actually, if you go to a dodge dealer and look at the dart, what you are looking at is the alfa giulietta hit w/an ugly stick. for about ~$20k, you can get a pretty nicely set-up ride, w/the same turbo engine as what's in the fiat 500 abarth edition. including a 6-speed transmission; the abarth only has a 5-speed. i don't understand why the abarth costs ~$8k more than the the dart turbo. too bad, really; if fiat had lowered the prices of the standard 500's and the abarths ~$6k or so, they'd have sold like hotcakes... doug s.
not sure where the punishment is. i bought mine w/115k on it; drove it until i totaled it at 230k. it was actually quite reliable, w/only a couple minor problems. new clutch, new heater core, new stepper motor gear replacement. only maintenance issue is that timing belts need replacement every 30k. i got by w/40k replacements.... i thought of it as a camry with soul. i was sad when i totaled it... doug s.
Don't get me wrong (I'm not complaining), but you do have to stay on top of it and it is a 21 year old car. The 164 has been very reliable, but it does require periodic stroking.... I have been plugging away at the issues, mostly age-related: rebuilt the whole front end, did the heater core, and the clear coat is starting to peel so paint is in the cards someday. I love the thing - life is too short to drive an appliance!
agreed, the issues w/driving a 164 these days are simply the fact that it is now an old car. and yes, mine started peeling its clear-coat as well. enjoy! doug s., hippo gnu ears to all!
Wow how time flies !!! When those 164's came out, my shop was contacted by ALFA to do service and warranty work back in 1993 or so, I still have the training videos they sent me on the timing belts and tensioners. I liked them and one of my clients with an 164s lives near by and her car just sits in the garage, has for many years. I always liked that car.
Because the Abarth is genuinely race tuned and handles and performs like it. Cast steel control arms. Forged wheels. Special hi frequency shocks and appropriate springs, etc. Plus a lot of track time development. Can't say that for the Dart. I think they're cool, but I can definitely see why the Abarth is more expensive. It's $8k the performance car the Dart is.
the dart is no slouch performance-wise, as it is an alfa giulietta underneath. you can get it w/18" wheels, for a list price of $21k, which includes the turbo engine and a 6 speed trans. same price as a well equipped non-abarth 500. for the prices they are asking for the 500's, they all should come w/a 6 speed transmission, imo... doug s.
Ok, guess I make all five of us now. Here it is in the flesh @ an LA show last month. This guy looked at it briefly Here's my lil PITA
I had a 1750 Berlina. It was a decent example, and a pretty nice car, but it needed more power. That motor in the smaller car would have been a lot more fun for me. I ended up selling it. It was going to cost too much to make it into what I wanted it to be performance wise. Plus, it was out in the driveway in the rain with a puddle of brake fluid under the clutch slave cylinder one morning. I called my friendly non local mail order place who told be to get under the car and see which of the two brands of slave cylinder it was. My 850 Eldorado was like that too. Take the old part off and match it. Still, they are nice. Except for GTVs, and those sedans, they are dirt cheap in the USA. Its amazing how nice a six grand Spyder can be. Especially if you look at MGs I like the GTV6 and Milano Verde too. Hard to find that are not all torn up though. I haven't looked for years.
Here's a couple of Alfa articles for you Alfisti from the NY Times, including driving impressions of the new Alfa coming to the US. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/a...-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/a...-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
I owned a '66 2600 sprint for a few years in the early 80's. Heavy and slow off the line, but man at 85+ it was nice. Drove it from Berkeley to truckee every weekend during ski season. Also had a 67 duetto for a short time. My dad has a nice collection of alfas, 59 giulietta sprint, 62 giulietta sprint speciale, 69 GTA jr.(race car), 71 GTV, 72 zagato, and an 80 something spider. He had a Montreal for a few years, that car single handedly turned me off of alfas. What a POS. Nothing drags the door handles like an alfa.
Heres a few "barn" pics of the alfas extra credit if you ID this All these cars are runners, and clean up with a quick wash. When I visit california, I spend a few days getting everything cleaned up and running for the old man. It's great one on one time and I always enjoy getting them running for him. He'll drive a few until the batteries go dead, then they sit until I get back. Feel free to link to the album if you like.
even the fiat abarth is a runner? i am disappointed that the new alfa 4c is now +$70k and only awailable w/paddle shift... doug s.