Why there are no Alpha Romeo's in the US?
 

I want one :(

My friend owns one, not really sure what year it is>

Same here!

never saw 1 here..
does it look old?

They break down like everyday trust me you dont want one

There are - I know a lot of people who have them. Google is your friend. :)

there are some on ebay but the newest one is 94

it's in great shape, but it does look old............if that makes any sense:1orglaugh

I can second that, I owned one before, it was a mechanical nightmare...

what year was that?

Alfa Romeo :)

Alfa Romeo was in the US for a few years back in the late 70's early 80's with the Spyder Veloce. They withdrew due to poor sales. The main reason for not re-entering the market is that the US requires that any manufacturer must have a sufficient service center coverage and OEM part distribution, which basically costs more money to setup then does building a factory to make the cars or to import them and sell them.

I had a 91 164LS chipped the thing was fast as shit when it worked. I would drive it for a week it would break down, then it would take me 3 weeks to find a part that cost an arm and a leg, then it would run for another week or so and break down again.


Rip

They come with a free 6 year rust plan right?
I hear that it's will be fully rotted away within the first 6 years.

Strange to see negative comments about Alpha Romeo reliability: they used to have (pre mid-eighties) rust problems, but reliability wasn't generally an issue.

The biggest Italian manufacturer missing from the US is Fiat, which is not only the parent of Alpha Romeo, but also owns Lancia, Ferrari and Maserati. Way back in 1908 Fiat actually manufactured cars out of New York, but by the '80s both Fiat and Lancia quit the US because of quality and dealership issues. Alfa Romeo lasted until 1995.

After a failed attempt by GM to buy Fiat Auto back in 2000 (GM now own 20% of Fiat and Fiat own 5% of GM) the two companies formed a strategic alliance. At the time both GM and Fiat talked of the possibility of Alfas being sold through either Cadillac or Saab dealerships "as early as 2002" and other Fiat brands returning to the US. At best, that project is running late and a lot of analysts doubt whether there is room in the US market for more brands.

One of the most expensive new car launches I ever attended must have been when Fiat previewed their 'Uno' model about 15 years ago. For some reason they flew both a fleet of cars (and their guests) over to Disney in Florida and had to re-export the cars right afterward.