what happened to alfa romeo?

Discussion in 'European Cars' started by f11111, Dec 18, 2004.

  1. #1 f11111, Dec 18, 2004
    why are they all FF cars now? why dont they race anymore?
    didnt they have a big racing heritage in the 30s, 60s, etc....

    just another italian car company to fall out of business?
     
  2. #2 AR GTA, Dec 18, 2004
    Well... They'er doing great against BMW's in the ETCC now.. they're coming back to DTM very soon as some ppl said.. and the new cars are goin' to offer RWD <A BORDER="0" HREF="http://www.supercars.net/emoticons.html"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="http://speed.supercars.net/pitlane/emoticons/wink.gif"></A>

    Man.. Alfa Romeo is coming back to the 30s,60s very soon..
     
  3. #3 burner, Dec 18, 2004
    Alfas are built for a price, they are a VW competitor, who also make FWD cars. If alfa were to step up a price grade, maybe they could make some better cars. That said, their cars look and sound good, and their interiors are sporty and nice. They are decent cars for the money, certainly some of the best FWD cars in the market
     
  4. #4 Innotech, Dec 19, 2004
    they are held back by stupid Ferrari and MAserati.
     
  5. #5 Dahlis, Dec 19, 2004
    I wouldnt say they where vw competitors, they are better then that. The mayor problem with alfa is that they are fwd, otherwise they might be able to compete with bmw.
     
  6. #6 Innotech, Dec 19, 2004
    Alfa needs to position themselves as a Ferrari killer. Seriously.
     
  7. #7 europerule, Dec 19, 2004
    just have a look at their 3.2 GTA engine.
    it's one of my favourites of the moment
     
  8. #8 lurbo, Dec 19, 2004
    They will no longer be FWD but RWD and AWD.


    And who said that FWD is bad? Sure I hate FWD but I must say that the Alfasud and 33 are FWD and are SO awesome cars to drive in twisty roads. Better than RWD cars sometimes.
     
  9. #9 ScoRpFerrari, Dec 19, 2004
    That's like saying that Pontiac should be a Chevrolet killer.
     
  10. #10 Innotech, Dec 19, 2004
    it should.

    I find it practically a crime htat Alfa isnt given total reign over what cars it makes.
    Alfa could make some absolute dreamcars if Ferrari/Maserati wasnt so scared of losing sales.
     
  11. #11 Scentless Apprentice, Dec 19, 2004
    Theres nothing wrong with FWD.
     
  12. #12 Chillmeister, Dec 21, 2004
    yes there is. RWD is more fun and less prone to understeer
     
  13. #13 henriksjostedt, Dec 21, 2004
    And the Mini isn't,like, one of the most fun to drive cars ever? Or the Sport Clios? Or the Integra Type R?
     
  14. #14 Chillmeister, Dec 21, 2004
    indeed a mini is, but the mini is far lighter and a fwd can really handle upto 250hp. More power than that just makes things harder.

    There aren't many cars which are good, have 300+hp and FWD
     
  15. #15 Chris V, Dec 21, 2004
    Sorry, but huge hp numbers aren't what makes a car good, dude (unless you're a kid)
     
  16. #16 Phoonty, Dec 21, 2004
    You just used a wortheless argument by criticising Alfa for being FWD and then saying FWD is only good up to 250hp, since the most powerful Alfa happens to be 250bhp.
     
  17. #17 Mr b00st, Dec 21, 2004
    bought by FIAT... it's economical?
     
  18. #18 Chillmeister, Dec 22, 2004
    Look I ain't saying alfas are crap (they aren't), but they will want to compete with BMW and stuff (they should, we need a italian competitor for 'ze germans'). I would love to see an alfa which would be in the same league as the M3 and for that to happen I think RWD is the right option
     
  19. #19 stewacide, Dec 22, 2004
    Ze Germans already have a competitor in Jag', and arguably Infiniti and Lexus. Alfa' just can't demand the kind of money for its cars it takes to build unique RWD platforms, nor does it have the global distribution (although if any new brand is going to come to North America in the next few years I bet it's Alfa)...
     
  20. #20 henriksjostedt, Dec 22, 2004
    Note: Global distribution = coming to North America <A BORDER="0" HREF="http://www.supercars.net/emoticons.html"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="http://speed.supercars.net/pitlane/emoticons/tongue.gif"></A>
     
  21. #21 E60W124, Dec 22, 2004
    I heard that Ferrari is going to help Ferrari to get back in DTM.
     
  22. #22 Chillmeister, Dec 23, 2004
    americans wouldn't understand Alfas. the rest of the world would. Basically you need common sense
     
  23. #23 Carrera26, Dec 23, 2004
    I personally think the market is ripe for Alfa to become a BMW competitor. And especially in that segment, and with those cusotmers, FWD is a pretty serious turn-off. I really enjoy RWD, but own 2 FWDs and I know that they can be seriously great drivers.

    There are a LOT of people out there who don't think so. Even if it's not right, it'll be neccesary to sell in that market. But I really really think that they could...
     
  24. #24 stewacide, Dec 23, 2004
    I haven't heard that Alfa is going RWD, but then again I don't follow them. What I haveheard is that they're getting AWD on all their models. Audi and Volvo compete pretty well with their FWD/AWD lineups...
     

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