daily here, but too bad that their owner are usually mid-age old farts who don't know how sportscars should be driven.. to them, Alfa is mere part of imago..

edit. I'd love to own brera 3,2 V6 awd.. :drool:
 
Alfas eat oil, the 147 was alright but the 156 was very unreliable. The alfa GT is unreliable though.

Prices are near enough BMW and audi level but they are very beautiful machines..
 
Clarkson seems to love the 159 according to his review from the Times. I've herd plenty of positive buzz about the car, esp. from Car and Driver, who has been covering these developments for the past few years.

Quite frankly, I'm in love with the 159. It is beautiful on the inside and the outside, drives like a dream, and has the Italian gusto that the American market has lacked for all these years. Sure, Alfas don't get the respect they diserve in the US (I think the last models sold here were the Spider and 155 in the '90s), but hopefully the new cars will change all that.

But, someone over in Italy is going to have to invest in a dealer network, because if they are going to be selling out of Maserati and Ferrari dealers, they are going to be missing a good part of the market they are looking for.

But if Alfa succeeds at it's re-introduction into the US (presumably North American market in general), we can expect companies like Peugot/Citroen, Renault, and possibly FIAT (with Alfa, part of the FIAT group).
 
ahhhoooheeheeheehaaheeheeehoohuhee!!!!!!!:crazy:

That's how I can decribe my excitement over Alfa coming to the US.

Finally we get some affordable Italians!
 
Never get Fiat here. The cheap-ass rip-offs who stole $2 billion from GM, they should be banned from NA. I truly hate Fiats. Ugly, low-level cars, some dirty work, and bad image. I cant tolerate Fiats running down the streets, never!
 
two words: yeah, RIGHT

Alpha back in the US? fat friggin chance. non German cars from Europe have a reputation for being total crap over here, as we ended up with the WORST we could get. bad Renaults, fiats (they were here till 83 people, and I have the manual from the last year Strada to prove it!), and that friggin Yugo.
 
...Awww, give Alfa a chance!

If they can market the cars the right way, they will sell well because they have the X-Factor that the BMW 3-series, and for so long the Saab lineups had... SOUL... Good looks, lusty engines, good speed/comfort balance. I'm all for it, and as I said before, their success is going to open doorways for other European companies to come back to the United States.

I'm not a fan of France or French people in general, but I would love to have Renaults (esp. the Clio and Megane) and Peugeots (207 and 307) on sale in the US. The same can be said of the Citroen cousins, as the C4 and Berlingo peaks my interest as well.
 
Exactly. Let's not make the mistake of putting patriotism ahead of cars. What good is it to hate a car simply because it's not from America? How do you describe the recently-sacked GTO? What about BMW's rebirth of the Mini Cooper? The first thing I am not going to say about ANY car is that I hate it because it isn't American and no one's heard of it. A car is a car is a car regardless of where it's from. Give car companies a chance. It's much like how many people are going to dismiss Chinese make Geely without actually giving them a chance.

What if Alfa Romeo ends up providing better cars than anybody out of Detroit? What if more people looked to Alfa Romeo for higher-up automobiles and leave behind most domestic models? I give EVERYONE a chance Once a car company makes its way into Amreica, give them three to five years to develop. Americans are going to have to be convinced about Alfa Romeo to get any Alfa Romeos. Most powerful car they have is the 8C Competizione. So you don't have to worry too much about a six-figure salary to afford a Ferrari or Lamborghini. You want Italian cars that aren't from these established car companies? Best chance in years. Alfa Romeo is just as sophisticated and prominent of a car company as any other Italian car company. Even more affordable cars would come if Fiat or Lancia made it to America. I won't go into detail with Fiat too much. I will say that Lancia does have some ugly cars. Only two classics are the Stratos and Delta. Alfa Romeo is an established car make whether you've heard of them or not.

So give them a chance. Don't rule them out early. Come on now. And I'm sorry if I'm not pro-American in any of this (as if I HAVE to be).
 
Elegy
Indeed, it's just as bad as hating cars BECAUSE they come from America.
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..........you're right, works the other way around for you die-hard American car haters in Europe. :indiff:

I wish I can show this thread to "Car" magazine in UK.
 
Uh...if you're speaking directly to me, I'm American. ^^;

This might make you feel better: EVO Magazine, also from the UK, gave the Corvette Z06 a pretty darn good review, though they still played a few of the subjectives against it.
 
Elegy
Uh...if you're speaking directly to me, I'm American. ^^;

This might make you feel better: EVO Magazine, also from the UK, gave the Corvette Z06 a pretty darn good review, though they still played a few of the subjectives against it.
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No, I don't have anything against you. Its just that you reminded me of the magazines who puts down American cars as second-rate junk without even trying to see the positives.
 
Are most alfas still wrong wheel drive? Most alfas do spend more time in the garage than the road and for once that is not a over exxageration like how people talk about mb reliability.
 
Yep, Alfa Romeos are wrong-wheel-drive. Really, that's the only thing that stops me from liking them.
 
In the spirit of sounding like an idiot, there is nothing wrong with wrong wheel drive for most average drivers, so the fact that most Alfas come that way isnt going to sway the average car buyer for or against the new models, if anything, it would increase their perception of the car in a more favorable manor.

It has been noted time and time again that so many of the knuckle-head drivers in America belive that FWD is going to be better in the snow, better on fuel economy, and cheaper to buy, etc... If Alfa sells FWD products for the most part, it won't have a negative effect what so ever. It fits into their mindset, and thus, they will buy more and more of the products.

If they can price the cars accordingly, as I have said before, they will sell well. The 159 will be a good option to a Saab 9-3 or Lincoln Zephyr (or whatever the hell they are going to call it now), and may take some sales away from the BMW 325i and Mercedes C240.

The same can be said about the Brera convertable, which would probably be the middle ground between the VW Eos and Volvo C70. The Alfa would probably be the sport alternative between the two, hopefully with a baseline MSRP starting between $32K to $35K. Sporting types will probably spring for the Alfa for it's stronger looks and presumably more sporting attitude, but I think only the VW would challenge it for most folks.

Last but not least, the 8C will be the stand-out model for Alfa's return to the US. I'm not completely sure what the size of the car is, or what exactly the performance figures are, but it appears it will lie in the middle ground between the S2000 and 911. Unfortunately for the 8C, it may have to compete with the Corvette, Boxster, etc generally viewed as the kings of the sporting world here in the US. The 8C will be a reputation builder for Alfa, but the 8C must build a reputation for itself at the same time.

Everyone needs to give Alfa a chance before they completely write them off as a no-go company. It has been a long and well-thought process to re-introduce their models to the American market, something that has been debated for nearly the last decade. They wouldnt come here if they didnt think they couldnt make money, so let them do their thing, show off a few models to the press and the public, and then make a good guess as to where you stand.
 
Don't get me wrong, I want Alfa Romeo to succeed here, and hope that they do so...but you'd have a hard time convincing me to buy one of their FWD models, even if I had the money. :p
 
You would never convince me to purchase a FWD Alfa, or any other European car.

I would only purchase a FWD Car, brand new, because it cost $15 or less, with lots of options.

Purchasing something which should be at least sporty, and getting FWD crap...

Well, these aren't Alfa's to me, Alfa's are light, curvy, beautiful little RWD cars, not this crap.
 
Wolfe2x7
Yep, Alfa Romeos are wrong-wheel-drive. Really, that's the only thing that stops me from liking them.
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I'm pretty sure the 159s and Breras are available with AWD. Besides, FWD/AWD-only lineups haven't really hobbled Acura, Audi or Volvo, right?
 
L8 Apex
I'm pretty sure the 159s and Breras are available with AWD. Besides, FWD/AWD-only lineups haven't really hobbled Acura, Audi or Volvo, right?
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I said FWD was the only thing keeping me from liking them, as in, I wouldn't buy one. I wouldn't buy an Acura or Volvo either, although I would consider a Quattro-equipped Audi. :)
 
Only Audi id buy with FWD is the new TT and A3 2.0T, because if you wouldnt buy those ou wouldnt buy a Golf GTI.

I dont think 159's are available with AWD though and I thought the brera was RWD.
 

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