Alfanatics

Having had my GT for exactly 4 years now (literally to the day), I’ve been reminiscing about the day I signed the papers – and yes, I think about that amazing day with much fondness and pride in my heart – I was, after-all, buying an Alfa Romeo!

I can still see myself and Big-Mac sitting in separate offices at the dealer, methodically sifting through our respective loan agreements, asking questions and ironing out any concerns before signing on the dotted line…wow, what a day, I still can’t believe it’s been 4 years!!
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Merry Christmas Alfanatics! Just a special message to all our readers in this festive day, wishing you all happiness and sheer driving pleasure these holidays! We hope you got everything you wanted in the shopping trolley this year

Scouring the internet I stumbled on something too good not to share. If you were wondering what to get for Christmas well look not further. Here are some of the nicest Alfa Romeo watches that I have found, so far.

Designer : Chopard Alfa Romeo Styled Watch

Alfa Romeo Design
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3 Alfanatics, the open road, and an appetite for easy beach living. That sums up the mission of Goat, Big Mac and Horatio as we begin our adventure to the sea-side. Squeezing all this alfanatic man-meat into the confines of a 147 1.9 JTD was never going to be an easy task, but somehow we even managed to get the luggage in too. Don’t tell Horatio, but we left his bag behind… Weight reduction is key to performance and fuel consumption! He’ll understand.

So for all you readers curious about the robustness of the Alfa car on long haul journeys, stay tuned for an account of our experience. To be honest our greatest danger is the threat of killing each other after being trapped in such close proximity for 6 hours!

A special shout out to all our readers on the road this holiday: drive safe, buckle up and remember that the journey should be an experience too! Have fun, and happy holidays!

B.B.C.

I love my GT. I love every curve, every line in all it’s Bertone-designed splendour. I love the driving position, the look and feel of the interior, the Bose speaker system and the growl of the 1.9 JTD engine as I eat up the road in front of me.

BUT there is something that drives me up the wall. It is a design ‘flaw’ that causes me to gnash my teeth in my sleep and swear uncontrollably when I hear the ‘clink’ that signals it is about to invade my life again. I am referring to the little teensy weensy gap between the seat and the side-wall below the door opening that I have come to call ‘the abyss’. Read the rest of this entry »

So, you are itching to buy an Alfa Mito but are hearing the old, spider web coated rumors of ‘Alfas depreciate as fast as a horizontally challenged (being diplomatic) kid destroys a slice of cake’.

Well, the Alfa Romeo MiTo features on the list of top 10 cars to hold their values in the UK.

          Alfa Romeo MiTo

          Model: 1.4 (95bhp) Turismo 3-door

          Retained value after 3 years, 37,000 miles: 66.0 per cent

-Don’t believe all that you hear about Alfas from the so called neighborhood experts. Come ask us, we will all tell you what it’s like to live with and drive this amazing brand of car.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/picturegalleries/8956247/10-cars-that-hold-their-value.html?image=2

As most of the Alfanatics know by now Alfa Romeo has been changing the denomination of its models from the numerical based system, back to the more traditional name based system. We saw this with the introduction of the MiTo, as well as the Giulietta.

Carrying on this vein is the new replacement for the 159. The Alfa Romeo Giulia. The Guilia’s of old were nothing short of stunning. As I’m sure you all know after reading our GTA article they were also the inspiration and 1^st cars to receive the GTA designation. As the 159 grows a bit long in the tooth so we hope to see the new Giulia on our roads by 2013/2014.

The Giulia will be available as both a 5 door saloon, as well as a 5 door Sportwagon models. The car will be based on the Fiat-Chrysler CUSW (C-segment, US compatible, Wide) or D-Evo platform which allows for front-wheel drive and all wheel drive capable components.

There are no concrete designs finalised for the Giulia as yet, but this is an artist renderings of what the Giulia is expected to look like.

The engine range is likely to include four-cylinder petrol 1.4 Fire, 1.4 Multiair, 1,750 TBi turbocharged and the 2.0 or 2.4 Chrysler GEMA engine and the diesel 1.6 Multijet and 2.0 Multijet, with the possible inclusion of a V6 petrol engine as well.

The Giulia will be the 1^st mass production Alfa model to be reintroduced into the North American market since Alfa Romeo withdrew from this market in 1995. I think it’s safe to say on behalf of all Alfanatics that we all hope this car does Alfa Romeo proud and further reignites the passion for this great brand Worldwide.

So while trawling the internet this morning, I came across a very interesting piece of news.

The very first Alfa Romeo, the G1, and the only one left in the world, will travel across the Bass Strait on the Spirit of Tasmania today to take part in a celebration of the legendary Italian car maker in Tasmania.

This story is amazing as this car is priceless; Read the rest of this entry »

Chrysler issued teaser shots of the new Dodge Dart before the world debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2012. This revised version of the Dart is similar to the Dodge Dart of the 60s and 70s and is aimed to replace the aging Caliber. Dodge promises this version will give to the customer a special blend of style, performance and innovation (I assume that this is all based on Alfa Romeo and its heritage) and fall within the highly competitive compact sedan segment that has seen a host of new models in the past year. The Dodge design team worked with its European owner Fiat to develop the car and in turn based it on the prestigious Alfa brand’s Giulietta which has been popular in markets Read the rest of this entry »

The 36th Bologna International Motor Show just wrapped up in BolognaFiere, Bologna, Italy. Held from the 3rd to the 11th of December, the full spectrum of latest and greatest cars from all manufacturers were placed on diplay for the world to marvel at. Regrettably we couldn’t be there to enjoy the show, which is why we thought we’d join the rest of you and watch it from the comfort of our internet browsers. It should come as no surprise that our focus has been on the Alfa stand, and this great little video helps bring it all into perspective.

Alfa has definitely gone all out on this one. With the help of virtual reality booths, iPad apps, lavish set design, good looking Alfa girls, and of course a display of some of the most beautiful cars on the roads today, this looks like it was a show to be proud of for the brand of Alfa Romeo.

Check out our feature on the Johannesburg Motor Show earlier this year, courtesy of 3D Car Shows. How do you feel it compares?