The state of Alfa Romeo play or is it?

[MD]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlfkL5fsQCs
After I watched this, I inflicted some pain on my keyboard, slammed the door, went outside and kicked the gate all the while moving in a cloud of expletives. When the steam around my collar subsided and a calm returned, I wondered, is he right? Does Alfa deserve our passion? Are we misguided and blinded by the romance?
What do you say?

[Pseudonym]

I think it's an accurate appraisal but I'd add two things.

Alfa have always built great driving cars, sports cars, enthusiast cars. Then they try shoehorn them into the commuter market, seemingly not realizing that by doing so they compromise on both targets and the commuters are put off by what makes them enthusiast cars, and the enthusiast's are put off by what makes them commuter cars. We deny that when we put on the rose glasses and view Alfa as we feel about it, rather than how it is, leading to the other point.

Secondly, we can romanticize the historics all we want, at the end of the day your kids won't spend $30k on a purists car that nobody knows how to modify because apparently it's blasphemous or some such when a $10k jappa will put it to shame on any road imaginable. The Japanese were hard enough to beat come the 90s, maybe if alfisti had put more into the present than trying to preserve the past there'd be a bit more fighting spirit instilled in the younger generation.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[bazzbazz]

I've said it so many times, just in Australia alone, the biggest problem with Alfa Romeo, IS ALFA ROMEO!!  Whether it be FCA or any other configuration, it's the company and it's decisions that cripples the make, not the cars themselves.

[Colin Edwards]

Just goes to show anyone can put any amount of tripe on YouTube!

Third party images of junk yard wrecks is hardly objective "journalism".  Anyone can put up images of any make of car and claim they are representative of the brand.  All of what he said has been said thousands of times in the past.  Nothing new or profound there.  What a joke!

If Alfa Romeo didn't have the profile it does at this very minute, that tosser wouldn't have gone to the (very little) effort he did. 

All good companies should be perceived as being an investment - a worthwhile acquisition.  Who'd want to run a company no-one wanted to purchase?  Who's to say Fiat or Alfa is not being considered for purchase as we speak?

The current Giulia and Stelvio were very conspicuous by their absence.  And then to pad out his YouTube tripe for another 30 seconds he adds his out-takes! 

Should be ignored like it deserves!

[carlo rossi]

Interesting take on the market these makers that have increased their sales and most are investing in hybrid tech
did not mention the alfetta at all , very odd as it is one of the best selling alfa cars ever sold with over 400,000 units and technologically brilliant
also volvo sold 21000 cars if one sven doesnt buy then the figures are dropping significantly
also alfa have improved globally from 109,000 units in 2017 to 122,000 units in 2018 a 12.6 % increase
also note that sales in china went up 45%
so WHO IS HE WORKING FOR ?
maybe  a buyer that wants to buy it!
so relax .china sees it as a great car and so should we
besides when something is special it is also without mention short in supply keeping it out of touch for the average volvo/SEAT buyer, as it should be

[aggie57]

Sadly there is much truth in what he says.  Sure, the Alfetta was a decent selling car and yes the 75 is well loved by Alfisti, and the current cars have got great reviews. But they just don't sell in volume and the reasons aren't hard to pick out.

I'll give you an example. Within 10 miles of where we live in Newport Beach are the largest BMW and the largest Mercedes dealers in the US. The Mercedes dealer sells between 700 and 1000 cars PER MONTH. Both have swanky, high end show rooms with free services like car washes for their customers for the life of their ownership. In contrast, the local Alfa dealer was just closed. It was a co-located with a Fiat in an old style open air lot, the sort of place we'd have seen on Dandenong Rd in the 80's. Yet they (FCA) have a vacant showroom next to their Maserati and Ferrari shops only a couple of miles away. Crazy.  That's the sort of thing that will kill the brand ... again .... in the worlds 2nd largest market.

[MD]

Now that I have had a cold shower I have given the old cranium a bit of rattle and I have found a few opinions on the bottom shelf. I say opinions because my fact banks are pretty sketchy.
My experience has been that Alfisti are discerning individuals with an emphasis on individuality. They are not mass market followers and will tolerate a certain amount of backlash (call it ribbing) for their brand loyalty or at least that has been the case to date. Individuality backed by performance is pretty much the measure applied by Alfa buyers. To put it in reverse context, if theoretically say an Indian,, Moldovian, Venezuelaian or an obscure like car manufacturer produced a high performance attractive and well made cheap vehicle would an Alfisti buy it as their pride and joy? Whilst there are many divergent reasons for replying with a no answer the key one is a lack of unique ownership because the planet would be littered with these things if indeed the vehicle met the expectation. Over time people become brand entrenched that suits their respective personalities.
Alfisti are knee deep in the trenches and in the main will never surrender to BMW, VW, Mercedes, Honda, Nissan to join a mass market brand.
My personal and polite response to our challengers is simply, fuckem.

[GeeTV]

Reality is, in this country Alfa are coming from a looong way back!
MB/BMW are obviously well established prestige brands who have widened their market in recent times by introducing let's say 'entry level' vehicles.  In the main I'd suggest to entice younger buyers and lessen the reach for Mr Joe Blow & family who want to make their neighbours turn green.  Those buyers are basically looking to align themselves with a high end badge/image.  If Alfa is using this template, it's going to be a very slow process.  Whilst not impossible, I can't imagine it being achieved using shared Jeep dealerships,...... for a start!!

I wonder if they considered perhaps coming in to the market more at that 'entry level' prestige/sport/performance space but with super sharp pricing?
Even initially, just to pick up some market share, turn over numbers, have cars on the road, build some brand awareness and start that brand loyalty from the ground up!?!?

[poohbah]

I've watched quite a few of this guy's videos in the past and think they are generally pretty considered. He's also concedes that he has a bit of a soft spot for Alfas (he's owned a few, including a 916 GTV).

I think he raises a few salient points. Sadly I tend to think that though the Giulia, Stelvio and 4C are all great cars, he's probably right that they aren't enough to sustain the business as a standalone brand - they really can only survive as a niche part of something bigger.

Most likely scenario in that case is that the brand gets bought by the Chinese, a-la Volvo and MG.

Then again, its all probably moot - in ten years, there will probably only be 3-4 global manufacturers basically producing a single electric platform on which a multitude of body shells can be fitted for different uses and markets (which no doubt will be called "applications").

In other words, the car and car manufacturers as we know them will be gone.

[bonno]

Hi Alfisti
Based on the comments here and on the subject Youtube video, the criticism is warranted to some degree, but having viewed the AR press Conference at the 2019 Geneva International Motor show, which captures its recent sales performance, various awards and planned expansion, the AR marque future could not be brighter (refer to Youtube link below).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGORPJs2Pb8