Alfas to go RWD...

now you got me interested!!!

Accompanied by the sound of a chisel on slate Vamp, managed to produce the following words of wisdom

It's only a rear wheel drive Vectra.......

ewww but hmm MIGHT be fun...

Who cares if there are enough ponies. Who cares for the Opel badge if the rest says "Omega Lotus" (with handling and power that go with the Lotus badge). I still have fond memories of the Omega Lotus, not withstanding the fact that I consider myselve very lucky not to have bought one.

Received a folder for the new Nissan GTO: 4x4, dual clutch, 480 HP,

1740 kg. It must be a sportscar as it does the Ring in identical times as the 911 Turbo, but 1740 kg!!

That's about twice the weight of a sorted 1975 911 RSR... which has the same horsepower and will turn circles around the new super-Nissan. Hell: it turns even circles around its own tail!

Must be midlife-crisis (again): being invited at Porsche - no worry: I am close to the Brussels dealership and so I suspect that every launch I get a ticket to fill the empty seat-, was glancing at a new 911 Carrera with complete glass roof for then being sucked like a magnet to that

1975 RSR... who wasn't (luckily) for sale (or I might have to sell the GF to an Arab).

I like a car weighing less than 1000 kg: if it breaks down, it is pushed far more easily.

That Alfa's are once again RWD can but be applauded. If their electrics are 10 dimensions better than they were since there last RWD, they might even be interesting cars.

On any Alfa Colin's added lightness is of double importance: one is sure to have to push the car sooner or later. The more things change, the more they stay the same ;-)

Tom De Moor

woohoo. Back from the dead.

Whilst this should be a good thing, I can't help but wonder if this is a last act of desperation. What are Alfa Romeo's European sales figures like?

Strange. Back in the late 90s, every other fleet driver wanted a Rover 75 or Alfa Romeo 156. There were stacks about. These days, I see a fair few

75s, but relatively few 156s. I'm sure they haven't *all* wound up at auction "in need of a new engine." Are they being exported somewhere for taxi use?

So the only real difference will be the addition of a propshaft as they are put onto a recovery truck with electrical problems.

How many fleet drivers really care about what end is driven? How many pick the BMW 3 series because of the badge?

Very few know in my experience and unfortunately, the gizmo'd up and understeer-designed current offerings don't help much either.

But that's kinda why I think what I think, though...

but not before Hyundai, with a turbo or maybe V8 (may depend on market).

and the Hyundai RWD 4 door for those that like the mundane. Hyundai with not so likely to be used 5 year warranty or a guaranteed to break down Alfa? Hyundai have been shifting about 5000 FWD coupes/year in UK.

Toyota may also return to the smaller RWD coupe that they killed off in the mid '80's.

Mazda are in the RWD coupe (alike) market with the RX-8 and planning to stay in there with an all new RX-8. Top end GT-R and 350Z moving up - talk of a 400Z, there is room for a "baby" below the Z. Nissan is running aroundlike a headless chicken with a new small coupe sports hatch concept atnearly every major motor show (ie not UK) trying to work out how tohit the mark that gave the USA 240SX S13 (hatch and coupe) 204,809sales in 5 years and S13 convertible 8320 in 3 years, while the S14(coupe only) did 38,281 in 4. they have got the urge to make the urge but they still need asports coupe ?p=922010? Going to be late to the party.