147 & other Alfa owners

This has kind of diverted from my original post a bit. I think that there is a lack of understanding on both sides of the pond here.

In Britain and Europe we mainly have Smaller economical manual cars because they are ideal for and designed for our needs.

In the US they mainly have bigger automatic cars and SUVs because they are ideal for and designed for their needs.

In the UK we don't really need a big car or large engine as we don't need to do as much driving. In the States they can afford to have bigger gas guzzlers, they need them and can afford to fuel them.

I don't see what the big deal is. It is all about supply and demand and market forces. The reason the Americans probably don't think too much to a fair percentage of the cars made for our market, is because they are not suitable for theirs and it's the same vice-versa. The companies that customise cars for different markets, those cars will do well. There will only be the odd exceptions to that general rule.

One point I would like to add on this whole crash thing, I would say that the newer a car is the better it will withstand a crash against a similar sized but older car.

I seem to recall an episode of Top Gear here in the UK where they had two large 4x4 vehicles and they showed how the newest model just went straight through the older one in a crash with relatively minor damage whereas the older one was completely trashed and there could have been fatalities. That also has to be a factor in crashes from what little I know. So even if you have an SUV that may be slightly bigger than the other person on a collision course, you may come out of it worse if they have a brand new model.

One thing I like about American cars is the seat belt. I was in I think it was a Saturn, and the seat belts moved across automatically for me to plug in. Are their any cars in Britain than do this? This is a serious question. I expect it may just be some of the executive cars with things like this. This Saturn though I believe that was just one of their basic cars.

John

Reply to
John
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Thanks for all the help guys. I think Alfas are great, the Honda vtec engines are first class, and Toyota are also pretty reliable too. I am probably going to go for a Seat Tdi though. I think an Alfa may be too expensive for my budget.

John

Reply to
John

An Alfa is never too expensive..... just look at the depreciation ;-)

Reply to
SteveH

Reply to
cupra

Sadly true, though.... where else would I get a 155bhp luxury sports saloon at 6 years old for £2800?

A BMW 320i would be at least double that price, even a half decent A4 or Passat would be at least a grand to 1500 quid more.

I love my Alfas, but you can never defend the depreciation..... but that's a good thing, really. Let the company car drivers take the hit, then buy when they're cheap :-)

Reply to
SteveH

Bullshit. What you say about "size helping" is true, but what you conveniently leave out is that the higher mass of the SUV inflicts higher-than necessary damage on the other vehicle. With proper engineering, people can be SAFER in a car than in an SUV, and NOT be the danger to everyone else on the road that heavy trucks and SUV's are.

I can understand why you feel that way, considering all the freaking BARGES on the roads these days...

Reply to
dizzy

Exactly. It's an "arms war" mentality, where EVERYBODY loses, due to all the wasted resources.

Reply to
dizzy

An '05 is "already rusting", huh? Yeah, that's real believable.

The quality of the steel is pretty much meaningless, in the short term, when it's galvaneeled and painted.

Reply to
dizzy

Are Spanish made VW's as bad as Mexican made VW's?

I like the SEAT models, but they don't sell in the US...

Reply to
Hachiroku

Was it '88? '90? '92?Ford RS200 Rallye car. What a machine! Um, this is what I meant...

I remember the Escorts. We had a different model here. The looked kind of similar, but you guys got the GOOD looking one!

Gruppe B..the Killer B's. They cancelled for what, one year? Two years?

Killing off your spectators is NOT a good way to advance your sport! Kinda like 'football' (soccer) or Rugby.

I remember watching a race from Spain and a car went off the road, into the crowd, running over a Mother and her 12 YO son, killing the boy. Can't remember the driver; if I said the name you'd know it.

Poor kid probably bugged his Mom for hours or days to get her to take him...

Reply to
Hachiroku

You've been reading my posts again, eh? Plagarism...you'll be hearing from my Lawyers...

Honest to God true story: saw a woman on a rural highway (2 laner) about to enter the highway, talking on the phone, eating a sandwich and doing something that looked like drying her nails, while driving an Expedition.

Reply to
Hachiroku

Not really. I'd bet 3/4 of the SUVs in this country NEVER see ANY off-road use, and prolly 1/2 of those never even see dirt roads. "I need it for winter" (buy a Subaru...or a MAtrix AWD). I want my kids to be safe (at the expense of someone in a Yugo...)

Nope...not necessary. I never saw the craze, myself. Who the hell wants to maintain a 4WD vehicle when you only really need the 4WD maybe 6 times a year? (he says after spending the weekend working on his AWD Grand Caravan... But I use my AWD van to move the amps and drums to gigs in the winter)

Then why is is, EVERY SINGLE TIME I see someone on TV bitching about gas prices, they are driving an Excursion, or an Escalade, or a Suburban?

Like the SUVs in places like NYC and LA?

Toyotas once used the Ford system, where the shoulder harness would glide into place. After hangging out the window of a Camry when my BIL started the car, I think I know why they stopped (GAG!)

Reply to
Hachiroku

the US had a law sometime in the ealy 90s or late 80s, requiring a form of passive restraint system that didn't require the driver to do anything. Many went for the airbags (and thats what is used exclusively now) but early on, many distrust them, and went for a system using seatbelts. When the door was closed, the seatbelt was at the shoulder position, when it was open, it was somewhere on the a-pillar. This meant you only had to get in, and sit down, and when you closed the door you had a seatbelt which went from shoulder to hip, no effort etc. There was then a second inertia reel belt usually on the door side, by the hip, you brought across as a lap belt. Was a simpler and easier solution than airbags, but easily circumventable - just use the clip to undo th seatbelt (required for large packages and other situatiosn when such a belt would be a hinndrence.

not sure when, but i believe airbags are now required, and the motorised belt system can not be installed in cars any more.

(note, i'm a brit who only started driving in the US in 98, and only moved here in 03 so i don't know the 'history' that well)

Reply to
flobert

Rust was first visible in feb. Easy to remember, since i noticed it in the road outside my house, and it was whilst we were moving.

Well, assumingits galvanised and painted right. But with all the shakeups at all ifferent levels of the corp, the financial switching arond and so forth, you'd be amazed. Amazing what you find out when a reletive owns a company that supplies toyotas metal (or rather did, and never got paid for it, and has been trying to get payment via the courts for 5 years)

Reply to
flobert

the RS200's were group B cars, and thus only made 82-84, I think. Thats pretty much the entire time period for all the group B rally cars, although the 6R4 was made until 85, iirc, because of the success of the baby 250hp version in club-level rallyin.

they didn't look that good in 71-72 when they first came out.

Thats the risk that goes with every Rally, even nowadays. One of the hardest parts too, because you have to ignore the spectators and hope they WILL get out of the way in timeYou watch the covereage of some of the WRC races now, and you'll see that sometimes the cars miss the photorgaphers by a foot or two, as the guys scampering back to the bank, after taking a head-on shot. It really does take all your nerve to keep going, and not stop through sheer instinct to avoid 'possibly hitting people'

WE all did (well, mine was more along the lines of 'can i be your co-driver this time')

Reply to
flobert

Not at all. It's personal experience in the oh-so-offroady SF Bay Area, augmented by survival instinct (in my 88 Civic and on my bicycle in traffic, both of which I know will leave me dead if an SUV decides to run over me).

:)

*shakes head*...
Reply to
tomb

75%? More like 98%+, especially those with the low profile tires and spinner rims...
Reply to
tomb

I've seen photogs get hit!

Must have been fun. My mom HATES cars! ('Cause i have so many?)

Reply to
Hachiroku

Cruising down the Freeway in LA county? ;)

Reply to
Hachiroku

Exactly - bargain (subject to cam belt!)

Unfortunately I had to buy mine new (car allowance policy - so I probably save taxwise anyway) - but I'm keeping it for the missus anyway when I upgrade in 2 yrs!

Reply to
cupra

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