And it is a happy birthday to Alfa Romeo which is 110 years old.
Alfas have a passionate following but their products have had some ups and downs.
Hence the joke “What is the most senior position in Alfa Romeo – the Manager of Spare Parts”.
Alfa’s strengths and weaknesses were epitomised by the Alfasud; an entry-level car built between 1971-1989. The company was under government control and it was a political decision to build it in a new state-sponsored factory in the south of Italy (Sud means south).
Despite their sophisticated engineering, Alfasuds (especially the early ones) had a bad reputation for rusting. There were reliability problems as well.
Some owners quoted a Henry Longfellow poem
And when she was good, she
was very, very good,
But when she was bad she was horrid.
Alfa Romeo is now owned by Fiat Chrysler.