Alfa Romeo

Here at NMS-North, close to the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, we're big fans of all things Italy. Food, drink, cars, food, and cars...in that order. Since this is not a food blog, or a drink blog, then believe it or not it's time to talk about some more Italian automobiles! Now, maybe they have a trunk full of pasta and basil pesto, along with some Prosecco, but still, all that yummy stuff has to get to your house from the grocery store somehow, so why not in an Italian car!

OK, so, we're living in the USA (old Steve Miller song title, "doot-doo-doo-doot-do-do, Livin' In The USA"...) and want to take our Italian food home in an Italian automobile. A Ferrari would be a very fun and very fast way to do so, although some of the trunk space is small, and to be honest we're not in the income bracket that buys new Ferraris.

For a few less Euros, how about a Maserati? Ouch, still out of my price range, although it's fun to realize that Maserati is owned by the same FIAT company that owns Ferrari. OK, after Maserati, how about a Lamborghini? Oh baby, I'd LOVE to take my groceries home in a Lambo, but again, same price range as a Ferrari so thanks for thinking about it.

Hmmm, what to do, what to DO? Well, you could REALLY stretch your imagination and buy a Dodge or Chrysler and make the argument that "well, they're OWNED by FIAT, so doesn't that make them Italian cars too?" 

Sure, you COULD say that, but in this country you lose that argument 100% of the time, so what else can we come up with for buying Italian wheels?











I think in the near future the best answer is going to be Alfa Romeo!  Currently they sell exactly one model in the US, the carbon fiber bodied 4C. Starting at about $53,900, that might not be in my price range, so I'm curious to find out what other models they will be bringing here in the future, since they will a bit cheaper than that. Luckily, coming up on June 24th we should find out because Alfa will be holding a big press conference to announce what that next car will be!

The Alfa Romeo company was founded on that date in 1910, so after 105 years it's nice to know they are back in the US. Taking over the Italian Darracq automobile company near Milan, the new company was named Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili – A.L.F.A. At some point in the company history, a certain Mr. Romeo entered the picture, and we still have the Alfa Romeo company, now a part of FIAT.






Alfa left the US market, and now they are back! Back, like the AC/DC song says, BACK IN BLACK! Oops, I mean mostly BACK, BACK IN RED.  OK, let's just say they're Back in the USSR....(wait a minute, that's a Beatles song), but no matter your musical tastes, they are BACK!
Stay tuned for more news on June 24th, and just maybe we'll be able to know for sure what the next Alfa Romeos coming to the US will be, what their name is, and if we're lucky what the price range will be.

And, in the words of the Terminator, I'll be BACK (with another blog in a few days).