first MG, Now Alfa coming to the US!

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:49 pm

Autoweek announced today that Alfa is officially coming to the US market in 2009 with 3 models. They'll be sold thru Maserati dealers. Jeez, soon it'll be just like the 60s again

mctaco · Post by **mctaco** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 11:30 pm

Please oh please bring us the 159 Spider!

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 12:37 am

the Spider will be available with both the 2.2 4 cyl and the 3.2 V6, and the Brera coupe

Jim DeShon · Post by **Jim DeShon** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:50 pm

If they keep this up, maybe the US manufactures will get the idea we don't all want SUV's and pickup trucks

...J.D.

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:42 pm

I don't know, they're pretty well locked in to behemoth trucks and suvs that guzzle the gold stuff

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:44 pm

Although it is exciting news that I hate to be the wet blanket.

These announcements have been made before. Three years is a long time for them to change their minds. Why such a long time from now? What do they think is gonna change in their favor in the next 36 months?

Why not next model year?

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 3:42 pm

I'm sure it has to do with the timeline of EPA testing to meet emission requirements

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:31 am

Other than the cheap Hungarian steel, which rusted easily....wasn't emmissions one of the pitfalls for Fiat?

Take a modest but effective 4 cyl engine and pig its power away with tree hugging devices. Not that I need 400 horses under my hood, but the US tends to go overboard just to spite itself.

Good luck, Alpha. We sure could use some styling here...

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:17 pm

while I appreciate performance as much as many people do, there are areas that need help with the results of pollution. You may call that tree-hugging, but I can remember southern calif when there were smog alerts every day of the summer, and you couldn't see a mountain range that was 1 mile away. Not to mention the health issues that the high level of pollutants caused.
Emission requirements have forced the mfgs to develop management systems that are now responsible for the amazing performance of new cars. It's now common to have 400hp and get 30 mpg, with nearly zero emissions. let's see a 70s' performance car match those numbers