Interview with Morgan166

[Morgan166]

Your Forum name
Morgan166

Real name
Paul Morgan

Age
32

Occupation
IT Manager

Lives
Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

Marital Status
Married, 2 children

which cars do you drive and why?
1999 (T) Alfa 166 2.5 V6 24v Sportronic Lusso

Are you really passionate for Alfa Romeo?
Yes, I have been for a long time, but never actually owned an Alfa until now. I suppose the best way to describe it would be that I’ve always liked the idea of owning an Alfa. The tipping point for me was comparing the prices of similarly specced BMW 525/530s with the Alfa 166 V6. You just get so much more for your money with an Alfa Romeo. And I love the way the car makes me feel.

What or how started your passion for Alfa Romeo and…
….do you think it’s fundamental to own one to have the passion?
I’ve always been a complete car nut, so I’m well aware that Alfa Romeo is very much an “enthusiasts” marque. I’ve often lusted after various Alfas from afar, and nearly bought a 155 V6 several years ago (common sense prevailed, as that particular example was a total basket case). As for whether or not you need "the passion" to own one, I'm not sure you do. As a car fan (and now Alfa owner), I'm stuck with the passion whether I like it or not, but I don't see that there's anything wrong with a non-car fan buying an Alfa for the way it looks/drives/makes them feel. And yes, you can be an Alfa Romeo fan without owning one (I was for years before getting my 166).

Would you ever consider joining an Alfa Club or are you already a member of one?
I would consider joining a club, yes. Need to get my feet under the table with Alfa ownership first, though. I’ve only had my 166 for five minutes!

What do you like most about Alfas?
The exterior styling (always gorgeous), the interior design flair (never boring), and of course the gorgeous 24v quad-cam V6 engine. What a masterpiece!

What do you like least about Alfas?
Their perceived reputation for being unreliable. I think they’ve got a lot better in the last 10-15 years.

What would be your dream cars?
The new Ferrari 458 Italia looks pretty tasty, and I’d quite like a Range Rover Supercharged V8 for tooling around town in (if someone else was paying for the petrol!!!) Maybe a track day car too, like an Ariel Atom, Caterham, or something similar.

What car would you least like to drive?
Hyundai Accent diesel. A truly hateful car, to be enjoyed by car dismantlers only.

For you, what’s the most popular thread on AO?
“Subtle details game on the 166” (found within the 164/166 section of the forum). A truly inspired bit of thread-starting by MLC, which many of us have contributed to over 10 pages of posts.

What would be your ideal drive in an Alfa (destination, passenger, driving music, etc)?
Destination: Stelvio Pass (I have driven it a few times - a bit cliched, maybe, but superb nonetheless)
Passenger: I would usually say my wife (honest), but she hates twisty roads, so I'm going to plump for Elle Macpherson. I'm sure she's a great conversationalist.
Music: Anything from the '80s. Or indeed anything Elle wanted to listen to.

Any humorous Alfa or car-related stories you wish to share with us?
I nearly bought that Alfa 155 V6 a few years ago almost entirely on the strength of how good the handbrake looked. That and the underbonnet view, which of course was glorious. Luckily, I’d taken a level-headed friend with me, who took me to one side and explained in words of one syllable that aircraft throttle-style handbrake or not, this particular car was a complete heap, and that I should run a mile. Which thankfully, I did.

What interests do you have outside of Alfas?
I’m a total car nut and always have been, so don’t like to restrict my love of cars to one brand. I’ve owned many cars over the years – BMWs, Jaguars, Rovers, Fords, Nissans, Hondas, Fiats… And now I have an Alfa. If pressed, I would say my favourite cars are BMWs and Alfa Romeos.

Tell us something nobody knows about you. (E.g. special skill, ever been on TV, etc)
I can tell whether a car tyre is plus or minus 3 or 4 PSI by driving a car for about five minutes. It's an uncanny knack, developed over years of fastidiously checking tyre pressures after a particularly nasty blowout on the motorway about 10 years ago.

Do you have a party trick? If so what is it?
I can drink a pint of beer in 4.5 seconds (that’s actually drink it, not open my throat and throw it down, like some people do!)

What do you like most about the Alfaowner forum? Any favourite threads, episodes or people?
My overwhelming impression of the Alfaowner forum so far has been the friendliness of other forum members. Everyone has been really great, all the humour is light-hearted and in good taste and the advice has been spot-on. Perfect!

If you had £50,000 you had to spend in 72 hours, how would you choose to spend it?
I’d buy the best Ferrari £45,000 would get me into, and use the remaining £5,000 for fuel, insurance and speeding ticket bribes. I would spend the remaining time driving the Fezza around the mountain passes of Italy like I stole it.

Thanks for reading, folks!

[Al Faromeo]

Originally Posted by Morgan166

.../... If pressed, I would say my favourite cars are BMWs and Alfa Romeos .../...

And courageous to
Thanks for sharing Paul! May your Alfa years be plentiful and trouble free!

[Morgan166]

Originally Posted by Al Faromeo

And courageous to
Thanks for sharing Paul! May your Alfa years be plentiful and trouble free!

Cheers Al (nice forum name, by the way).

I too hope my Alfa years will be trouble-free, but I've already mentally prepared myself for more heartache than I had with my previous BMWs.

Still, as one chap on a different thread said of my "conversion" from BMW to Alfa Romeo ownership - I've stepped out of the dark and into the light! That made me giggle.

[classicgal93]

Nice interview Paul Sounds handy to have you on a drive with your esp on tire pressure

[Morgan166]

Originally Posted by classicgal93

Nice interview Paul Sounds handy to have you on a drive with your esp on tire pressure

Thanks classicgal93.

That special skill wasn't acquired the easy way. About 10 years ago, I was driving an old Rover 213 along a dual carriageway when I had a front right tyre blow-out, lost control of the car and stuffed it under the trailer of an articulated lorry in the lane next to me. The car was a total write-off and I busted my ankle in the process (the engine had popped the driver's footwell convex rather than its usual concave shape).

Once the police had conducted their investigations, they found the three remaining good tyres were all running wildly different pressures (like plus/minus 15 to 20 PSI kind of wild), and it was therefore fairly safe to assume that the tyre that blew would also have been wrongly inflated.

Ever since then, I've been so on the ball with tyre pressures, it's bordering on geekiness!

[Al Faromeo]

Originally Posted by Morgan166

.../...Ever since then, I've been so on the ball with tyre pressures, it's bordering on geekiness!

I've moved to nitrogen in my tyres 5 years ago and have nothing but good to report - pressure remains spot on, very even wear, improved longevity.

Thta's especially beneficial since I can only remember to check one thing at a time - all I have to do now is keep my eye on my oil level - tyre pressure is spot on. Always.

[Morgan166]

Originally Posted by Al Faromeo

I've moved to nitrogen in my tyres 5 years ago and have nothing but good to report - pressure remains spot on, very even wear, improved longevity.

Thta's especially beneficial since I can only remember to check one thing at a time - all I have to do now is keep my eye on my oil level - tyre pressure is spot on. Always.

Nitrogen, eh? I've heard good things from other people about that too.

My tyre pressure "ESP" has already come in useful with the Alfa. Today I noticed that I have a (very) slow puncture on the nearside rear tyre. Quick trip to the local tyre shop for a puncture repair, methinks.