Audi to buy Alfa Romeo ..?

[cobratwin]

meh Audi buying Alfa has been an on going myth for years i doubt it will come to pass but you never know.
personally i think Fiat should leave well alone with Alfa and let them get on with it, or give it to Masser to play with, one nice big saloon with a V6 3.0-3.8 turbo, and a Derv may be a 3.0 V6 JtdM3 engine then Small 2 door coupe and a spider light weight small powerful engines 2.0 turbo jobbies bring back the V6 2.0 turbos engines!!. leave the hatchbacks alone, FYI ive just seen a BN 147 for sale in a German alfa garage! they havent made the 147 for 3 years!

 

[dem maser]

We dont get what everyone else gets.....bmw have 4x4 on their cars abroad but not here

 

[cobratwin]

we get a 4x4 option on most of the big saloons, but on the 156 you had to have the crosswagon to get the 4x4, the 159 had it as an option. Maserati also have the 4X4 coming out !

 

[dem maser]

Bmw need a 4x4 option, not sure maserati should

 

[cobratwin]

well the only reason Maserati are getting the 4x4 is because of Jeep they want to expand there customer base and in the 4X4 market people have money so its a good place to go.
although i think its a hard market to get right, but if they let Jeep make it it should be a solid enough contender.

 

[dem maser]

Shame itll be expensive as we need a 4x4.......its laso ugly....

 

[Andyk]

meh Audi buying Alfa has been an on going myth for years i doubt it will come to pass but you never know.
personally i think Fiat should leave well alone with Alfa and let them get on with it, or give it to Masser to play with, one nice big saloon with a V6 3.0-3.8 turbo, and a Derv may be a 3.0 V6 JtdM3 engine then Small 2 door coupe and a spider light weight small powerful engines 2.0 turbo jobbies bring back the V6 2.0 turbos engines!!. leave the hatchbacks alone, FYI ive just seen a BN 147 for sale in a German alfa garage! they havent made the 147 for 3 years!

Dave, letting Alfa get on with it has not seem to work over the last 5 / 6 years - They need a kick up the bottom and a real look at themselves....Building pretty cars and hoping to get away with mediocre dynamics will not work....OK, this has been an Alfa trait for years and years....but they will not survive if they don't start taking a long hard look at themselves...Yes the Mito and the other one seems to be selling well but the cars do not excite and that's a big part of what Alfa are about...

 

[cobratwin]

There's been to much imput from fiat in the past few years Alfa don't have control over there own car's. it's fiat that have run them down to 2 cars its fiat pushing the hatchback, it was even fiat who dropped the V6! And took a pig iron yank motor. The last time Alfa had control they gave us the 156,147 and GT covering all the bases with a nice v6 a brilliant derv and the twinnys!

 

[Andyk]

Ah right.......But surely it the top brass in Alfa that have the say along with Fiat...............Suppose the problem they did have was that the old V6, as wonderful as it is would have dies anyway due to the carbon foot print thingy........It was never going to meet all the restrictions.......I think its sad where Alfa have gone....Great looking cars but thats where it ends........Their cars have never been best in class and always have been trying to catch up but they had something that the others didn't...Character and passion...Sounds like another another brand we all love...

 

[conaero]

What strikes me about the V6 story of it being killed off due to emissions is that surely new heads would have sorted that. I mean, our beloved 4.2 doesn't have a problem so why should the V6????

Emissions and carbon is only to do with furling and ignition. Sounds like BS to me.

 

[Parisien]

Lots of red herrings and gossip guys...........anything to distract the motoring public from the truth.......which is...............??..................no-one knows


P

 

[dem maser]

i can see it happening frank....ze germans are powerful in the auto world, they own everything british!!

 

[Parisien]

They aint truly British any more Dem.........now run on German/Japanese lines/ethos and ways........everything is getting very samey.........


P

 

[dem maser]

Yes but reliable.....audi take over maserati and depreciation wont be bad

 

[Andyk]

What strikes me about the V6 story of it being killed off due to emissions is that surely new heads would have sorted that. I mean, our beloved 4.2 doesn't have a problem so why should the V6????

Emissions and carbon is only to do with furling and ignition. Sounds like BS to me.

I think so to Matt....The joint venture would have meant a saving on sharing engines...The Alfa V6 I would imagine was not a cheap engine to make where as they could have off the shelve units from the Yanks......All about saving money I would say....

 

[cobratwin]

Defo agree Matt,
Even bolting a turbo on it would have given them euro 5,

But I don't think this is the last of the old V6, I think they are planning something to bring the old girl back.

 

[conaero]

I heard some months back that FGA bought am Italian engine company purely because they had a V6 in development.

I think it was called Motori or similar.

Alfa need a V6 with chromey bits on it IMHO

 

[conaero]

He seems pretty adamant he is not selling:

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has issued a hands-off warning to Volkswagen over Alfa Romeo.

VW has long been linked with purchasing Alfa from Fiat, but Marchionne has again dismissed the reports, saying instead that VW should concentrate on fixing Seat.

"As long as I am CEO of Chrysler and Fiat, Mr [Ferdinand] Piech will never have Alfa Romeo,” Marchionne told a JD Power automotive conference in the US. “It's hands-off. I told him. I will call him and I will email him."

“I'm not the one who bought Seat. He's the one who bought it. I don't know if he can [fix it], but he needs to try."

Full story: VW boss 'interested' in Alfa

VW chairman Piech and CEO Martin Winterkorn have often spoken of their desire to add Alfa to the VW Group roster.

“Alfa’s a beautiful brand but there are quality issues with the engines and suspension systems for example,” Winterkorn told Autocar at last year’s Paris motor show. “I’m quite sure we could make a beautiful brand out of Alfa again.”

 

[conaero]

Here is an interesting titbit:

The V6 production ended in 2005 at Alfa Romeo Arese Plant;[13] a stock of five thousand was built, to be used in Lancia Thesis, Alfa 166 and Alfa GT models.[14] The engine was replaced in the 159 and Brera by a new 3.2 L V6 unit combining a General Motors-designed engine block with Alfa Romeo cylinder heads and induction. British automotive engineering company Cosworth was keen to buy assembly lines of the Alfa Romeo V6 engine, but the Italian company did not want to sell it.[15] The last version of 3.2 L engine was Euro4 compliant, so it would have been possible to produce it a couple of years more.[16] The engine designer Giuseppe Busso died only a couple of days after the last engine was produced in Arese.

 

[Andyk]

Tahts interesting Matt.......Wonder why they wouldn't sell.....?