US Fiat Stores Might Still Get Alfa Romeos

Alfa 4C belongs in FIAT dealers, not Maserati. A guy walks in to the Ferrari/ Maserati dealer. He can afford a 458, but is looking at the California. He veers his head towards the Maserati Gran Turismo. But leaves the dealership with an order for an Alfa 4C because he really doesn't need more.

If Alfa is serious about getting back into the U.S. market they should steer far clear from the Ferrari/Maserati dealers. FM dealers are the most arrogant, non-consumer friendly retailers of ANY goods on the planet. As a matter of course and seemingly to plan they constantly engage in deceptive, greedy, and essentially quasi-legal strategies designed to maximize their profits at the expense of good will and anything approaching customer service. A standard practice is to register their most desirable cars to friends and co-conspirators in order to call them "used" and avoid the Factory's prohibition on selling new cars at over MSRP, then rolling them back on the showroom priced at $100K over sticker. Another routine scheme is to insist that the customer buy a less desirable model - at list price - then trade it back to the dealer for the car the client actually wants in a couple of weeks at a tiny percentage of what they sold it to him for. Their parts and "service" departments are amazing ripoff centers. Simply because the cars are desirable shouldn't mean that the customer has to bend over the desk on every visit. Alfa Romeo lost what should have been their most lucrative market - the U.S. - once before through abysmal customer service. lack of Factory support, and an aging product line ill suited to American needs. Did they not learn from their previous mistakes? Look at how Porsche has thrived here by being sensitive to customer satisfaction and market forces. That should be Alfa's model. While by all accounts the 4C is a brilliant car and potentially a great "halo" car for the brand, the reviews I've read do not portend well for Alfa's re-entry here. By the time the 4C hits our shores it will likely have gained 500 pounds from the ridiculously claimed 1970 pound published weight - no gas, no oil, no coolant, no A/C, no adjustable passenger seat, no carpets, no MUFFLER (???), no radio - and the price will have ballooned to over $70K before the Ferrari dealers add their gouging. So it's a 4C from a brand that few Americans associate with anything other than rusting hulks dead on the side of the road, of a well equipped Cayman from the most respected sports car manufacturer on the planet. This is coming from a 40+ year Alfa owner and racer and pre-owned exotic car dealer.