Once a few more cars sell I'd like to see how owners respond to the CR owners' survey. I can say I've never experienced a bum steer from CR, and I've researched several large purchases after consulting product\brand histories. If CR had put the hammer down on my car I'd surely not have bought it. I have certain expectations of things I spend my money on, with quality being among the high points of consideration. I want a Giulia Ti AWD. I'd probably tweak it for a bit more power not long after I bought it. But it needs to be, as other cars I've bought and tweaked, a reliable base from which to start. I don't dare buy a car with electronic gremlins, and attempt to reflash the ECU. The Giulia is a driver's car among driver's cars, so I'm willing to wait until there's a track record trending towards solid reliability. I think it has that much potential as to make me wait for improvements. I've read some have said "only people with issues post on forums; most don't post if they are not having issues". With so few Giulias sold to date it's hard to overlook the faults one reads about the car. CR isn't the only publication to publish issues with the car.
Given the investment and hopes AR has invested in this car, i have to wonder at the decision-makers's thought process for releasing the car as-is. Fix-on-the-fly? People are waiting for new amps from having windows tinted, and it's reported that these are not replaced under warranty. Fake news? Or unwanted bad press? Either way, it's out there. I don't know that AR can wait for people to decide to buy, in spite of... I don't think it's right or fair to ask enthusiasts to do the heavy lifting to keep the company afloat. Rather AR needs to show that it's working hard to get ahead of these issues. My local dealer told me, after being asked, that ECU updates would come at regular maintenance schedules. I think he means " unless something serious needed immediate addressing". I think. Makes sense to me. I want to see those sales numbers climb inexorably.
In the end, hope springs eternal. I see myself finally living my dream of owning a true drivers' car that whisks me along roads less traveled, my brain only locked into the job at hand; negotiating the next turn with the widest grin possible. A Giulia Ti/AWD fits that image so well, that it has to be worth waiting for. Cool car of the year.
Flyby out
