The 159 is too damn good!!!

[V AR 164]

I'm still unsure on the looks of the Giulietta. They are nice cars, but I feel as though it just blends in too much with the current crop of hot hatchbacks. Just doesn't have the 'wow' factor that the Brera gave me the first time I saw one of those. Still one of the best looking cars to date imo.

The V6 Brera I bought last week looks even better 😜

Definitely can agree with that! So when are you going to buy me one??? 

Although I'm not a fan of the dash

For me that was the selling point hahaha. Love the simple layout with minimal buttons and knobs, plus that silver face plate with the indented gauges 

Having owned a 2.2 I'm now thinking it would make a sensible choice for Junior's first car.  Safe, solid, reliable.  Not too fast.  Not as expensive to maintain as you might think.

Coming from a fellow teenager, I can agree with that statement. 159's are relatively cheap nowadays and they offer so much car for the money. Even a sorted 156 would be a sweet first car. Always liked them too.

Andrew.

[Colin Edwards]

I know looks are subjective however there are three shapes on this planet that I never tire of admiring.  In no particular order:

1./  My resently traded black 159 3.2 Ti Q4
2./  The Supermarine Spitfire
3./  Scarlett Johansson

All three produce a virtually immediate physical response!!

[Citroënbender]

You'd feel differently, I'm sure, if your Alfa was blown up by Scarlet Johanssen piloting a Spitfire. 

My car tastes are regressing, I'm starting to see the economy of refitting a semi-classic vs the drain (and nil appreciation) of an out-of-warranty-but-still-newish car. A Volvo 240 may be in my future... 

For all its yawn factor, my 605 (the Pug variant of the Alfa 164; uncannily similar) is a favourite place to be for longer hauls. Even around town it acquits reasonably, save for parking constraints.  So I fully expect Andrew to eventually return to his 164... welcome to the machine/Where have you been

[poohbah]

I've been of that way of thinking for sometime CB.

BTW - I really like the 605. Likewise the 504 (ideally in metallic brown).  And from your "family line" I'd love a CX - though I haven't seen one on the road in years.

Meanwhile, I can see the appeal of a 2-door Volvo 240, especially in rally/sport pack spec.

[Citroënbender]

There are plenty of rough CXs around, impediments are shortage of appropriately skilled trades to correctly restore and fettle, and custodial resistance to real world prices of good work and better parts. Like a lot of older cars (this takes in some Alfas, too!) a headache can be the convoluted order of operations for a seemingly simple task. People gun for shortcuts, the results are bodges and unhappy customers.

Heat soak is the biggest enjoyment killer. The only long term value is in a faithfully restored/conserved late 25 GTi Turbo. Andrew has probably never sat in one!

I just love the 240 Vollies though, can't drive one without smiling; in stock form a soft "boaty" ride, great visibility and a simple interior. A repowered one would sit well with me, too, if done properly and into a full-optioned shell. It's another car our young member needs to try out.

[V AR 164]

Heaps of cars I'd love to own, old and new. As much as I love my 164's, they are just too heavy on fuel and too much goes wrong with them too often for me to have considered putting one on full rego as a reliable daily driver.

I too like the 605's, very similar to the 164 indeed.

Don't worry, the 164q isn't going anywhere! I took it for a drive on Sunday evening and it put a massive smile on my face. That 3 litre with a 5 speed is absolute epic and when I parked it up, I couldn't stop starring at it. Pininfarina really out do themselves when it came to the 164's styling.

Speaking of Volvo's, I'd love a 850r sedan. Those things are heaps cool!

Andrew.

[Citroënbender]

I had an 850 Brocksport wagon in white with black leather! It cost me $200 and two slabs, with rego.  Had electrical issues, I think the RHD config was poorly thought out and this meant some wiring wasn't in ideal locations for weather protection.

As my mate likes to remind me, I still own it, mainly because he never specifically paid me for it.

[bazzbazz]

I know looks are subjective however there are three shapes on this planet that I never tire of admiring.  In no particular order:

1./  My resently traded black 159 3.2 Ti Q4
2./  The Supermarine Spitfire
3./  Scarlett Johansson

All three produce a virtually immediate physical response!!

And I don't care how special your exhaust note is, the sound of that oh god glorious Merlin engine shall go down in history as the most emotive sound ever created.

You may never have heard the sound of one in your life, but the second you do, your heart will race, a lump will appear in your throat, and a tear to your eye.

If not, you've been dead for 6 weeks.

[V AR 164]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5rGyP6SSYM

I'll just leave this here...

[bazzbazz]

Speaking of Volvo's, I'd love a 850r sedan. Those things are heaps cool!

Yup, as WHEELS magazine once quoted -



"They'll look fantastic once they get them out of the packing crates . . . . "      

[bazzbazz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5rGyP6SSYM

I'll just leave this here...

Was I the only one who while watching that video quietly started uttering "TAKKA TAKKA TAKKA TAKKA" under their breath?

(If you have no idea what that means for gods sake go watch "The Battle of Britain" you Troglodyte!)

[Citroënbender]

I'm old enough to have walked around London and noted the signs for "bombed site car park".  Even in the early eighties, twenty-five years after the Blitz, they were there.  Stories told around the table of rationing, of my mother's revulsion (shared by so many) at the air raid sirens' sound, of miraculous escapes from certain death in Europe. 

I don't see the Spitfire so much as a revered soloist, but respect them for their seemingly endless appearance, the incredibly durable engineering (of which the Merlin was such a big part) and proven consistency in battle. 

[bazzbazz]

Even in the early eighties, twenty-five years after the Blitz, they were there. 

Been drinking again this evening have we? 

[Citroënbender]

Erratum, 40 years.

Sober, no excuses for that!

[Joe Garra]

Heaps of cars I'd love to own, old and new. As much as I love my 164's, they are just too heavy on fuel and too much goes wrong with them too often for me to have considered putting one on full rego as a reliable

Andrew.

My 164Q has been my daily for the last 20 years