Something out of the Ordinary

[sansa93]

I realize that this isn't the rarest car, but, the thing that really stood out to me was where I found this little gem. Auburn Hills, Michigan.

For those that don't know, Alfa's aren't sold in the States, and haven't been for quite some time (1970's I think). I saw this car near the Chrysler HQ, so maybe it's a sign of things to come? Who knows.

I also saw an Alfa Giulietta covered in camo on my way into school, although, I wasn't able to get a picture of that one.

[Daffyflyer]

They're common as muck here, but pretty cool. Hope you guys do get them

[darkjedi]

Eversince chrysler was bought by fiat, they made a slight redesign of the 300C and rebadged it as a lancia (forgot the model name). one of the most nasty looking cars i've seen. i think it went into production at thestart of 2012 and i've never seen one on the street )

Maybe you'll get a chance to buy alfas , now that fiat owns chrysler dealerships in the us. not the best of cars, but great lookers.

[conan]

Nice find!, Alfa Romeo pulled out of American Market in 1995, with the Spider gone and 164 didn't sell very well. Alfa Romeo did sort of come back with the 8C Competizione which was available in 2007-2010, but it was sold through Ferrari-Maserati already established branches so I wouldn't count it as an actual come back.

There's a lot of rumours that Alfa Romeo will actually come back to the US of A with the new 4C sport car. Hopefully they'll actually do it and succeed.

[Raticon]

Considering what darkjedi just wrote it got my mind turning.

The Chrysler 300C was only rebadged and restyled for the main part of the European market where it will be called Lancia Thema which is quite interesting since the original Lancia Thema made between 1984 - 1994 was based on a joint-developed platform called "The type 4 platform club" or something in that order that made the basis for the Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, Alfa-Romeo 164 and finally the Lancia Thema. All of them look quite like eachother, but here in Sweden the Lancia, the Fiat and the Alfa recieved very poor reviews as the 4 cars are basically the same platform but Lancia, Fiat alnd Alfa decided to get thinner metal for the bodywork and generally more shoddy electronics than Saab did not to mention the difference in accessories, hence all the cars except the Saab is known for heavy rust, electronics problems and turning into a metal coffin when crashed, where the Saab is known for slightly less shoddy electronics and slightly less rust, but not by far really.

Other Chryslers and Dodges being sold in Europe marked as Italians are:

Crossover-SUV Dodge Journey -> Fiat Freemont. This one basically replaces the aging Fiat Ulysse and the not-so successful Fiat Croma.

MPV Chrysler Voyager/Town & Country (in the US) -> Lancia Voyager. No surprises here. Same car, different brand.

Sedan & Convertible Chrysler 200 -> Lancia Flavia.

The above stated luxury-car Chrysler 300 -> Lancia Thema.

Among others, i surely lost some cars in the confusion but there's the basics.

But wait, it get's even MORE confusing!
First off because all Lancias that are sold in the UK & ireland is so branded as Chryslers, hence you have the American cars marketed as Fiats, Lancias and whatnot in mainland Europe, and the Italian made cars marketed in the UK as American cars... Futhermore, Fiat announced earlier this year that they would seek a partnership with Mazda to make a sports-car that would be shared by Mazda and Alfa-Romeo, possibly sold in the US and UK as a Chrysler!, this would mean that a Mazda-derived car designed in Japan would be built as an Alfa Romeo in Italy, rebadged as a Chrysler and then sold in the US, or the UK. Then suddenly as Mazda has an earlier partnership with Ford it might just be so nasty as to see said Mazda borrow some technology to a Ford being sold in Europe. My head hurts.

On topic: yes, that Alfa sure looks good. Anything special for the US-market expected? Turbo V6's or something nice like that?

[darkjedi]

yeah that's it , lancia thema. i saw it in a mall a few months ago and got my eyes hurt. trying to stylize an already ugly car is a recipe for disaster. inside looks ok though. seemed comfy.

The alfas will probably have a 2.2 unit and a 3.2 NA V6. maybe a diesel, but considering it's america i doubt it.

Mazda did colaborate with ford a few years back and turned out to be lucrative for both companies. as for the mazda / chrysler rebadge, it would be an epic fail.
the rumor about mazda working with alfa to make a RWD roadster it's true. it should be the succesor to the MX-5 ready for the market in 2014 i think. we'll see how it turns out. alfas are known for uneasy handling and problems with sensors and suspension. driving position is not great either. alfas are nice as long as you do not own them . had a couple a few years ago and my father owned a 1990 alfa 33. i will never touch one again.

[pyrlix]

They're common as muck here, but pretty cool. Hope you guys do get them

Can you mail me one? The 159s are quite rare here in Germany, and i want the saloon version in the magnificent Alfa Red (i prefer the 1.8TBi... light and powerful)
My Alfa 147 is getting quite old now...


Greetz
Pyrlix

[Dwarden20]

Thats awesome Sansa! I used to live in auburn hills, mi. I live in Flint now.. but check it out.. found a Guiletta last year in Shelby Township, MI ! Also saw an Opel of some sort.. I get really jealous when i see those Euro imports the public cant have.. haha.

[Immi]

There's a lot of rumours that Alfa Romeo will actually come back to the US of A with the new 4C sport car. Hopefully they'll actually do it and succeed.

The rumours are correct, here is the production model:





I think it's a nice little car, it's going to be officially unveiled at the Geneva Autosalon.

[Dwarden20]

WOW

cant wait to see that thing on the roads! Still, your pretty hard pressed to find international automobiles in Michigan.. we stay pretty domestic.
But, that slowly is changing..

Edit: guess i should let y'all know that michigan is a "state" in the United States.. for my international friends..
just how territory is divided here.. lol

[conan]

We know what Michigan is. Detroit's in there, why wouldn't we know?

[Dwarden20]

I do hope that wasnt taken offensively. Ive played a few MMO's were words like "state" have got lost in translation. Plus a few friends from brazil who did not have any clue as to how things work over here.

[PowerSleeve]

Man, the Alfa Romeo 4C is just lovely.
And, compared to the alternative (the astonishing, breathtaking Alfa Romeo Tipo 33) is also very cheap!

[sansa93]

Isn't the new Miata supposed to be based off the 4C?

[T16]

No, there will be a different Alfa that shares its underpinnings with the next MX-5.