By the way, there’ll be plenty for factory space for Alfa once Chrysler closes it’s doors.

Oh, and Tim Horton’s coffee… best coffee in the world. The Canadian economy runs on double doubles and Timbits.

After all, the vaunted Toyota Production System couldn’t prevent sludge from occurring in their V6s nor does it, apparently, prevent a recent rash of recalls (say that three times fast). And it doesn’t prevent a large number of new Toyotas from having one taillamp prematurely die/burn out/fail(anyone else notice this?).

In general, as someone above mentioned, all cars are getting better in quality and reliability, so the discerning person might as well get the more entertaining product.

Besides are you people buying BMW’s don’t exactly have the most reliable cars on the planet. Quit complaining and drive one maybe you will see why so many of us are waiting for their return. It’s not an appliance it’s an experience.

It, however, will always be a big deal, for the simple fact that a car that you can’t drive (because it’s in the shop) is worthless. People buy cars to get from point A to point B, not because they are fun to drive or have nice dashboards. That is a car’s primary purpose. If the car is in the shop, they can’t use it to get from point A to point B.

I think reliability HAS to be #1 these days, only because of how complicated and expensive cars are to repair now. Having an unreliable ‘69 Chevy is one thing… bad idle? Mess with the carb until it works. Head gasket? $30 and change it in your driveway in an hour.

a FWD, V6 Alfa Romeo has a bad idle? That’ll be a $400 sensor that’s difficult to get at… head gasket? That’s a week in the driveway, if you can even do it yourself, and god knows how much in gaskets…

S’why I don’t buy new cars. :p

How right you are if the difference was only a few days at the dealer. I have a friend who bought a new Alfa in Europe 7-8 years; the car has less than 100K kilometers (60K miles) and it has been constantly in a shop, having many major parts replaced. The only reason he can afford to have the car semi-permanently at a the garage is because he is an architect and has the means and lives in a small town where he can easily walk almost anywhere or get a ride and so has no acute need for a car.

It makes me sad that reliability has become the singular most important factor for most car buyers. While it is never fun to have something go wrong with an expensive purchase like a car, over the last decades vehicle quality in general -across all brands- has improved markedly enough to allow people with even slightest passion for cars to focus on other factors.

I’d gladly spend three additional days a year in the shop if this is what it takes to get me a car that makes me smile everytime i start it instead of a soul-destroying beige appliance.

Probably, lots would be lining up to build ‘em, too.

Heck, even my Toronto-born wife is Italian. I might have to trade in my Crown Vic on an Alfa–provided that they don’t rust out in a couple of years as the last crop did.

Timmies > everything sold in the States.

Being that I work in the automotive sector here, I will gleefully welcome an Alfa plant. :p

@ Vega: love that story! It must motivate workers like crazy, too.