The GTVeloce.com-munity

Why Alfa? Why not!

Alfas have style, they are Italian (hey, it helps) and of all of the more 'affordable' cars most closely resemble road-going racing cars. Well, older Alfas do, anyway. Even the sedans! I admit there have been divergences here and there, but essentially an Alfa tended more towards brio than boring.

Is that important? Well, sure! But lately the differences have evaporated somewhat. What was neat and cool in 1975 is just like everyone else in 2004. Look at twin cams. Back in the 60s, 70s, and even the early 80s there were few 'mainstream' choices if you wanted a bit of racetrack cred. Alfa was one such choice. Sedans, wagons and coupes at affordable, not exotic prices. With twin cam engines, inboard disc brakes (indeed, disc brakes), deDion tubes, rear mounted gearboxes, you name it. They came at a price, usually paid in rust and some extra mechanical care, but they were waaay closer to Porsche than, say, Toyota.

Now look. Everyone has twin cams. And multiple valves. Everyone offers exactly the same thing. It may be given a different name, or it will be "one more" of something (as in a '5-link' suspension, way better than a 4 link, surely, or even better still if called a 'control blade'), but essentially the mass marketers have simply matched each other. They may beg to differ but we only have to look at the cars. They may differentiate by price or by size, or individual specification at particular price points, but essentially they all go, stop and handle the same. Sure, some have all-wheel drive and various driver aids, or a firmer set of springs and dampers, but they can all do that if they want, it's just a matter of buying in the parts and building them in. There's no soul here, it's just marketing.

Well, there is some soul - the older, prouder brands (like Jag, Alfa) have built up race cred and heart and soul over decades, the only problem is that the practical consequences are too easily replicated. You can make a Toyota (or a Hyundai, for that matter) lap a race track as quickly as an Alfa, if you spec it with the right bits.

Now still I'd rather drive the Alfa, but if it costs me substantially more for that residual cachet I'm going to think twice. I'm going to ask, "well, what extra do I get, beyond the image and past glories?". Increasingly, that's all you do get. You don't get the inboard brakes, the deDion tube or the 'ready to race' differentiators that used to come with a Jag or an Alfa. You can pretend a bit easier with a rorty Alfa, but in the end, it's just like all the others.

The Alfa GTAs may be in a different league, but I doubt it. Smallish hatches and sedans with big motors... a nice idea but not a new one. And again, easily copied. Perhaps a Ford-owned Jaguar is an improvement, I don't know. I do know that there's less a gap between Ford and Jag now than there was in the 1960s. I'm not sure if I want to buy a Jag with that much Ford DNA... or an Alfa full of FIAT DNA, if it comes to that!

So what is the difference between car brands now? You tell me!

Didn't go anywhere. Just started it.

Ambient temp about 20 degrees, which is warming up. It's Spring here.

So clutch in. 2 prods on the accelerator, a bit of choke. Turn key, fired. Stopped. Turned again, fired. Kept running this time. Choke off. Ran it until hot, just to remind it how it felt to run. Next time we go outside and play on the street;-)

A bit menacing, as it is poised on ramps (just to check that the rear-mounted transaxle and inboard rear disc brakes were still there, of course) but this, folks, is an '82 GTV

The intake side of a 2.0litre Alfa motor...

The 2 litre (OK, 1962cc) Alfa motor, circa '82. Good for 90kW and 175Nm, at least ;-)

Obviously the interior of a 1982 Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0...note the how-to-fix manual close by ;-)

Yes, it's dirty, but it's Campagnolo as well! What else would a bike-riding Alfa-owner want in a rim?

What's this all about then?

Well, it's a blog, my blog, and all about stuff. Great word, stuff. So what sort of stuff? Stuff that interests me, and that I want to share. So feel free to read my "stuff" and comment as you will. I'll edit as I choose, as it's my blog, after all!

Why GTVeloce? GT stands for Grand Touring, natch. And Veloce? Plain old velocity, or speeeed!

By the way, let's speed legally - on race tracks, in bike races and in our thoughts. Not on public roads where inappropriate speed really is dumb. And if you think 'inappropriate' lets you off the hook, think again - and think carefully - because you may not be aware of all the risks and impacts on all of the people and other lifeforms around you. Remember John Stuart Mill's dictum, which roughly translates into: do what you want, as long as you don't impact other people. Or something like that. (Must look that up again.)

So what's speeding right now? Cars (ie autos, but I mean manuals) and bikes (ie racing bikes); and my mind. Let's go with what we know and rant about "stuff".