We can always dream...

Leonard Hofstadter

... but it would be amazing if it really happened!

Apparently, the latest news on Alfa Romeos is that they are going to do what BMW always did, and should still be doing. They are going back to having a lineup that only drives the front wheels if it's in conjunction with driving the correct wheels, and most models will drive the correct wheels:D:D!

(that would be rear wheel drive, for those wondering)

I suspect this is more pie in the sky stuff, given how downsizing is the current trend, but I would dearly love it to be true.

Anyway, here's the link.

Scortho

Now to make my day even better would be an announcement that theyve found a way to make the busso pass the emissions test.

They never sold of the assembly line after they stopped producing the engine.:cool:

corglass

captainspeed wrote: »

... but it would be amazing if it really happened!

Apparently, the latest news on Alfa Romeos is that they are going to do what BMW always did, and should still be doing. They are going back to having a lineup that only drives the front wheels if it's in conjunction with driving the correct wheels, and most models will drive the correct wheels:D:D!

(that would be rear wheel drive, for those wondering)

I suspect this is more pie in the sky stuff, given how downsizing is the current trend, but I would dearly love it to be true.

Anyway, here's the link.

Cool. What car do you drive captainspeed?

Victor Meldrew

If Alfa can pull this off (broke, and part of Chrysler/Fiat now), then they will have a range that can go for BMW's jugular.

Would love to see this come to pass. The Alfa marque needs this and Chrysler & Fiat need a premium brand that will sell in the US. Lancia is dead to all but the committed (in both senses) petrol-head.

And us Europeans need something to keep BMW on their toes and away from wasting R&D on the MINI brand and things "GT" or "X" esque...

Dord

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

If Alfa can pull this off (broke, and part of Chrysler/Fiat now), then they will have a range that can go for BMW's jugular.

Would love to see this come to pass. The Alfa marque needs this and Chrysler & Fiat need a premium brand that will sell in the US. Lancia is dead to all but the committed (in both senses) petrol-head.

And us Europeans need something to keep BMW on their toes and away from wasting R&D on the MINI brand and things "GT" or "X" esque...

Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks MINI should be rescued from BMW. They're diluting it to ridiculous levels.

R.O.R

Oh, so the 159 replacement has been delayed again. What a surprise.

I'm not holding my breath for any of this to come true, and if it does, they'll probably be based on outdated yank RWD tech.

Matt Simis

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

And us Europeans need something to keep BMW on their toes and away from wasting R&D on the MINI brand and things "GT" or "X" esque...

But we dont need another. Funny how no one in Ireland considers Merc as a BMW competitor but they do elsewhere. Merc are also predominately RWD, German, make cars with similar engines, have a performance range thats basically a mirror image of MPower etc. Then there is Audi, aside from the AWD'ness, they are cousins as opposed siblings in Merc.

Merc have an image problem, but they are addressing it, they have every other ingredient (chassis, drivetrain, gearbox, performance, heritage, similar engines, lots of cash). Alfa (and I like Alfa) have neither the image nor anything else going for them (and I dont count modern Alfa as the company of 20years ago, thats long dead, a victim of mergers and takeovers).


Alfa today is a 2 (as in 2 cars) car company. Those 2 cars are "look good", feel good and somewhat successful urban runabouts (in their core market). They couldnt be further from something like high production cost, low volume M5/M550D etc. The Alfa RWD story also comes out on the dot every summer. When they were after launching the 159 the year before and were considering a 166 replacement, it kinda sounded believable.. Now they have have switched their entire "line up"* to diesel Giulietta's and Mitos... well this ship has long left port.
*"Line up" = 2 cars.


BMW GT, Mini and X range arent a "waste of R&D".. thats absurd considering they are highly successful products which opened up new demographics (only one of which appeals to me, but the rest clearly appeal to a host of people). A waste of R&D would be stupid $hit nobody buys.

R.O.R wrote: »

Oh, so the 159 replacement has been delayed again. What a surprise.
I'm not holding my breath for any of this to come true, and if it does, they'll probably be based on outdated yank RWD tech.

Exactly what I first thought, if it happens, it will be a very pretty face on a very basic body, the "fast model" powered by some weener entry level US V6 like the Brera/159 V6 was.


PS: As an Alfa fan, I do hope Im wrong on all the above!

unkel

As R.O.R implied, Alfa have been promising RWD saloons for about a decade now. I believe it when I see it, but for now I consider it to be just PR...

Victor Meldrew

Matt Simis wrote: »

BMW GT, Mini and X range arent a "waste of R&D".. thats absurd considering they are highly successful products which opened up new demographics (only one of which appeals to me, but the rest clearly appeal to a host of people). A waste of R&D would be stupid $hit nobody buys.

Agree that Merc, BMW, Audi are competitors, but Merc have an old man image that is still proving difficult to shake.

The cars I slag off are successful, but personally all I see is bloat and excess.

The Mini thing is just embarrassing at this stage. They are flogging design cues the same way Jag did with the X-type. possibly in a more cynical manner if that is possible.

I accept that BMW would go bust if I were head of design....

unkel

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

I accept that BMW would go bust if I were head of design....

We're probably just old fashioned / conservative, Victor

I only like the look of the E60 5-series now. 10 years after it was launched

Victor Meldrew

unkel wrote: »

We're probably just old fashioned / conservative, Victor

I only like the look of the E60 5-series now. 10 years after it was launched

It's funny. The E60 looks like it was designed by one person. With one idea. It is actually coherent. And will be collectable. The high roof line is "odd", but works in a quirky way.

The 3 series E46/90, F30 are all "safer", because they would not dare scare upset the apple cart.

It took me 7 years to forgive them for what they did after the E30 (e36), but (ironically), that all means that the 3 series now works as a (compromised) family car.

H3llR4iser

captainspeed wrote: »

... but it would be amazing if it really happened!

Apparently, the latest news on Alfa Romeos is that they are going to do what BMW always did, and should still be doing. They are going back to having a lineup that only drives the front wheels if it's in conjunction with driving the correct wheels, and most models will drive the correct wheels:D:D!

(that would be rear wheel drive, for those wondering)

I suspect this is more pie in the sky stuff, given how downsizing is the current trend, but I would dearly love it to be true.

Anyway, here's the link.

These news go around every six months in Italy and never came to anything until now; However, news about Alfa making a supercar and a lightweight RWD coupe' also circulated for years with no consequence, until the 8C and the 4C were finally born. It might be that something is actually moving.

As I said before, Alfa and the Fiat group in general suffer from "Italianitis": when they design/develop a car, they only seem to think about the Italian market and its peculiarities (call for small diesel engines, no petrol whatsoever, some "fear" of the RWD which many consider "dangerous", preference for hatchbacks and estates) ignoring the continental market, not to speak of the rest of the world.

Next good decision: dump the horrific bulbous nose and bug-eye headlights. There is nothing Alfa-like about them; They might work on the 8C and 4C, just as they worked on the 33 Stradale, they would look absolutely ridiculous on a saloon/executive and make smaller cars look like Nissans (and that one cooperation didn't go too well...ARNA anyone?).

Victor Meldrew

H3llR4iser wrote: »

...ARNA anyone?.

That really is some stain on the family tree....

MuppetCheck

The Italianitis hits the nail on the head with Alfa really at the moment.

10 years ago they had a range of cars covering the main sectors that actually sold reasonably well but would always turn your head when you saw one. Nowadays what do they have (excluding the C-Cars)? The Mito that only a mother could love and the Giulietta which can be a bit marmite in terms of opinion. If you see one on the road in this country it will get a look but more because you're suprised to see one as opposed to it looking great. Couple that with Alfa seemingly not wanting to sell or promote cars that much it's no suprise to see that the total year to date is six. And I'm sure that some of those six aren't all private punters either.

If they go through with this plan it would be great, but they need thoroughly sort out the way they do business to have a hope at selling anything. When Porsche has more than three times your sales in a recession hit country you're doing something very wrong.

bear1

I just wish the Giulia would come soon and they put the twin-turbo diesel engine that they have put in the Delta
I think Alfa (of which I own one) slowly died after they stopped production of the 156.
The car was a thing of beauty which even now still gets looks.
They need to go back to their roots, bring out some nice 2.5 V6's instead of selling 1.3JTD engines and market their cars more.
Pity the Giulietta didn't really take off here

Scortho

bear1 wrote: »

I just wish the Giulia would come soon and they put the twin-turbo diesel engine that they have put in the Delta
I think Alfa (of which I own one) slowly died after they stopped production of the 156.
The car was a thing of beauty which even now still gets looks.
They need to go back to their roots, bring out some nice 2.5 V6's instead of selling 1.3JTD engines and market their cars more.
Pity the Giulietta didn't really take off here

I don't know why they stopped selling the 159 when they had nothing to replace it with.
Whatever replacing the 156 and the 166 with the 159, not having any replacement for the 159 was a flop by alfa.

bear1

I don't know why they stopped selling the 159 when they had nothing to replace it with.
Whatever replacing the 156 and the 166 with the 159, not having any replacement for the 159 was a flop by alfa.

Agree, they stopped selling it practically as soon as the new Tbi engine was put into it. Idiocy.
The 166 also was a thing of pure luxury, ate miles and even after a 12 hour drive you felt you could do more.
I have the same thing with the 156 and its fantastically comfortable Momo leather seats. Love driving it and I've never had the same feeling driving other cars

H3llR4iser

Scortho wrote: »

I don't know why they stopped selling the 159 when they had nothing to replace it with.
Whatever replacing the 156 and the 166 with the 159, not having any replacement for the 159 was a flop by alfa.

Essentially because it wasn't selling anymore, which still is no excuse for the lack of planning. At the time, FIAT was undergoing a major restructuring as a corporate, and the (un)trained monkeys making the decisions (Marchionne above all) got yet another fit of Italianitis and decided to prioritize the main Fiat brand with its city cars, as again that is what the Italian market wants. Alfa and Lancia were pushed aside, with an "intent" to "some day" fix them up as well.

Now they are scrambling, trying to find a way to revive the ailing brands, apparently without a single idea about what to do. The amazing thing is that the public, both in Italy and outside, have been very vocal and very clear about what they expect from a new Alfa Romeo - yet the aforementioned monkeys simply refuse to acknowledge it.

Back to the 159, it was yet another example of extremely poor decision making and deliberately deciding to ignore signals from the public/market, not to mention the history and character of the brand.

A fact that is very little known outside Italy: Alfa Romeo held a press presentation some time before launching the 159. As they knew the new car was somewhat bigger and bulkier than the 156, they asked the various journalists "What car, in our current lineup, do you think this replaces?". They all indicated, with no hesitation whatsoever, the 166. That should have been a big warning bell, but the higher-ups ignored it.

Fast forward a few years, and indeed the 159 is regarded, by the general public (i.e. not car enthusiasts), more of a "stunted attempt at segment E executive" than a sports saloon. This hindered the sales MASSIVELY in Italy (a lot of the people who bought a 156 not because it was an Alfa but because it was a great drive, replaced it with a 3-Series or an A4 as they deemed the 159 too bulky) and, since "Italianitis" struck again and there were no proper plans to market the car well in the EU market (not to mention the "US return" that never happened), the whole project was doomed.

bear1

I think another problem with the 159 was the stupid engine choice which is what many people bought here, the 1.8 MPI.
Far too weak for such a heavy car.
However I think the correct engine was the 2.4 with over 200 bhp but of course due to our retarded taxation laws not many people bothered with.
The 159 is a thing of beauty as well, especially with the Ti spec...
At this point they may as well sell the brand to VW and let them bring it back like they did with Skoda

Scortho

H3llR4iser wrote: »

Essentially because it wasn't selling anymore, which still is no excuse for the lack of planning. At the time, FIAT was undergoing a major restructuring as a corporate, and the (un)trained monkeys making the decisions (Marchionne above all) got yet another fit of Italianitis and decided to prioritize the main Fiat brand with its city cars, as again that is what the Italian market wants. Alfa and Lancia were pushed aside, with an "intent" to "some day" fix them up as well.

Now they are scrambling, trying to find a way to revive the ailing brands, apparently without a single idea about what to do. The amazing thing is that the public, both in Italy and outside, have been very vocal and very clear about what they expect from a new Alfa Romeo - yet the aforementioned monkeys simply refuse to acknowledge it.

Back to the 159, it was yet another example of extremely poor decision making and deliberately deciding to ignore signals from the public/market, not to mention the history and character of the brand.

A fact that is very little known outside Italy: Alfa Romeo held a press presentation some time before launching the 159. As they knew the new car was somewhat bigger and bulkier than the 156, they asked the various journalists "What car, in our current lineup, do you think this replaces?". They all indicated, with no hesitation whatsoever, the 166. That should have been a big warning bell, but the higher-ups ignored it.

Fast forward a few years, and indeed the 159 is regarded, by the general public (i.e. not car enthusiasts), more of a "stunted attempt at segment E executive" than a sports saloon. This hindered the sales MASSIVELY in Italy (a lot of the people who bought a 156 not because it was an Alfa but because it was a great drive, replaced it with a 3-Series or an A4 as they deemed the 159 too bulky) and, since "Italianitis" struck again and there were no proper plans to market the car well in the EU market (not to mention the "US return" that never happened), the whole project was doomed.

It wasn't selling because feck all outside alfa fans were aware of it. Coupled with the fact that the petrol models aren't worth a **** even alfa fans weren't going to buy them.
I love how the 159 looks and reliability wise it's came on leaps and bounds in comparison to the 156 and especially the 166.
Likewise with the giuletta and mito.
I love how the giuletta looks, but in effect they've just replaced the 147 with 2 cars, which doesn't make sense.

I think the biggest issue facing alfa is who's going to buy a rwd one?
Fans of alfa romeo aren't due to the fact that we can buy them for feck all 3 years later when most of the problems are ironed out. Their dealer network reputation is in shatters as well. Evidence of this is the fact that don baker and Gerry Campbell are kept so busy. I don't know anyone who'd recommend tractamotors for work.

Tea 1000

bear1 wrote: »

I think another problem with the 159 was the stupid engine choice which is what many people bought here, the 1.8 MPI.
Far too weak for such a heavy car.
However I think the correct engine was the 2.4 with over 200 bhp but of course due to our retarded taxation laws not many people bothered with.
The 159 is a thing of beauty as well, especially with the Ti spec...
At this point they may as well sell the brand to VW and let them bring it back like they did with Skoda

The biggest problem with the 159 was that it was platform shared with Saab's 9-5, which was a bigger car, and then the Saab never used it in the end, leaving the 159 lumbered with a bigger steel platform than it should have had, making it too heavy.
I completely disagree with the sell to VW notion though. They'll just MQB-platform the crap out of Alfa, and stick VW engines in the noses and we'll just have a half-assed attempt at something that resembles what an Italian car might look like, but will be deliberately stunted so as not to hurt Audi sales.
Marchionne is right on one thing - VW should shut the f**k up about being able to sort out Alfa until they take a long hard look at their history with SEAT, which they claimed was their Alfa equivalent. Sort that out first, then look further afield.

bear1

I completely disagree with the sell to VW notion though

I wouldn't want them to sell it to the Germans which would as you said turn the car into.. well.... just a car.
I just wish FIAT would get their act together and finally come up with something. All FIAT seem to care about is how well the 500 sells in the US.

Matt Simis

bear1 wrote: »

I wouldn't want them to sell it to the Germans which would as you said turn the car into.. well.... just a car.

Pff, ignoring the "just a car" malarkey, in fantasy land a VAG owned Alfa could have been funded and geared to produce RWD cars as a direct competitor to BMW with very targeted sports Saloon and hot-hatches. Looking at how VAG turned around Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, I would say all the sour grapes aside, they are a fantastic company to take a failing brand and reinvigorate it in a way that blends heritage/image with commercial success.

"But they would "stunted" to not compete compete with Audi is total BS when you look at what Porsche, Lambo and even Seat put out (check out pricing and performance of a Leon Cupra/Cupra R vs its stable mates).



While I get you liked the 156 (and I had a 2.4JTD 156, it was good), it wasnt a sports Saloon in an Alfa sense at all and many (most) proper long time "Alfatisti " very much consider the 156 as the beginning of the end of Alfa, not the 159.

bear1

Pff, ignoring the "just a car" malarkey

Just a car in the sense that its nothing special to be in.
I have the 156 you are talking about (2.4JTD) and I do think (as I wrote before) that the 156 was the last proper Alfa.
Turned around Bugatti? What is the point making a car only a select few can buy and still VW loses money on every single one?
Yes VW has the money to create good cars unlike Fiat, but as you say, all Alfisti know that the soul of the car would be lost

H3llR4iser

Matt Simis wrote: »

Pff, ignoring the "just a car" malarkey, in fantasy land a VAG owned Alfa could have been funded and geared to produce RWD cars as a direct competitor to BMW with very targeted sports Saloon and hot-hatches.

That is, at least on the surface, the reason VAG wants Alfa Romeo: notwithstanding Audi's past and recent motorsport history (Auto Union, Group B monsters, 24H of LeMans), they still didn't manage to get the "sport saloon" image to compete with BMW (normal Audis being as exciting as an afternoon at auntie Breda's might have something to do with it). They sort of tried with Seat, with scarce success - even though Leons thoroughly handed BMW their arses in the World Touring Car Championship, nobody outside of Spain knew what a Seat was until recently, and still it's not a brand commonly associated with motorports in the collective imagination the way BMW and Alfa Romeo are.

Theoretically, VAG could do very well with Alfa Romeo: keep the design and manufacture where they are, bring back the brand's tradition (RDW, transaxle, lightweight chassis) in a modernized flavour, mix in their solid corporate concept and efficiency and we could have a winner. Theoretically, because the risk of them just slapping a VW engine in a bland imitation of "Italian design" is quite high in reality.

While I get you liked the 156 (and I had a 2.4JTD 156, it was good), it wasnt a sports Saloon in an Alfa sense at all and many (most) proper long time "Alfatisti " very much consider the 156 as the beginning of the end of Alfa, not the 159.

This is a first, never heard anything like it. Usually, you have Alfisti of two types: the ones that deem anything post-75 an "Alfiat", and the ones that kind of embraced the new course, at least before horrors such as the Mito and Giulia came out.

Matt Simis

H3llR4iser wrote: »

This is a first, never heard anything like it. Usually, you have Alfisti of two types: the ones that deem anything post-75 an "Alfiat", and the ones that kind of embraced the new course, at least before horrors such as the Mito and Giulia came out.

Well yeah thats who Im referring to. There were both types on Octane.ie (remember it!?) and the older brigade were no more interested in the 156 than they were in an Audi A4.

bear1 wrote: »

Turned around Bugatti? What is the point making a car only a select few can buy and still VW loses money on every single one?
Yes VW has the money to create good cars unlike Fiat, but as you say, all Alfisti know that the soul of the car would be lost

What do you mean whats the point!? Bugatti was dead, now its a globally recognised brand name.
They dont need to make money on such things when they have cash cows elsewhere. The fact only a select few can buy them is an extremely important selling point Bugatti need to ensure remains protected.


This is more than money... you already said you think all cars produced by "German" companies (who nearly always use Italian design firms, but whatever) are nothing more than utlitities. I on the otherhand think the audacious ambition, leadership, technology portfolio and internal drive in a company like VAG is what makes them successful. That then brings in the $$.

This is a company that started out making cheap peoples cars and ended up as one of the most influential and successful car companies ever, producing everything from super frugal sub-1litre Urban cars to trucks to a multitude of super-cars, hailing from a domestic market that already had a host of many decade long established car marques. They earned their stripes IMO.

Alfa would be a vastly better company than the very literal 2-horse outfit they are today had VAG owned them for the last 5years. Their cars may have ended up with "soul" but their commercial management was rotten.

Tea 1000

Matt Simis wrote: »

Pff, ignoring the "just a car" malarkey, in fantasy land a VAG owned Alfa could have been funded and geared to produce RWD cars as a direct competitor to BMW with very targeted sports Saloon and hot-hatches. Looking at how VAG turned around Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, I would say all the sour grapes aside, they are a fantastic company to take a failing brand and reinvigorate it in a way that blends heritage/image with commercial success.

"But they would "stunted" to not compete compete with Audi is total BS when you look at what Porsche, Lambo and even Seat put out (check out pricing and performance of a Leon Cupra/Cupra R vs its stable mates).



While I get you liked the 156 (and I had a 2.4JTD 156, it was good), it wasnt a sports Saloon in an Alfa sense at all and many (most) proper long time "Alfatisti " very much consider the 156 as the beginning of the end of Alfa, not the 159.

There's a tale of two VW's when it comes to brand take-overs.
Skoda were the winners regarding coming from nowhere to rival VW products, but now they're being reigned in a little. SEAT are unsuccessful really, while I like the new Ibiza and Leon, they aren't the company they should have been.
Porsche is too recent to judge, but Porsche engineers are kicking back a lot now because VW want to start forcing them to platform share, and Porsche say that's only OK if they're the platform designers in the first place. Porsche even want to delay a car until 2019 because they'll get to use one of their own platforms rather than a VAG one. They may not be let.
Bugatti is a clap on the back for VW alright, they did a great job. But on closer inspection there is no direct VAG rival for that. Lambourghini is another example. All that was great about the Murcielago was Lambourghini. Same with the Aventador. People love to forget that these cars are built by Lambourghini employees, with Audi engineers overseeing and showing them how to make an interior that doesn't fall apart. People think that they design all in Ingolstadt and just ship production to Sant 'Agata, but in truth they're doing it the right way with Lambo. Again though, they know that there is no direct rival in their camp. The closest is the Gallardo and the R8, but they share platforms to some degree, and even a V10, but they know that the Lambo must be a little bit quicker or it'll hurt the brand.
Bently is another good example, they also put full effort in because of no direct rival.
But they couldn't pitch Alfa at anything other than a rival to one of their own. They'll either take from VW sales or Audi sales. They'll do what they're trying to do with Porsche, platform share. And that means no RWD. They won't spend money developing Alfa into a premium RWD brand, because it makes no financial sense to them.
The best news Alfa have gotten in the last year or so is the Mazda collaboration for a new RWD roadster. Toyota and Subaru and the GT86/BRZ is another proper collaboration that I can't see VW doing. Not at this level. They've spend years and millions reducing their platforms to one modular one, they're not going to come up with a new one for Alfa.
Therefore, they'll sterilise the brand.
And I love the Gulietta. It's no Alfa of old, but it's the best looking car in that class. Golf's suck.

bear1

I am not stating the Germans are bad at making cars, but they are not good at making cars with soul.
I've had a few German cars and they bored the hell out of me.
Whereas the Alfas I have owned (never the new generation ones) were always special to me. Beautifully styled, lovely engines and just a special type of charisma about them
At some point they probably will fall into the hands of VAG but I rather they wouldn't.
There is also the "exclusivity" of the Alfa. Golfs, Passats etc are everywhere but how many new Alfa's do you see going around? Not many, especially the MiTo.

The best news Alfa have gotten in the last year or so is the Mazda collaboration for a new RWD roadster

I s that still on? I thought I read somewhere that this had broken down or is the 4C one of the results form the collaboration?
I've read also that the Giulia will be released in the US next year - but cant seem to find any info on a EU release

Tea 1000

bear1 wrote: »

I s that still on? I thought I read somewhere that this had broken down or is the 4C one of the results form the collaboration?
I've read also that the Giulia will be released in the US next year - but cant seem to find any info on a EU release

I think so, the 4C is a separate project that started long before that deal. 2015 I think is the time-frame before we'll see anything.

bear1

I think so, the 4C is a separate project that started long before that deal. 2015 I think is the time-frame before we'll see anything.

Yes you are right, they still have the deal on to create roadsters together from 2015 I believe. Same with Toyota/Mazda.
Although I cant see the 4C selling many to Ireland
Prices seem to be around the 65k mark for the Irish market.

EDIT: Just read the hte MiTo and Giulietta will stop production in 2015 to make way for the RWD cars. Don't care about the MiTo but a pity for the Giulietta.

H3llR4iser

bear1 wrote: »

Yes you are right, they still have the deal on to create roadsters together from 2015 I believe. Same with Toyota/Mazda.
Although I cant see the 4C selling many to Ireland
Prices seem to be around the 65k mark for the Irish market.

EDIT: Just read the hte MiTo and Giulietta will stop production in 2015 to make way for the RWD cars. Don't care about the MiTo but a pity for the Giulietta.

I for one can't wait to see them gone; The "bug eyes" looks never grew on me. They had absolutely nothing distinctive of the brand - take the Alfa shield out, and they could have been easily mistaken for some Japanese citycar. I didn't really like the 147 either mind you, even though the restyling version was less cumbersome looking.

The Mazda deal only further proves the lack of leadership and direction, as does the whole 4C operation: they can make as many roadsters and coupe' as they like and make as good as possible, still they're not the kind of cars that will bring the brand back on the map. It's great to see the 4C hitting the market, it has a lot of potential, but it's on the sport saloon ground that the bulk of the game is played. Fix that first, the rest comes after.

Last but not least, Alfa Romeo NEEDS to get back into some form of motorsport; It is simply inconceivable for any brand to try and have a sporty image while watching the others race on the TV. The higher ups at Fiat always bellyache about any of their brands other than Ferrari being involved in racing, fearing they might take media attention off the prancing horse (as it was happening in the late '80s/early '90s, with Lancia Deltas dominating the WRC, Alfa 155s winning the DTM and Ferrari struggling in 10th place in F1), but an involvement in a series such as the WTCC is absolutely paramount, advertisement wise.

bear1

The 166 also was a craker of a car. Pure luxury pre FL and post FL.
As you said, they need to get back to their roots. The 156 was a game changer for them in a few ways which they then quickly lost, I'd love to see the 166 remade.