Newsgroup: it.comp.aiuto
Titolo: Alfa Romeo, what does it mean, where does it come from ???

Are you serious?
Check out 
http://www.alfaclub.nl

Anonima Lombardo Fabbrica Automobili was founded in Milan in 1910 by a
man who was a managing director at Darracq (any other Darracq collectors
out there?).  In 1915 the factory was taken over by Nicola Romeo and
after World War I the car was marketed as Alfa Romeo.
This information was right on the tip of my tongue after I looked it up
in THE COMPLETE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MOTORCARS: 1885 to the Present by G.N.
Georgano. I did know the word was an acronym as is FIAT. John Dean
Liessens wrote:

 writes
Just to add a little more to John Deans remarks:  In Encyclpaedia
Britannica the following potted history is found.
Alfa Romeo SpA, 
Italian manufacturer of  high-priced sports cars and other vehicles.
The company is operated by the Italian government ment through its state
holding company (Instituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale)
Headquarters are in Milan.
 The company was formed in 1909 as Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili
(ALFA) when a group of Italian businessmen bought a failing French-owned
auto plant located near Milan, hired noted auto designer Giuseppe
Merosi, and began making racing and sportscars. In 1915 the company was
bought by industrialist Nicola Romeo and became a limited partnership,
which during WW I produced mainly war material. 
After the war, Romeo renamed the company Alfa Romeo and began producing
prize winning race cars again. The company held onto its preeminent
position in the racing world until 1933, when it was nationalised by the
Italian government,  which  did  not  provide financial support needed
to continue producing quality cars. After World War II, Alfa Romeo
shifted emphasis from custom car production to broader automobile
production, though it continued to produce higher priced sports cars.
In addition to automobiles, the company manufactures engines and engine
parts, and industrial vehicles. It has subsidiaries in Italy and abroad,
and in 1980 formed a partnership with the Japanese Nissan Motor Company,
to produce cars in Alfa Romeo's Naples
**************************
Strangely enough I had thought that Alfa were now part of Fiat.
           ie Fabrica Italiana Automobile Torino
just shows how wrong you can be.
Wonder if they will put in a bid for Rolls?

-- 
John Peter Ellis
Lynda and Peter

just shows how wrong you can be.
You are right.
-- 
Regards
 Leroy Curtis           
Please delete the asterisks in my address if you wish to reply by Email

 ALfA ROMEO means Anonimia Lombarda Fabrica Automobil (i think).
Romeo is from the name of a man who bought the compqany in about 1920..
Fiat bought ALfa in 1989, and the 164 is the last model produced as a
Alfa only car..

, Ųyvind Berg

The 164 was part of a platform sharing agreement which produced the Saab
9000, The Fiat Croma (closest to the 9000 hatch, but why did it flex so
much?), the Lancia Thema and the 164. The 164 was the only one to be
reskinned - the door frames are shared, AFAIK - and was designed by
Pinifarina, which is why the shape is slightly similar to the Peugeot
405/605...
Richard
-- 
Acorn Risc PC SA110
Richard Kilpatrick, Photon Digital Magazine.
"If it ain't broke, there must be something wrong"
Windows 95 user, yesterday.


Had the quality of the cars gone downhill after the partnership? I've been
looking at a few Alfas from the mid/late eighties('84,'87) with a strong
possibility of buying one. Any testimonials, advice?
Thanks...
MKt

 405/605...
And the 164 pan was also used for the Alfa SZ - the one that looks like a
brick.  See the article in this months classic & sportscar.
Oh, and they normally had a radio fitted.  (Is that enough to warrant this
discussion being on uk.rec.AUDIO.car ?)
Thanks
Steve

 brick.  See the article in this months classic & sportscar.
are you sure? the SZ is a rear wheel drive car...
it does share the engine but i thought the pan was from the Alfa 75....
Ųyvind
BMW 2002 T

...
