[drdannymartinez]

Was discussing this topic earlier with a colleague; he's a big Japanese Domestic (JDM) car owner. The conversation made me reflect on my own decision to invest in an Alfa and got me curious to see how others on here would answer the same question.

For me:
1 - there was definitely some level of desiring exclusivity (of the many cars out here, you don't see many Giulias)
2 - aesthetics (i.e., performance matters, that's next, but I mean...she's beautiful)
3 - feeling so close to the road with the steering/performance, and lastly...
4 - F1. Somewhat silly but true; I know Alfa is more of a brand contact than actual powertrain, team ownership, etc...but it was a nice to have that branding on a national competitive spotlight again, especially considering their extensive history in racing (even if sadly it seems that will come to an end with Audi's possible purchase of Sauber)

What has surprised me? Nothing on the negative; quite literally all has been positive; biggest one being that I am never disappointed on a drive...it's always fun and a thrill. Wife finally drove it and now all of a sudden her Jeep "...just isn't doing it for [her]" and she's using the Giulia for errands.

What led to you having one and what has suprised you?

 

[C.Q4]

I used to always get excited about seeing an old Alfa before they came back to the US, but I didn’t really know much about them beyond surface level.

I’ve loved the look of the Giulia since it was first unveiled. I’d wanted a Giulia, and almost went used years ago, but always went back to Subaru. A lot of money for a used unknown.

Last year, I decided I wanted to own an Italian gas car before they go extinct.

I had no idea the handling was this good. The platform/suspension is beyond belief.

 

[drdannymartinez]

I used to always get excited about seeing an old Alfa before they came back to the US, but I didn’t really know much about them beyond surface level.

I’ve loved the look of the Giulia since it was first unveiled. I’d wanted a Giulia, and almost went used years ago, but always went back to Subaru. A lot of money for a used unknown.

Last year, I decided I wanted to own an Italian gas car before they go extinct.

I had no idea the handling was this good. The platform/suspension is beyond belief.

Love it! Great point on owning an Italian engine prior to this transition...hadn't considered it at the time but definitely a factor in keeping mine

 

[Chipshot]

Driving one sealed the deal.

 

[Hoosbeach]

1. Always liked the look so was very interested when the brand came back to the states
2. Not many on the road. Exclusivity as said earlier
3. I bought off lease at a great price in Dec 2019 - 50% off MSRP with 22k of factory warranty left - biggest surprise (Stelvio)
4. wanted a european performance car and loved the minimalist electronics and leather interior
5. Born in Italy so there is that connection
6. Surprised at what some owners have to pay to get simple maintenance performed which on the 2.0L is pretty simple
7. Anybody have a part number?
8. What no oil dipstick!

I have had my Stelvio for 2.5 years and still love driving it. First car ever I can say that about.

 

[drdannymartinez]

Driving one sealed the deal.

That tends to do it; God knows if I wasn't already pretty set on owning one...the test drive finalized it for me.

 

[drdannymartinez]

1. Always liked the look so was very interested when the brand came back to the states
2. Not many on the road. Exclusivity as said earlier
3. I bought off lease at a great price in Dec 2019 - 50% off MSRP with 22k of factory warranty left - biggest surprise (Stelvio)
4. wanted a european performance car and loved the minimalist electronics and leather interior
5. Born in Italy so there is that connection
6. Surprised at what some owners have to pay to get simple maintenance performed which on the 2.0L is pretty simple
7. Anybody have a part number?
8. What no oil dipstick!

I have had my Stelvio for 2.5 years and still love driving it. First car ever I can say that about.

Haha, love the list!

To your point on #4: I also genuinely liked the minimalist design on the interior (plus the leather). Cars have become so bulky with the interior, stuck in that thinking that the more the better. Not for me.

That of course, also works with the sleek and appealing cuts/lines of the exterior. It's why I personally don't feel the need to do much with it in terms of mods, aside from the Carbon Fiber spoiler, side mirrors, and gear shift base.

 

[Hoosbeach]

Let me add one more thing:

I still have the windshield wipers on the car from when I bought it 2.5 years ago! Best wipers I have ever had on a car.

 

[drdannymartinez]

Let me add one more thing:

I still have the windshield wipers on the car from when I bought it 2.5 years ago! Best wipers I have ever had on a car.

It’s the little things 🔥

 

[alfan]

Great idea for a thread. As I have mentioned elsewhere, the Ti Sport is my 13th Alfa. First one was a 1962 Giulietta Spider - got rid of a 1960 Sunbeam Alpine that liked to eat transmission main shaft bearings in the transaction and I fell in love with the way the car acted even though it needed serious engine work. Overhauling it in the Treasure Island auto shop and learning the engineering decisions made within - and also the art in the engine design - led me to a deep appreciation. All of the Alfas since have been great drives for similar reasons. So when the news of the new Giulia started coming around I studied the options, reviews, and this forum pretty hard. I was already certain that it would be a wonderful car; I didn't realize until after I bought it just how good it really is. I agree with all the reasons others have listed. One of my favorite points: not only is it beautiful, it manages to avoid the cookie-cutter sameness of so many other modern cars. And it doesn't need that awful Lexus front end to get attention.

 

[drdannymartinez]

Great idea for a thread. As I have mentioned elsewhere, the Ti Sport is my 13th Alfa. First one was a 1962 Giulietta Spider - got rid of a 1960 Sunbeam Alpine that liked to eat transmission main shaft bearings in the transaction and I fell in love with the way the car acted even though it needed serious engine work. Overhauling it in the Treasure Island auto shop and learning the engineering decisions made within - and also the art in the engine design - led me to a deep appreciation. All of the Alfas since have been great drives for similar reasons. So when the news of the new Giulia started coming around I studied the options, reviews, and this forum pretty hard. I was already certain that it would be a wonderful car; I didn't realize until after I bought it just how good it really is. I agree with all the reasons others have listed. One of my favorite points: not only is it beautiful, it manages to avoid the cookie-cutter sameness of so many other modern cars. And it doesn't need that awful Lexus front end to get attention.

Happy you liked the thread topic!

And thank you for the great perspective; what a great reference point you have, being able to own one in the 60’s and compare to current models (across many models on the way)

Amen to the cookie-cutter point; it’s not for everyone and it’s not designed to be. We’ll leave that for some other sedans out there.

 

[Krozman]

1. I wanted a car that didn't look like they glued an Ipad to the dash. I was mentally ready to accept what Audi and BMW were offering because I thought I had no choice. The Acura TLX made me take one look and go "NOPE!" The alfa, by contrast, looks like it actually wanted to stay beautiful. Combined with that is a perfect mesh of buttons to electronics that don't go digital for the sake of digital.
2. The driving experience, obviously.
3. I wanted a car that looked beautiful, but not so "racing aggro" that every idiot would try and make me feel uncomfortable on the road. If i want to go fast, it goes fast. If you don't look at my front end.....or wheels......it looks like a perfectly normal sedan.

 

[drdannymartinez]

1. I wanted a car that didn't look like they glued an Ipad to the dash. I was mentally ready to accept what Audi and BMW were offering because I thought I had no choice. The Acura TLX made me take one look and go "NOPE!" The alfa, by contrast, looks like it actually wanted to stay beautiful. Combined with that is a perfect mesh of buttons to electronics that don't go digital for the sake of digital.
2. The driving experience, obviously.
3. I wanted a car that looked beautiful, but not so "racing aggro" that every idiot would try and make me feel uncomfortable on the road. If i want to go fast, it goes fast. If you don't look at my front end.....or wheels......it looks like a perfectly normal sedan.

I resonate a lot with that last point. In my past two cars, if some idiot noticed my car it led to an immature rev or some childish window roll and comment about racing from them.

Now when I’m at a light, if a comment is made…it’s about the beauty and class. But also, if I have to beat someone off the line to cross over, it’ll do that too. Haha

 

[JMody]

I fell in love with them as a little kid riding in a friend's aunt's blue Alfetta GTV. Exclusivity yes, performance yes, but F1??? How about Sportscars, Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, World Sportscar Championships? Dabbling in rally and Indycar and Trans Am and ... DTM. I was in the service when I got married, and didn't get much of a honeymoon - but the weekend we got married, we went down the road to the Hockenheimring and watched Alfa 155's whip MB 190 Evo II's rather soundly. If memory serves, the tickets at Turn 1 were 25 DM, about $15 back in the day.

And then, there's the style - and while I would have put the shifter somewhere else (ZF electronic, why not copy the old 105 with the shifter almost coming out of the dash???), the interior styling is what came across as the real surprise. No "iPad glued here" look, still has gauges my older eyes can read, and just looks so blasted good.

 

[drdannymartinez]

I fell in love with them as a little kid riding in a friend's aunt's blue Alfetta GTV. Exclusivity yes, performance yes, but F1??? How about Sportscars, Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, World Sportscar Championships? Dabbling in rally and Indycar and Trans Am and ... DTM. I was in the service when I got married, and didn't get much of a honeymoon - but the weekend we got married, we went down the road to the Hockenheimring and watched Alfa 155's whip MB 190 Evo II's rather soundly. If memory serves, the tickets at Turn 1 were 25 DM, about $15 back in the day.

And then, there's the style - and while I would have put the shifter somewhere else (ZF electronic, why not copy the old 105 with the shifter almost coming out of the dash???), the interior styling is what came across as the real surprise. No "iPad glued here" look, still has gauges my older eyes can read, and just looks so blasted good.

Love when there’s some longevity to someone’s appreciation of Alfa’s, always add another layer of appreciation.

As for auto racing and other divisions? Absolutely. But have personally always closely followed F1 (Ferrari prior to AR joining). With F1 reintroducing themselves to F1 and having the Ferrari power train, it was a simple transition.

And amen to the interior, a masterful combination of modern/minimal and traditional elements. Just a beaut

 

[tausigmanova]

Always thought alfas were cool - I rarely ever saw any in the US but I knew some of the brands history and used to see some parked outside of shops in Brooklyn (usually in disrepair) and noticed them every time I would visit Europe.

I wanted a Giulia since they first unveiled it. I think they're absolutely gorgeous cars and loved them everytime I saw them. Definitely a big part of why I bought it. The rarity of the brand in the US was another. I also generally am sport sedan person and wanted something that would be a good daily yet fun enough for autocross and occasions tracking and haven't been disaapointed. Definitely want a QV though

 

[Buba1]

When I was younger, I really loved the old Alfa's and grew up watchin DTM racing. Once I came across the pond, kinda lost interest since there were none around. Then I heard in the auto news that Alfa is coming out with the new Giulia, and it will be powered by 500+HP Ferrari powerplant. Right then, i knew I had to have it, and closest I'll ever get to owning a "Ferrari". The more I looked into it, the more I loved it, such as the active aero, CCB's, carbon seats, a lot of carbon body parts, so that to me spoke volumes that they mean business in the performance world.

Previous to this I came from a Lexus ISF, which is also very rare to see, 5.0L V8 engine that revs and sings especially with an exhaust. I loved that car, even now kind of regret giving it up, but I had to give it up for the Alfa, but now it's all about the Alfa. In my eyes, no other manufacturer puts this much research and tech into the performance aspect of it. Sure the interior is nice and nothing crazy, sound system is meh, but that's not the reason I was attracted to this car in the first place. Even if it came with no radio or screen, I would still want it just as much.

 

[drdannymartinez]

Always thought alfas were cool - I rarely ever saw any in the US but I knew some of the brands history and used to see some parked outside of shops in Brooklyn (usually in disrepair) and noticed them every time I would visit Europe.

I wanted a Giulia since they first unveiled it. I think they're absolutely gorgeous cars and loved them everytime I saw them. Definitely a big part of why I bought it. The rarity of the brand in the US was another. I also generally am sport sedan person and wanted something that would be a good daily yet fun enough for autocross and occasions tracking and haven't been disaapointed. Definitely want a QV though

The duality of being able to use it as a daily driver and also track it on the weekends was the other selling point for me.

Not many sedans out there able to check that particular requirement. From taking my son to the park on Friday to eliminating any weight in the car for the track on Saturday. A beautiful masterpiece

 

[drdannymartinez]

In my eyes, no other manufacturer puts this much research and tech into the performance aspect of it.

And you feel it when driving; my peers with Audi, Mercedes, whatever the case may be…if within the same class of vehicle, none feel the thrill, drive, control like a Giulia

 

[johnalfa]

I'd been waiting for Alfa to return to the US for many years. My fascination started in college-1971- when one of my professors bought a Duetto. The sound of that engine when he went through the gears was intoxicating. I had a Fiat 850 Coupe at the time, and thought one day... In 1979 I was able to buy a 76 Alfetta GT with 4000 miles on the odometer. Kept that until 1989 when I upgraded to a Milano as a daily driver; actually, an automatic so my wife could also drive it. There were also a couple of S3 Spiders, until 2010 when I found a 94 164LS. The 164 was too nice (and expensive) to DD, so I leased a couple of Acuras while reading the stories about Alfa's imminent return. When the Giulia appeared in 2017 I was still in the middle of an Acura lease. So I had to wait til 2018 for my GIulia. While waiting I test drove several cars and was impressed by the styling, performance, and overall quality. I thought "Alfa's built a great successor to all those earlier cars" So now here I am with a 2020 spec'd the way I wanted. The way things are going it's the last Alfa I'll own.