Issue for Alfa in boosting its sales is more on the production end... They cannot produce with the speed & efficiency of a BMW... go to a BMW dealer and they will have 20-30 3 series to choose from...and lease deals and programs etc... go to the Alfa dealer and forgot about a Quad...but Ti, Q2. Q4 etc...not a huge variety to choose from on dealer lots...tell a buyer he has to wait 6 to 8 weeks for a straight Giulia and many will walk... couple all this with not so aggressive lease deals and sales will be effected.... HOWEVER the product is a very good one, you won't see yourself driving down the road, the dealer network needs work...so to those interested I say go to an established dealer like a Miller who also handles Maserati etc. and I believe you will be treated well.. They will never pump out 6000 car sales a month...Alfa is not built to do that yet..they need to establish the marque in a positive light just my opinion
Before we judge let's give it a few more months or until the end of summer. The sales will either pick up or dealers will have a glut of cars ready to be discounted by September. I know the dealer near me is doing pretty well with the Giulia, but it is a Maserati Alfa dealer with a good service department.
My Bad! I took "Portello" off the top of my head instead of Cassino in Lazio. 2016 production of the Giulia, Giulietta and Stelvio models totalled 71 965 units. Sergio Marchionne said:- "I primi risultati del rilancio dell'Alfa arriveranno nel 2018/2019, io non li vedrò. Il marchio c'è, il prodotto c'è. Lo Stelvio è totalmente in linea con le aspettative tecniche." Translated:- "The first results of the Alfa relaunch will come in 2018/2019, I will not see them. The brand exists, the product exists. The Stelvio is totally in line with the technical expectations."
Last year Sergio Marchionne stated that production can increase at other plants if demand is high:- 10 maggio 2016 "Per il progetto Giulia e la nuova piattaforma Alfa Romeo abbiamo speso finora molto più di un miliardo di euro, ma non ho mai guidato un'auto così. Il secondo modello del piano Alfa, il Suv, è di fatto già in produzione e arriverà sul mercato entro la fine dell'anno. Entro fine 2017, poi, vedrete la terza vettura. Se l'Alfa avrà successo, Cassino potrebbe non bastare e la produzione potrebbe tornare anche a Pomigliano; se il successo sarà ancora maggiore, anche a Mirafiori. L'Alfa Romeo Giulia sarà venduta in tutto il mondo, anche in Cina, dove Jeep sta andando molto bene, sta avendo un grande successo." Translated:- May 10, 2016 "For Giulia project and the new Alfa Romeo platform we have spent far much more than one billion euro, but I have never driven a car like that. The second model of the Alfa plan, the SUV is in fact already in production and will hit the market later this year. By the end of 2017, then, you will see the third car. If the Alfa will be successful, Cassino might not be enough and the production could also return to Pomigliano; if the success will be even greater, even at Mirafiori. The Alfa Romeo Giulia will be sold around the world, including in China, where the Jeep is going very well, he is having a great success."
Nigel: "2016 production of the Giulia, Giulietta and Stelvio models totalled 71 965 units." Is the Guiletta non-US only or have I been asleep? I assume the 4c was not included as it is (was) immaterial. Philip
Where are the Giulia QF's? My dealer has been saying "we're getting more" for almost 2 months now... US national supply is single digits per the Alfa website.
there are 21 on Autotrader for Sale...I know of one Volcano Black in Mass at a Herb Chambers Dealer Crown Alfa in Dublin Ohion has a RC/Blk w/Sparcos & CCBs there are quite a few available...
Had a dealer email me the other day that they have a QV - they wanted $10k above sticker - I don't think so...
Just looked at alfas at ny auto show. Nice. Will need a replacement for end of lease range rover sport next winter and stelvio looks pretty good. Smaller and sportier than what I have. Dealer is 45 easy minutes away. Giulia leases are running about 600/month all in, nothing down so I assume stelvio might be about 50/month more? Wonder how much qf will be, 1000/month? Could be worth it for 500hp and awd. No sunroof on qf due to cf roof. I would rather have sunroof
Depends on the dealer. My dealer has delivered 4 including mine and have several more coming in soon. The dealer by my father in Utah has no clue about their allocations Image Unavailable, Please Login
Saw this car at the Houston show. Couldn't see the interior. But, I'm sorry, the exterior looks like a Mazda, a ten-year old Mazda. Whatever happened to Italian style?
There is no question this is not the prettiest Alfa ever made. But, I think they were going hard after the BMW3 series and that meant there are some restrictions to keep the function. It's not a bad looking car though. What I'm interested in seeing is how they develop this into a 2 door coupe. That might get back some of the Italian flair this car is missing. I do like the interior and in particular THE STEERING WHEEL -- it's right out of Ferrari and for a good reason: It's perfect so don't change it.
coming in late to this, now having had a chance to do a long test drive (interestingly, with a Ferrari factory rep/friend as a passenger...US spec car) Seeing the actual car in person, I really like the exterior design....the big Alfa front end might take me a while to get used to, but the subtle design cues (eg. the side skirts) and the "muscular" stance are great. Car is smaller than I imagined, definitely a 3 or 4 series BMW comparison. Steering wheel, as Bob points out, is well done. Seats were the non-Sparco, and balance of the trim was nicely done. Only option missing (it was a dealer demo) were the ceramic brakes. Engine - wonderful. Seriously, both in grunt, response and sound, was really good - and, after all the hype, hit my expectations. Sound was great, and the blips (in race mode and with aggressive driving) were aurally wonderful. Gearbox - it was better than I expected, but in the end, it's a VERY good automatic. I am now spoiled by DCT's (Ferrari, even our VW Golf R), and while the upshifting was pretty good, the downshifts were less so. The engine blips quickly, but you can almost feel the gearbox trying to keep up. For 90% of driving, it is fine. However, similar to the engine in our Cayenne Turbo S, the gearbox is the weaker link in the package. In manual mode, there was a bit of lash if you are abrupt with the pedal, and I knocked the car into limp mode a few times by overlapping on brake and throttle inputs (I was left foot braking) Steering and Turn In were sharp (we only drove the car in race mode with ESC off), it pointed well and sharply, very un-sedan like. Plenty of power off a dead stop, though we vacillated between some wheelspin (fun) and some wheel hop (less fun). Rev limiter really hits hard, and I did not adjust right away to the lower rpm shift points, but I'm sure i'd adapt. Brakes performed well, though the pedal feel left me wanting (to be clear, I'm nit picking). Body control and stability under braking was actually quite good, though it was clear the weight coming off the rears aggressively encouraged the ABS to intervene. Would be curious to see how the ceramics felt; likely same braking action but curious as to the pedal. Summary - 1) my comments are nit-picks; this car is really good 2) engine is as advertised 3) it's no Ghibli, this would be fun to drive every day 4) it's sharper than any BMW or Audi, and has just enough Alfa in it to add some charm 5) MSRP....well, I'd say it's a good value, but when BMW and Audi are offering 5-7% off MSRP and dealers are holding the Quadrofoglio at list right now, maybe not so much Hopefully in 12 months the car will have established a good reliability record, and the lower spec cars will scratch an itch. My quick glance over the lower echelon cars were....meh. Similar to my views on 911's, I'd only likely buy a GT3, never a C2. If Alfa can find enough market for the sub-flagship, they have a good platform to build on. Just my $0.02. I'm not a sedan guy, but if I needed one, this would be it right now.
thanks for good review but what do you mean when you say, 'its no ghibli' as daily driver? which do you like better?
@Entropy... the braking on the Alfa is brake by wire...so you need to learn how to modulate the pedal...as it was very strange at first for me...and is a common comment among all Quad owners....but the brakes do stop very well...the CCB's have that same almost vague like pedal feel...again due to the brake by wire system...but you learn to make it work...now it is a non issue for me... the other nit to pick for some is the Race mode you mentioned...when you switch to Race all nanny features are automatically shut off...you have no choice...so you need to be aware...some people say they would like the option to leave it on when in Race...but it is an all or nothing feature... the chassis is what shines for me as well as the engine...it is very well balanced...it gives you confidence that it will do as you ask...and engine is just a joy....I agree the ZF8 is a very very good auto....better than the manual that was first used in the car for sure...
I posted the Italian Factory figure to show the capacity is only a limited c. 6000 units a month of three models, hence production to meet Worldwide demands needs to be increased. I do not have the Giulia # breakdown. The Dodge Dart is the US "Corporate Cousin" of the Giulietta. The 4C is produced at the Maserati Factory, Emilia Romagna at Modena.
Capacity is quite a lot higher than that. In March, the Giorgio line in Cassino churned out well over 8.7k units, between Giulia (~60%) and Stelvio (~40%). Giulietta not included in the number, as it's built on a different line at the factory.
I agree w this comment and yes am wondering what is meant by "its no ghibli as dd". My wife's ghibli is due to be changed and was wondering if the Giulia could be it's replacement.
Thanks for the update. Good to know that production has been stepped up. The c.6000 units was the average monthly production for 2016.
Giulia is a great car with a fantastic chassis. But it is a 3 series C class competitor. I'll take the Ghibli, chassis may not be quite as good, but it is bigger, has more power (even more for 18) and the quality of the materials is much better.
sorry for the delay what I meant was comparing the QV against the top line Ghibli, the Alfa is miles better at a better price point as a car. We had a Ghibli S Q4 (loaded, dealer demo) for about a week last year as an unplanned loaner, and candidly i though it was a good car....but I'd compare it against a Chrysler 200 or a low-end 3 series. Nothing negative from me on the Ghibli Alfa is M3/M4 territory, if only for the engine. For some reason, my wife and I are just not "sedan" people; closest we have is a Golf R, everything else is an overpowered truck/SUV or a sports car. IF I was to get one, I'd go the Alfa route....probably over an M4, if only due to the engine.
Thanks - I'm aware of the braking system. To perhaps articulate my critique more specifically, the brake pedal feel is far from good. Whereas throttle by wire (i.e. throttle potentiometers) have been around for a long time and are generally linear, there is clearly some work to be done. Would agree that for 90% of the time, it's probably fine, but threshold (or, near threshold) braking means you need to be able to modulate pedal pressure by (literally) a few psi. I'm a brake nut, so to me its important. Then again, I'm anal enough about stuff like this that we've added different return springs on the throttle pedal in the race car so it's easier to modulate throttle application.
???? I have both. The Ghibli is a very good car but compared to the Alfa, it is heavier, has 100 bhp less, doesn't come close in the handling and stopping department and isn't as well made. The Alfa is simply one of the best cars available in the world today.
