|
Alfa 156 Facelift
|
Question: I Went to the dealer today, to take a look at the *new* 156. Pretty nice,
although i still think the the *old* interiour is still very classy as well. Some questions:
1) Question about the new info display on top of the dash: the dealer told
me that it will only be used for things like temperature, km/l, avg speed
and things like that. The normal tripcomputer things.
Now is it just my opinion, or is it a big alfa-mistake not to use that
display for pictogrammic navigation? In stead, they use a (what is it,
blaupunkt?) not so nice looking third party product where navigation is on
the head unit of the radio. Strange idea...
It seems like the display in the 156 is exactly the same as the one of the
147. Oh yeah, and another thing: phone handling will NOT be possible from
the steering wheel.
2) why did Alfa choose NOT to list a distinctive version of the 1.9 JTD in
holland?
3) following the upgrade of the 2.4JTD, can we also expect a tuned 1.9JTD
version in the near future?
Answer: As well as a 156 I own a 1960 101 series Giulietta Spider Veloce. It shares
MANY components with other cars of its day but never the less I can assure
you all that it is a "real" Alfa". No car manufacturer has ever (with the
possible exception of early Bugatti?) made every last nut and bolt that goes
into its cars. They go to component manufacturers for most of their
bits.These component manufacturers supply many car makers and it makes sense
to make maxium use of your buying power to get the best prices.
My Giulietta has the entire body made (not just designed) by Pininfarina,
most of the electrics were ethier standard Marelli or Lucas (now changed
for more reliable Bosch!), brake master cylinder by Lucas, instruments by
Veglia, and those are just some of the bits that have "foreign" part
numbers. I'm sure that Alfa bought in dampers, springs, trim, carpets,
seats, etc. etc. etc. rather than make them from scratch. Some (such as
springs?) may be specfically made for Alfa, others (e.g. the dynamo) are
found in MANY OTHER CARS!!! The interior light and windscreen wiper switches
are totally generic toggle switches found on everything from Ferrari 250
GTOs to Kenwood food mixers! One of the most important components of a car
that affect the handling/ride/grip/performance is its tyres, when has any
car manufacturer made their own?
Alfa are on the up. After a bad period (symbolized bt the dreaded Arna),
they are once again starting to make cars which look, feel, and drive like
Alfas again. Don't count components on the new models but look, listen and
drive, and then decide if it has the Alfa heart.
Comment:
|
|
|
|
|
