An historic celebration: 110 years of alfa Romeo

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.