Fiat / Alfa Romeo Santo Domingo

NALs · Mar 1, 2019

While in the Sunix gas station (the one next to the Volvo showroom) I saw across Ave 27 de Febrero a Fiat / Alfa Romeo sign in what appears to be a new showroom.

This reminded me of a post made by Cobraboy back in August 2018 (click here) regarding the abandoned Fiat / Alfa Romeo showroom on Ave Charles Sumner (across from the Citroën showroom).

It makes plenty of business sense to move to a more concurred avenue. 27 de Febrero is probably the most travelled avenue in the country by all social classes, including the target for Fiat / Alfa Romeo products.

the gorgon · Mar 2, 2019

NALs said:
While in the Sunix gas station (the one next to the Volvo showroom) I saw across Ave 27 de Febrero a Fiat / Alfa Romeo sign in what appears to be a new showroom.

This reminded me of a post made by Cobraboy back in August 2018 (click here) regarding the abandoned Fiat / Alfa Romeo showroom on Ave Charles Sumner (across from the Citroën showroom).

It makes plenty of business sense to move to a more concurred avenue. 27 de Febrero is probably the most travelled avenue in the country by all social classes, including the target for Fiat / Alfa Romeo products.

all social classes cannot buy Alfa Romeos. the people who can afford them do not get familiar with them by seeing them in a drive by situation. true fans of these rare specialty cars know every detail of the car from years of research. they do not get interested in them because they saw one on a showroom floor while they were headed to La Sirena.

AlterEgo · Mar 2, 2019

Location location location

the gorgon · Mar 2, 2019

AlterEgo said:
Location location location

when you are buying a house. or when you are building a school.

a guy who buys an Alfa is not a guy who is buying transportation. different animal. aficionados of Alfa Romeos do not buy a Kia. locating a Porsche dealership where it is easily seen means nothing, because 99.9 percent of the people who see it cannot buy it. the other .1 percent know where to find it.

playacaribe2 · Mar 2, 2019

NALs said:
While in the Sunix gas station (the one next to the Volvo showroom) I saw across Ave 27 de Febrero a Fiat / Alfa Romeo sign in what appears to be a new showroom.

This reminded me of a post made by Cobraboy back in August 2018 (click here) regarding the abandoned Fiat / Alfa Romeo showroom on Ave Charles Sumner (across from the Citroën showroom).

It makes plenty of business sense to move to a more concurred avenue. 27 de Febrero is probably the most travelled avenue in the country by all social classes, including the target for Fiat / Alfa Romeo products.

Alfa Romeo is owned by Fiat/Chrysler and they have spent the last few years reviving the brand and and adding new models to bring it into the mainstream automotive space.

There two newest entries are the Alfa Stelvio and the Giulia.

The Stelvio, a small SUV, is priced to compete with the BMW X3, Audi Q5, Mercedes GLC series. It is nothing to get excited about..........just another entry into an already crowded $40-43k space.

Ditto the Giulia. It was designed and priced to compete in the small car luxury space against the likes of the BMW 3 series, Jaguar XE, Audi Q4, and Mercedes C class, and Infinity Q50 $38-$40k.

Fiat Chrysler has successfully watered the Alfa brand, much like they did with the once prestigious Maserati. And today neither the Stelvio or Giulia set the standard in their respective classes.

Italian sports car enthusiasts raised many a glass when Ferrari was spun away from Fiat/Chrysler.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

windeguy · Mar 2, 2019

playacaribe2 said:
Alfa Romeo is owned by Fiat/Chrysler and they have spent the last few years reviving the brand and and adding new models to bring it into the mainstream automotive space.

There two newest entries are the Alfa Stelvio and the Giulia.

The Stelvio, a small SUV, is priced to compete with the BMW X3, Audi Q5, Mercedes GLC series. It is nothing to get excited about..........just another entry into an already crowded $40-43k space.

Ditto the Giulia. It was designed and priced to compete in the small car luxury space against the likes of the BMW 3 series, Jaguar XE, Audi Q4, and Mercedes C class, and Infinity Q50 $38-$40k.

Fiat Chrysler has successfully watered the Alfa brand, much like they did with the once prestigious Maserati. And today neither the Stelvio or Giulia set the standard in their respective classes.

Italian sports car enthusiasts raised many a glass when Ferrari was spun away from Fiat/Chrysler.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

I am fortunate that I never aspired to own any of the above mentioned vehicles, nor any from their respective companies with one exception - The original Chrysler Motors before the mergers and acquisitions.

That lack of any interest in them has served me well.

Fulano2 · Mar 2, 2019

playacaribe2 said:
Alfa Romeo is owned by Fiat/Chrysler and they have spent the last few years reviving the brand and and adding new models to bring it into the mainstream automotive space.

There two newest entries are the Alfa Stelvio and the Giulia.

The Stelvio, a small SUV, is priced to compete with the BMW X3, Audi Q5, Mercedes GLC series. It is nothing to get excited about..........just another entry into an already crowded $40-43k space.

Ditto the Giulia. It was designed and priced to compete in the small car luxury space against the likes of the BMW 3 series, Jaguar XE, Audi Q4, and Mercedes C class, and Infinity Q50 $38-$40k.

Fiat Chrysler has successfully watered the Alfa brand, much like they did with the once prestigious Maserati. And today neither the Stelvio or Giulia set the standard in their respective classes.

Italian sports car enthusiasts raised many a glass when Ferrari was spun away from Fiat/Chrysler.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

Alfa might get some new customers from other brands (like me BMW to AR) but as Gorgon wrote most are aficionados, even here in Europe and they still have a not do good reputation on rust.
So I dont think it is real competition for BMW , Volvo or MB.
Nevertheless I see more Stelvios every day. And for a good reason, it is a delicious driving machine.

cobraboy · Mar 2, 2019

windeguy said:
I am fortunate that I never aspired to own any of the above mentioned vehicles, nor any from their respective companies with one exception - The original Chrysler Motors before the mergers and acquisitions.

That lack of any interest in them has served me well.

I acquired an old 1964 Giulia Spider 1600. It was cute, but not particularly powerful and hard to keep running. Everything electrical was constantly breaking. It was a few clicks less reliable than Lucas electronics without the Brit understated class.

If that car was a bra it would be falsies.

The GTV's were cute.

Fulano2 · Mar 2, 2019

Sometimes style comes with sacrifices.
If you want or wanted to drive trouble-free take a Toyota or Subaru, or a Korean.

playacaribe2 · Mar 2, 2019

Fulano2 said:
Alfa might get some new customers from other brands (like me BMW to AR) but as Gorgon wrote most are aficionados, even here in Europe and they still have a not do good reputation on rust.
So I dont think it is real competition for BMW , Volvo or MB.
Nevertheless I see more Stelvios every day. And for a good reason, it is a delicious driving machine.

The brand cannot survive on afficionados........it now needs volume to successfully compete.......and since they are run of the mill in their respective classes.........we will see how long they last.

They are not going to sell enough Stelvio's or Giulia's to afficionados in Santo Domingo and survive........

But I wish Reid & Compania well.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

Fulano2 · Mar 2, 2019

No in SD it will never be a succes story...Alfa requieres maintenance for a start.

william webster · Mar 2, 2019

just ran across this....

Porsche Macan Turbo vs the Alfa

My Macan Turbo PP VS Alfa Romeo Giulia
Had the pleasure of being challenged by a Giulia today and although I didn't get embarrassed he was faster. Next time I am going to turn the air conditioning off and use sports plus, I am getting way too cocky.

cobraboy · Mar 3, 2019

Fulano2 said:
Sometimes style comes with sacrifices.
If you want or wanted to drive trouble-free take a Toyota or Subaru, or a Korean.

There are aficionados for Corvairs, Metropolitans, Pintos and Vegas, too.

That does not mean the brand has wide appeal.

The #1 factor that negatively affects consumer buying decisions on autos is reliability. If a brand is labelled "high-maintenance", the desireability drops like a rock...unless it's a Ferrari or some exotic sled that is a hobby car.

Alfas and Fiats are cute with an interesting history. I love some of the vintage Alfa race cars. But you could not give me one as a daily driver.

Like Ducatis and Moto Guzzis, Alfas and Fiats have been training mechanics for decades.

Tom0910 · Mar 3, 2019

I owned a Fiat about 20 years ago,biggest piece of chit I have ever owned. I have owned three Porsches and drove them daily,reliable as any car I have owned,the only issue is the New England potholes required me to constantly send out a wheel or two to be repaired,other than that solid for daily driving.

chico bill · Mar 3, 2019

Owned a Alpha Spyder Veloce - but it was in Guido's shop (truly was called Guido's) more than in my driveway. Fun to drive, not cheap to own. 60,000 mile cars then sell sell

hard times doug · Mar 3, 2019

chico bill said:
Owned a Alpha Spyder Veloce - but it was in Guido's shop (truly was called Guido's) more than in my driveway. Fun to drive, not cheap to own. 60,000 mile cars then sell sell

Have a 1986 with 13000 orgunal miles. Have never had the top up. Starts every time with no issues in the 20 years I have owned it. However it is not a car I could or would drive everyday.

Fulano2 · Mar 3, 2019

cobraboy said:
There are aficionados for Corvairs, Metropolitans, Pintos and Vegas, too.

I wrote style. This is comparing a Kiton suit with a hawaiian shirt.

cobraboy · Mar 3, 2019

Fulano2 said:
I wrote style. This is comparing a Kiton suit with a hawaiian shirt.

Style is a matter of personal opinion.

I like Hawaiian shirts. I disdain suits.

Alfa's are cute and no doubt appeal to many. Different strokes.

ROLLOUT · Mar 4, 2019

cobraboy said:
Style is a matter of personal opinion.

I like Hawaiian shirts. I disdain suits.

Alfa's are cute and no doubt appeal to many. Different strokes.

anyone who would call an alfa cute, clearly has no clue as to the alfa mystic. if you had ever gotten behind the wheel of a GTV 6 you would not refer to that beast as cute. even the lowly alfasud had its strong points.

cobraboy · Mar 4, 2019

ROLLOUT said:
anyone who would call an alfa cute, clearly has no clue as to the alfa mystic. if you had ever gotten behind the wheel of a GTV 6 you would not refer to that beast as cute. even the lowly alfasud had its strong points.

I think I know my way around cars, hence my handle.

Yes, Alfa's are cute. I'm not much of a fanboi mystique guy for a brand.

If you ever stepped behind the wheel of a 525hp/535ft.lb. 2300lb sled, you'd understand why someone would say Alfa's are cute.

I owned an Alfa for a while back in The Day.

Fiat / Alfa Romeo Santo Domingo

Economist by Profession

Platinum

Administrator

Platinum

Gold

Platinum

Bronze

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist

Bronze

Gold

Bronze

Platinum

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist

Well-known member

Dogs Better than People

Member

Bronze

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist

Silver

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist