>My wife has decided that she _has_ to have a post-1982 Alfalfa Romeo
>much to my chagrin.
Ah, this tells me you're talking spider, and she has some knowledge of
the cars. For sure, this is the version to get. Ignore all snide comments
about bad fuel injection pumps. Mid 82 they *finally* ditched the famed
Spica mechanical system for a full Bosch Motronic.
>What burns me is that she insists on calling my MGC the P.O.S (piece
Half right. While the Alfa engine is much more modern, the Spider suspension
makes the verable MG kingpins look like Space Shuttle parts.
>So, I know I am asking a biased group, but it was my distinct impression
>that Italian cars sat in driveways on blocks a lot more than MGs. Is
>this true? Do I have a hope of convincing her to get a nice MGB instead?
>Or will I be spending the rest of my life skinning my knuckles on some
>Eyetalian work of art?
Well, ummmm, while I work on lbc's for a living, and send out a lot of
advice and comments (when time permits) to queries on the list, I have to
admit that every car in my drive currently is Italian. It's kinda funny.
Many years ago, I had a Mini and a MGB side by side. These two hated each
other. On any given day, one car ran, but never both. As soon as one was
fixed the other would die. The Fiat and the Lancia have coexisted perfectly.
Other than routine mantanance down time, they both always run.
Think of the Alfa just like you would a British car. The biggest single
factor in reliability is mantanance, both past and future. If you find a
well cared for example (service records a definate plus), go for it. After
living with the car, she may come around to seeing it your way, or you may
see it her way. Or, if you're *really* lucky, the Alfa and MG may hit it off,
and every one lives happily ever after.
For a more detailed look into the nature and weaknesses of these cars,
monitor the alfa.worship group for a while. The real alias name escapes me at
the moment, partial is "italian-cars@balltown.???.com"
Randy
randy@taylor.wyvern.com
P.S. If you want one final cheap shot, tell her that to fit into an Alfa
properly, you must be able to tie your shoes while standing erect. :>
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