Alfa, the underachiver?

ok, no surprise Alfa isn't exactly setting the world alight with its sales right now.

The 147 is old, the trio of 159,Brear & Spider have failed badly & the GT is probably on its last legs. However how many out there think Alfa will ever break into the big league, & finally take on the BMW's, Audi'a etc of the automotive world?

To be honest. I hope they don't. I like the exclusivity of owning an alfa.

What OA said, I see enough Alfa's where I live as it is, without everyone owning one.

Originally Posted by OperationAlfa

To be honest. I hope they don't. I like the exclusivity of owning an alfa.

thats very interesting, i was wondering who'd say that.

If Alfa continue to sell in such tiny numbers, is there not a risk of Fiat saying "why bother"?? Fiat gets a much better return from Lancia (which it give very little money to!)

No the Germans will probably just buy Alfa (didn't BMW buy lamborghini recently???)

sadly i've voted no (lack of interest etc...). I'm not sure Alfa can win back people who bought one & far too often got their fingers burned, & the amount of people i hear saying they'd literally never buy one, ever! Ok we're all die hard fans (well i'm assuming most of us are) & i'd couldn't really consider buying anything else, i love the brand, & i will own a 159 one day, but i wonder when Mr & Mrs "executive buyer" look for their next car, do Alfa even get a look in, or is it BMW, Audi, Mercedes etc, and is it only going to get worse as the Germans produce better products with every update & Alfa seem more often than not to take a step backwards in comparison.

I like the exclusivity !!!

Originally Posted by toby2449

sadly i've voted no (lack of interest etc...). I'm not sure Alfa can win back people who bought one & far too often got their fingers burned, & the amount of people i hear saying they'd literally never buy one, ever! Ok we're all die hard fans (well i'm assuming most of us are) & i'd couldn't really consider buying anything else, i love the brand, & i will own a 159 one day, but i wonder when Mr & Mrs "executive buyer" look for their next car, do Alfa even get a look in, or is it BMW, Audi, Mercedes etc, and is it only going to get worse as the Germans produce better products with every update & Alfa seem more often than not to take a step backwards in comparison.

I'd agree with that. The reason Mr & Mrs executive buy German though is largely due to snob value, the (perceived) value and prestige of the brands. It's all about saying "hey, I've got a Merc/BM/Audi, therefore I'm important and earn a lot of money"
I'd say very few buy out of genuine enthusiasm for the cars.

Alfas are the opposite; they don't carry the same cachet as the Germans, but people who buy them tend to be genuine enthusiasts.

Personally, I do like the relative exclusivity, but I also worry that without the volume sales, Alfa will either cease to exist, or (perhaps worse) only continue as badge engineered Fiats, in the same way that MGs ended up as badge engineered Rovers....

Originally Posted by howell811

I like the exclusivity !!!

What he said

Am I the only one who thinks the 159/Brera/Spider seem too much derivatives of one idea?

The GT is the prettiest mainstream Alfa.

No. Alfa will always niche I think. Their chance was to maintain the momentum of the 156 but somehow they missed their opportunity.

I was thinking about this question on the drive home from work ... I believe that Alfa's real problem is the level of service you get from the stealers ... if you've got a problem then you want them to bend over backwards to sort it out (how many dealers do you know whose response is "it's an alfa you have to expect that tyre wear/oil burn/lack of mpg/electrical problems/things falling off/breaking down every 5 mins*"

Maybe it's that they don't get the backing from ARUK? I don't know where the problem lies but as a customer you expect a certain level of service when you're spending 25k+ on a car ...


* delete as appropriate

Originally Posted by 156Chris

No the Germans will probably just buy Alfa (didn't BMW buy lamborghini recently???)

VW/Audi - They now own Lambo along with Bentley and Bugatti plus Seat and it looks like some time in the near future they're about to be taken over by Porsche.

RSK

It's a tough one this. I understand 100% why people say they like the exclusivity of the brand. The problem is it's easier to be exclusive when you Porsche selling a few cars but at a high profit margin but it's much harder to do so when you're Alfa who sell vehicles at a much lower margin and are dependent on parent company Fiat to a great extent. Don't we need Alfa to up their game in terms of sales, service and customer staisfaction so that they A) reinvest some of their own profits back into developing new exciting and interetsying models and B) continue to convince Fiat that AR should remain in Italian hands and that it can forge a strong position and identity for itself ?

Unreliability continues and mud sticks.

Not a hope in hell. Deutschland Uber Alles!

You wouldn't catch me in a BMW.........ESPECIALY IF IT WAS AN M SERIES!

Completely agree with Chris! This is my first and i absolutely love it, however alfa dealers are known to be pants, and my local dealer is no exception! Thankfully i have a good friend who owns his own garage and is an alfa specialist. Needless to say he is very rich...and dating my sister, so i get everything done very cheap! I always knew that one day sister would do something useful with her life!

the spitfire did

the spitfire did y not alfa