May 2014 - Northwest Alfa Romeo Club

Iniezione
The newsletter of the Northwest Alfa Romeo Club
New Humor on the 33rd Annual Tulip Rallye
By Fred Russell
Any of you who have done the Tulip Rallye knows that humor is a key element
as you drive the scenic roads of Skagit Valley answering goofy questions with
equally goofy answers. It helps to have a goofy sense of humor with these
events. When the question asks “What color is the truck at 31746?”, you know
to watch for addresses and when it’s a fire station you can put in the answer of
RED. The challenge becomes tougher when the humor factors in with questions
like ‘Not likely to find kryptonite here.” with the answer being a street named
Lois Lane.
This year the MG Car Club NWC had both a new event master, plus a new volunteer (Bert Cripe) who made the route and humorous route guide. The event
leader returned to an orderly numerical start after last year’s jumbled beginning
that allowed everyone to start whenever. The route guides were handed out
with directions sending some going one way and others the reverse path. They
record the start time and mileage then note your car number on your windshield. At 9:34 AM on April 19, we headed out.
Within the first 300 feet, we realized we already missed the first two answers.
After a quick turn around, we got goofy looks from other drivers until they too
realized they missed the first two answers. Back on track, we headed north
Photo by Kris Warren
through Burlington, then wandered backroads with short stints on Hwy 20 and
Hwy 9. The meandering route took us west under I-5 before dropping us down
near Bow and past my favorite restaurant—The Rhododendron Café; but we had no time to stop… so cruel. Since we
wound back over I-5 towards Sedro Woolley again, we crossed paths with other Rallye cars, often going opposite directions. I loved this since it created doubt in my mind as well as theirs. Are we on the right road? The goofy questions
kept coming, and the route guide seemed error free! After 3 hours, it returns us to the Skagit Valley Mall, where we
started, to cross the finish line and record our time and mileage and hand in the answer sheets.
NWARC had nine teams competing this year. At the start, Wes Ingram met us to visit and see us off. Thanks Wes!
Our club representation included Harry & Elsie Reed in their silver Spider Quad; Thomas and Arlene Jermann driving
their matching Alfa Spider; Bill & Mary Banta who left their GTV at Park Place and
competed anyway; Miguel Salguero who drove his red Milano, and Barry & Kathy Constant drove their 65 Giulia Spider. Our California member, Steve Schaeffer, brought
his friend Shelly to keep him out of trouble and Kristy and Paul Affolter drove their
comfy BMW. Last year’s winners, Taylor and Madi Russell arrived in their Honda with
plans to beat their dad once again. Hoping not to get beaten again, I was there with
Cindy Akana and drove her Alfa 164. One other Alfa owner and hopefully a future club
member was Kelly and her partner drove a red Spider Graduate that Kelly just received for her birthday!
At the end, the scoring committee counted up the correct answers and applied final
scores. In the afternoon, they started announcing raffle winners, thanking people for
donating money to the OSO families and food to the local food bank. Then they announced the drive winners. As I waited to shoot a photo, they announced Fred Russell
and Cindy Akana as 1st place winners and I suddenly needed help to shoot the picture! Its nice to win, even if my daughters missed a couple on purpose to help me
out, but especially when I realized that our club has numerous scores with just 1 or 2
points off from mine! Yikes...I barely won! Thanks to all who came to this fun
event and to those who put it all together. I liked the new humor!
Inside this May 2014 issue…
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Tulip Rallye ……………….. pg
President’s Column …... pg
Club Meeting ………........ pg
NWARC Garden Tour ..... pg
600 Miles in an Alfa ...... pg
1
2
3
4
5
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All Italian Show …….. pgs 6,7
Book Review ….……….... pg 8
Alfa Future ………..…...... pg 9
Membership ………...….. pg 10
Classifieds / BBQ ….…. pg 11
* Calendar …………...….… pg 12
Next events…
* Club Meeting …………….. May 10
* Garden Tour ……….….….. May 31
* Club Meeting ………....…. June 11
President’s Column
By Bill Gehring
Besides being the editor/publisher of “Vintage Drift”, the
SOVREN magazine, he is the author of two well-received
books on the history of racing in the northwest. The first
volume, Long Straights and Hairpin Turns covers 19501961 and is now hard to find. I did find some used copies, starting at $195, and new ones from $528. I am
more interested in the second, Weekends of Glory, which
covers when I first got interested in sports car racing. I
did find one for a reasonable price, and I am enjoying it.
As a matter of fact, there is even a photograph in there of
the 1964 Rose Cup, which if it had been panoramic, would
have included me as a “Crowd Control” official! Of course
I was just a teenager then. Seriously.
I often came up to SIR for races, but I also have great
memories of Delta Park, now Portland International RaceAs I write this, still no plans from Alfa/Fiat as promised
way. At that particular Rose Cup race, I had recently
for April. Maybe no news is good news, as evidenced by
bought a used TR3 from Monte Shelton, so he was my
what has recently happened to Chevrolet. At least we did
hero. Being able to hang out at his used car lot probably
not have a pace car catch on fire, a giant sinkhole in our
was instrumental in my becoming interested in sports
museum (although the Alfa one remains closed to the
cars. They were certainly different than the car I had
public, except for Fred Russell) or a cover up/recall for a
traded in, a 1951 Oldsmobile coupe with thirteen coats of
million faulty ignition switches. So, I can’t talk about new
Titian Red lacquer, black and white rolls and pleats,
Alfa plans, but I can mention topics such as a nice meetchrome wheels, etc. I used to show up with that car to
ing at Group 2, the demise of an Alfa-friendly shop in
the informal drag races that were most Wednesdays at
Bellevue, visiting with Martin Rudow, some history of a
the back of Delta Park. Just like “American Grafitti” days.
racetrack, and finally being legal with one license plate.
I have to be like Fred and throw in a little interesting hisWe had a great meeting at the new digs for Group 2 Motory here. Probably many of you have been to Portland
torsports. For the 175 of you that weren’t there, it is a
International Raceway, but did you know it was once a
very nice facility and still getting better. They needed
city? It was called Vanport and during WW II had up to
more space (especially on the outside) and contrary to
40,000 inhabitants. It even had its own college, which
Google Maps, moved just a couple of blocks away. They
later became Portland State University. In 1948, when
still have an appealing showroom of accessories, continue
the population was still around 18,500, the Columbia
to be a Tire Rack installer and feature products from comRiver rose and a dike broke, engulfing the entire city.
panies such as Centerline and Vredestein. They have
Fifteen people were killed, everyone else got out, and that
eight bays and a lot more room for cars on the floor as
was the end of the city. In my formative years, we could
well as offering storage of cars for $220 per month. They
still go over and drive around the streets, and driveways
still offer the same services, for vintage, special interest,
and foundations still existed. As I mentioned, one of
rally cars and especially Alfa Romeos, led by our competithose back streets was the “drag strip”. I think all traces
tion co-chair, Chris Benny and Ben Shinmori. As a matter
of Vanport are gone now, and it is a pretty nice racing
of fact, while we were there, Ben was spending most of
facility.
his time on Ron Calkins 164, which was on one of the
racks. Ben was muttering something about Ron suddenly I mentioned license plates last month and am doing it for
a different reason here. If anyone is interested, I found a
coming into a bunch of money and having anything he
source of old plates and tags, so if anyone wants to go
wanted done on his cars. (Sorry, Ron, but you have to
endure Club Treasurer jokes just like Thomas did) A new with a license plate on their “collector vehicle” of the year
of manufacture, I can put you in touch with this particular
guy, Arno Guerin, is at the desk, as Allison absconded
back to Italy with her husband, who was offered a profes- collector. He is reasonable, too, providing me an authentic-looking “1984” tag for just $5.
sorship at an Italian university. Such an excuse.
Group 2 is even more important to us now, as we have
lost an Alfa facility in Bellevue, a mainstay of many of our
members. The rumor was out there, but I talked to Frank
Spicer, the owner of Autologic, and he confirmed that
they no longer work on Alfa Romeos. They may service
the cars of some old customers, but that will be it, as
both of their Alfa techs have left. So, I think it is time for
us to share some good Alfa mechanics and facilities.
There is still Ralli Round, but who else is out there to
work on our cars? Let me know, and I will include them
in the next column.
I enjoyed speaking with Martin Rudow at our meeting.
Finally, this month’s “Thank You” goes to Ken and Louisa
Case for providing pizza, soft drinks, salads, cookies and
everything to enjoy them with at the Group 2 meeting. It
was certainly above and beyond the call of duty, and I am
sure it kept people around longer to talk with each other.
Thanks, Ken and Louisa!
See you at Vintage Customs May 10 and also at the Garden Tour May 31.
Bill Gehring
NWARC President
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 2
May Club Meeting
Saturday, May 10th
Board Members
President Bill Gehring
(425) 822 4231
bjgehring2@msn.com
The club's May meeting will be held on a
Saturday at Vintage Customs in
Tacoma. This shop, run by Daron Walker,
specializes in restoring older cars of interest. Most of the projects being worked on
are Italian cars with a concentration on
ALFAs. Daron and his crew will show us
their current projects. Afterwards, a light
lunch will be served with plenty of time for
socializing. This is a great chance for our
members in the South Sound area to take a
short drive to an event.
Vice President Ken Case
(425) 702 9298
casekb@msn.com
Secretary Gordy Hyde
(425) 241 9307
gohyde@hotmail.com
Treasurer Ron Calkins
(206) 403 3445
tip1ring1@gmail.com
Committee Directors
Vintage Customs is located at:
5614 South Washington Street, Tacoma.
May 10th, 11:00—’til you go home. See you there.
Activities Paul Affolter
(206) 523 8534
phaffolter@gmail.com
Competition Co-Directors
Mirko Freguia (206) 795 0861
Chris Benny
(206) 283 9065
Membership
Paul & Kristy Affolter
(206) 523 8534
phaffolter@gmail.com
kristinaffolter@hotmail.com
Iniezione Editor Fred Russell
editor@nwalfaclub.com
Webmaster Earl Krygier
webmaster@nwalfaclub.com
Pacific NW Historic Car Corral
The Pacific NW Historics (July 4-6) hosted by SOVREN, are getting closer. The
best parking at the event is in the Car Corral on Saturday and Sunday. Corral
tickets also allow you to participate in parade laps during the lunch break.
There are no formal car corral activities on Friday but the area is open to those
purchasing car corral passes for the weekend. Tickets for the car corral (admits
car and driver) are $30 for one day or $50 for the weekend. Passengers are
$25 for one day, or weekend tickets at $40. Children 7 to 16 are $5 per day.
Once again, the net proceeds from the event go to the Uncompensated Care
Fund at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
To order your tickets and reserve your spot, contact Bill Gehring at
425 -822-4231 or bjgehring2@msn.com , and then mail him a check ASAP
(payable to NWARC) to 129 19th Ave Kirkland WA 98033-4929.
We’ll batch our NWARC orders! Deadline is June 4 but don’t wait!
http://nwalfaclub.com
www.aroc-usa.org
www.alfabb.com
Facebook: NWARC
Club Liaisons
SOVREN (Society of Vintage
Racing Enthusiasts)
TBD
AROO
Just the Facts...
(Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon)
The Iniezione is the monthly newsletter of the Northwest Alfa Romeo Club, a non-profit organization of Alfa Romeo enthusiasts. NWARC is a regional chapter of the national Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC). Chapter meetings are typically
held the second Wednesday of most months except December. Membership dues are $63 per year, which includes subscriptions to either the digital and/or print versions of the Iniezione and the monthly national publication, Alfa Owner. For
information about joining the club, contact the membership director listed in the right hand column. Opinions expressed
in the Iniezione are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the club. (The author may simply be nuts!)
Publication of articles describing technical procedures does not constitute an endorsement by the club, its officers, or
AROC. It is the responsibility of the person performing any procedure to accept all consequences of his or her actions.
Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone would take personal responsibility?
Commercial advertisements in the newsletter are a win! During this tight economy, give your business added exposure
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Technical Editor Wes Ingram
15613 “C” Peterson Road
Burlington, WA 98233
(360) 707 5701
wing@nwlink.com
...then when the
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 3
Ed Slavin 503 789 3282
eslavin@nic-mail.com
FEN (Fiat Enthusiasts NW)
Gordy Hyde 425 241 9307
MGCCNWC (MG)
Ken Bottini 425 883 9615
2014 NWARC Garden Tour
RSVP!!!!
The 2014 NWARC Garden Tour will start at the Bellevue
Botanical Gardens this year. Next we will drive through
the scenic eastside to the award winning Maltby Café in
Snohomish County for lunch then onto Flower World to
see more display gardens and for a bit of inspired shopping.
When: 9:30 am, Saturday, May 31, 2014.
Where: The Bellevue Botanical Garden
(BBG) Due to construction we will park
at the Wilburton Hill Park and walk into BBG. Wilburton Hill Park is located at the intersection of
Main St. and 124th Ave. NE. The best route is NE 8th St. to 124th Ave. NE and head south.
This will take you directly to the park entrance. 12400 Main St, Bellevue WA 98005
The Bellevue Botanical Garden’s temporary entrance will be through the back gate in Yao Garden. It
is 1/3 mi. from the parking lot to the entrance. A docent will meet us in the parking lot at 10:00 am
to begin our tour of the Perennial Boarder garden. After the tour we will be free to visit other parts
of the garden. www.bellevuebotanical.org
Then…
We will leave the BBG at Noon and drive to the Maltby Café just outside Snohomish for lunch at 12:30. The Maltby Café has won several awards for the Best Breakfast and they promise a great lunch for us too.
www.maltbycafe.com
8809 Maltby Rd, Snohomish, WA 98296
425-483-3123
Then…
After lunch we will take a short drive to Flower World. Flower World has 15
acres of display areas and retail shopping. Flower World grows all of its own plants locally
and offers plants specially grown for the northwest.
www.flowerworldusa.com
9322 196th St. SE 98296, Snohomish, WA 98296
425-481-7565
Please RSVP to debischmid@yahoo.com by May 28.
Member Recommendation!
Have a parts or service provider you have found to
be highly satisfactory? Share your wisdom at
casekb@msn.com . With your help, we can all be
better automotive consumers.
Burien Upholstery, Burien - Upholstery, carpets
Classic Interior Restorations, Seattle - Headliners
Mark 2 Collision Center, Lynnwood - Collision repair
North Kitsap Auto Rebuilt, Poulsbo - Collision repair
Selling Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and
Lancia Parts Since 1971
Professional Glass Company, Seattle - Windshield
Replacement
Security Safe & Lock, Inc., Bellevue - Lock rebuilding
Speedometer Service, Portland - Speedometer and
tachometer repair and calibration
Tire Rack Internet - Tires, wheels and parts
FREE CATALOG
1-800-788-4435
www.international-auto.com
Vancity Plating, Burnaby BC - Chrome plating
and polishing
All the providers listed were recommended by one or
more club members as being highly satisfactory but are
not specifically endorsed by NWARC.
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 4
600 Miles in a 49-year-old Alfa
By Keith Martin
Every spring the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon (AROO) hold the “Old
Spider Tour” to celebrate and commemorate the occasion of club founder
Bob McGill buying his 1958 Alfa Spider from Rambo Motors.
This year there were six old spiders (three Giuliettas and three Giulias)
plus another 16 or so cars, ranging from GTVs and Duettos to a lone
GTV-6.
We started at Steamboat Landing Park, just past marker 16 on WA 14
eastbound, ran along picturesque Highway 14, and ended up in Condon,
OR, where we stopped for lunch.
The afternoon run went from Condon to John Day. Aside from a few raindrops and some afternoon hail, the weather was perfect.
I was in my 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce, and it ran brilliantly. I had the top
up for the chilly morning, which gave me the chance to appreciate just
how effective the diminutive Alfa heaters are. In the afternoon, it was
"top down" all the way.
As I motored along at 80 mph with the other old Spiders – they always
lead the tour – I thought about how much better prepared our cars are
today than they were 20 years ago. There’s no such thing now as a
$2,500 Giulietta that’s been sitting at the curb for a few years and could
be brought back to life with a set of plugs and a minor tuneup. Such an
Alfa would then break down with depressing regularity, as worn-out
parts gave up the ghost — and every part on the car would be worn out.
Every Giulia, Giulietta and Duetto on the tour had been extensively restored, and the results were obvious. Effortless cruising at high speeds
was the name of the game, with no smoke on the downshifts.
The next day started with snow on our cars, but the sun came out as we cruised toward Maupin at 100-plus mph.
Then it was time to head back to Portland.
I decided to take a shortcut over Mount Hood instead of coming back down the Columbia Gorge on I-84. That created some interesting moments, as my little Spider found itself in a winter blizzard with six inches of snow on the
ground and modern cars littering the landscape as they spun off and crashed.
Modulating the throttle and keeping a safe following distance got me over the summit safely, and by 5 p.m. I was
back home.
It was an extraordinary weekend — 600 miles in old cars, fully alive in their natural habitat of winding two-lane
roads. These kinds of experiences reinforce my belief that we find the true value in these cars through use, and that
all the valuations and investment analyses in the world don’t mean a thing when you're hitting 6,000 rpm in third
and fourth, on your way towards a 5,000-rpm fifth-gear cruising speed of 100 mph — in a 49-year-old car with a 97
-cubic-inch engine.
(Reprinted courtesy of Keith Martin and Sports Car Market.)
Keith’s Monday Blog can be found at www.sportscarmarket.com/blogs/keith-martin
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 5
All Italian Car Gathering
Photos by Fred Russell unless otherwise noted.
Each year, as Fiat Enthusiasts Northwest (FEN) hosts their wonderful car show at the Triple X Drive In. The early date
brings the fun of the first Italian car show, the risks of NW Spring weather, and the conflicts with Easter plans. This year
the risks may have held back participation a bit, but the show was fun for those in attendance. The risk of rain didn’t
materialize into any real raindrops, but the event did share the April 20 date with Easter.
As the day started, a nice Ferrari Testarossa was the first car to
arrive, followed by 55 more Italian cars as the morning progressed. From Alfa Romeos, to Maserati, most Italian marques
seemed to have representation.
The crowd of spectators wasn’t that large but those who showed
had a nice treat. At one point, an attendee named Justin Kwong
gifted his nice white 1969 Fiat 500 to his girlfriend; then as he
was showing her the details on her new car, he opened the front
hood where she could see he’d spelled out “Marry Me” in rose
petals. She said “yes.” A proposal and a yes in the midst of the
car show added a fun atmosphere for all the attendees.
The spectators entered their votes for best car for each marque,
which was easy with only one Maserati and one Lamborghini.
Only slightly tougher were the two Lancia and two DeTomaso.
The tallies were done and, by early afternoon, they announced
the results. Justin Kwong, and his new fiancée won best Fiat
with their 1969 500. I wonder if the marriage proposal helped
Photo by Phil Lampman
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 6
All Italian Car Gathering
voting just a little? Maybe not as their car was an excellent car even though cluttered
with rose petals. The 1972 DeTomaso Pantera of Bill Birdleboush won along with
David Lang’s 1970 Lamborghini Espada with the small block Chevy engine. For Ferrari, the award went to Keith Wintraub for his 1969 Dino 246GT. The new Maserati
Ghibli driven by Mark Glenwood won as well. The “other” category went to Tom &
Paula Brown for their rare old Autobianchi Bianchina Panoramica… with its unusual
open top.
Photo by Phil Lampman
NWARC was well represented by nice Alfas, with the award going to former member
and possible future member, Tom Callahan, and his euro trimmed 1977
Alfetta GT (which may be for sale for those paying attention). Our
Photo by Al Glenewinkel
member, Shannon Low won the award for best Lancia with his 1977
Scorpion.
Congrats to all winners and thanks to those who represented NWARC so
well at the event. Thanks also to the many people in FEN who put out
great efforts hosting a well-run and enjoyable show.
Words by Fred Russell
Photo by Phil Lampman
Photo by Phil Lampman
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 7
Photo by Phil Lampman
Book Review
I have picked up three Alfa Romeo related books recently that I wanted to
share with you. One has NW flavor as
well as a NW author.
First: USRRC, A record of the United States Road Racing Championship 1963-1968. At 4.5 pounds, it’s a noteworthy resource filled with interesting reading and 500+ pictures on 348 pages about the USRRC. It’s written by a Seattle
author, Mike Martin, with a strong connection to racing after watching his first professional race in 1966 at Pacific Raceways. The United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) was a series supporting amateur and professional race
teams from 1963 to 1968. The races included tracks all over the USA and came each year to our Pacific Raceways.
The book details each season and each race with amazing depth and data. The photos and words take you to each trackside with better info than if you had actually been there. Sure, you’re not going to smell or hear the cars, but you’ll get
great photos accompanied by race breakdowns and the play-by-play of the days events.
The obvious big names are part of the story of USRRC—George Follmer, Jim Hall, Mark Donohue, Skip Barber, Peter
Revson, Jerry Titus, and Jerry Grant. The Alfa content can be easily found with Chuck Stoddard racing his Alfa TZ in the
under 2 Ltr class. Great fun to read; but be warned, once you start reading the first race, you’ll keep going through the
whole season, then through the next, etc. It is well worth the time and money. Go to grimeheel.blogspot.com to order
your copy.
Second book: Travel Route 66, A Guide to the History, Sights, and Destinations Along the Main
Street of America. Written by Jim Hinckley and published by Voyageur Press, this is one of the great
books awaiting you after you tour the special Route 66 display at LeMay, America’s Car Museum. The
display highlights the route origin, special towns, new motel concepts, and gimmick stops along the
way. The book provides great specifics on each of the “famous and not-so-famous” sights and destinations along the route heading west for 2500 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica. I love the Don’t Miss
sections for each area and the info on portions that are closed to cars and must be reached on foot.
You may ask, “Where is the Alfa Content?” But the answer is easy, I plan to drive it within the next
couple weeks, and I promise to wear my Alfa shirts the whole time! If you can’t come along, head to
the LeMay, ACM and see the Route 66 display instead then read the book and you’ll wish you had
joined me on the drive.
Third book: 722. The XXII Mille Miglia, Sterling Moss, Denis Jenkinson, And Their Winning
Mercedes-Benz 300SLR. Written by Denis Jenkinson and autographed by Sir Sterling Moss, this special book is finished
in the silver arrow color of the race car. The book starts by giving the history of the Mille Miglia and then the development of the M-B 300SLR. The photos are incredible and show odd details such as, inboard front disk brakes, engine and intake details, along with suspension images that
are rarely found anywhere else. Next the book gives great insight into both Moss and
Jenkinson as well as their incredible efforts to prep for the grueling thousand-mile race.
It covers the actual record setting run of 1000 miles in 10 hours and 7 minutes to win
the fastest Mille Miglia ever. This is a great read and a treat for the eyes if you enjoy
engineering, race strategy, and the personalities of these over achievers. I’m still looking for the Alfa content but I’m sure it’s there somewhere. Fred R
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 8
Alfa Romeo’s Unknown Future
The May 2nd issue of MMR Community Newsletter announced, “...that Fiat
would be removing Alfa from under Fiat's Ferrari-Maserati umbrella and making it a
stand-alone company. Glorious as its past unquestionably is, today there is no
room for Alfa Romeo in the Fiat garage. This has fueled speculation that Alfa Romeo
is being positioned for sale.” The MMR words came a few days after our club
member Gary Patitz shared some idle speculation with me.
Gary: When you look at the FIAT big picture, Sergio Marchionne has played his
hand brilliantly. First, in buying Chrysler on the cheap; combining it with FIAT; incorporating the new entity in Switzerland; moving Maserati down market to compete with BMW (the new Ghibli starts at 65K); restructuring the FIAT product line to
subcompacts; dribbling out limited edition prestige runs (4C/8C) to heighten Alfa’s
value while stalling on any new production models; and finally selling the marque to
VW/Audi at an inflated value. Speculating even further, the FIAT/Mazda venture
will still produce a new spider with variants for FIAT, Mazda, and Abarth. You have
to take your hat off to this man. I am sure he would have done the same thing
with Lancia had not his predecessors destroyed that marque’s goodwill over the
years. On the up side, FIAT Chrysler will emerge a strong global competitor.
As for Alfa, it will be combined with Lamborghini into a separate group under VW/
Audi and act as their second tier Italian sports car. Under such a scenario, it would
not be difficult to believe VW/AUDI would pump an enormous amount of capital into
their new acquisition in a short amount of time and attempt to get a range of production vehicles on showroom floors as soon as possible.
Fred: Do you think VW/Audi will focus their efforts on FWD or RWD Alfa models?
Gary: My guess is, based on the obsession Germans have for Alfa Romeo, VW/
Audi will go with RWD and AWD and position the range just below Lamborghini (in
a similar fashion as Maserati to Ferrari). They would capitalize on the marque’s
tradition returning Alfa to that market segment and away from entry level production cars. A coupe, sedan, then spider would be introduced in close order. I can
see this scenario playing out next year after the hoopla for the 4C just starts to dissipate. From what Dave Mericle tells me, VW/AUDI is still courting Marchionne with
silly money so its just a question of driving up the price.
As for FIAT, it is no longer an Italian company. It now has build capacity throughout North America via Chrysler and is currently cutting a deal with the Chinese.
Those pesky Italian labor unions are becoming less of a problem.
On April 28, Jalopnik reported: “Sources for Automotive News Europe say that
Marchionne announces Alfa's latest revival plan May 6 in Auburn Hills, a plan to
have the longtime Fiat subsidiary as a separate entity within Fiat Chrysler. Making
Alfa into a standalone entity… could this be the move that allows them to cast Alfa
Romeo off if this revival plan fails?
Along with this news, expect next week's announcement to confirm persistent rumors that Alfa will switch to a rear-wheel drive lineup beginning in 2016, abandoning the current front-wheel drive hatchbacks. Auto News says they will all be built
in Italian plants, so that Italian-badged 2016 Miata is really unlikely to be called an
Alfa Spider now.
Gary: [This article] only confirms what I and a lot of others are thinking. It is important to note, in Alfa’s post World War II history, the company has never made a
profit. As you recall the government stepped in as part of a WPA effort. When Giovanni Agnelli/FIAT bought the company back in 1986, they paid only $1. In the
excellent book, “Agnelli, Seat of Power,” there is a chapter on the deal explaining
how Agnelli engineered the purchase aided by the bank of Italy after Ford thought
they had already bought the company. When asked about the purchase by the
Italian press, Agnelli was quoted as saying, “….we have annexed a poor province.”
To get to the point though, Alfa has not made money in its post-war history and
has been hemorrhaging for years. For Marchionne to imply he is going to make
Alfa a profit center is hard for me to believe unless the true motive is to sell it. In
which case, it will be the first time in years someone actually made a profit off of
Alfa Romeo.
Your thoughts? Send your opinions on Alfa futures to: editor@nwalfaclub.com
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 9
NEW LOCATION
2600 West Commodore Way
Suite #3
Seattle, WA 98119
206 378 0900
www.group2inc.com
Membership
 David & Judy Bennitt Woodinville
1972 GTV & 1974 Spider
 Grant Harmsen
Tacoma
1976 Veloce
Mercer Island
1974 Spider
Model/Series
Member Name
164 / GTV-6
Dan Jardine
GTV
Dave Emerson
Spiders, GTV
Fred Wright
Spiders (101/105) George Gibbs
80’s Spiders
Harry Reed
Almost Anything! Fred Russell
Contact
thosejardines@comcast.net
dj.emerson@comcast.net
fred.wright@comcast.net
alfamale1@gmail.com
arspiderq@comcast.net
FKTMRussell@msn.com
Name: _____________________________________________________________________
Spouse: ____________________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip: ______________________________________________________________
Home Phone: _______________________________________________________________
Alt. Phone: _________________________________________________________________
E-mail Address: _____________________________________________________________
Do you wish to be affiliated with the local Alfa Club?
Yes….
NWARC
Please indicate your interests:
Technical______ Tours______ Social_______ Rally_______ Vintage Cars_______
Cost: $63 annual AROC dues includes $3 NWARC affiliation fee
Make check payable to: ALFA ROMEO OWNERS CLUB
Or… Online registration
http://www.aroc-usa.org/
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 10
Mail to:
NWARC / AROC Membership Application
 Michael Malanga
The following members provide Alfa Mentoring!!!
Don’t hesitate to contact any of these members for good Alfa info!
ALFA ROMEO OWNERS CLUB
P.O. BOX 12340
KANSAS CITY, MO 64116-0340
The NWARC would like to extend a warm welcome to our four new
members. We hope to see each of you at upcoming events. Please
don’t hesitate to introduce yourselves to others within the club.
Classified Ads
Cars & Parts For Sale!
Parts For Sale: Complete 3.0 Ltr V6 Motor w/Auto Trans, from ‘91 164 L sedan Engine still at repair shop.
Reduced Price $900
Also a set of 4 wheels for $200.
Call June at 425-244-1098
For Sale: 1985 GTV6
$650.00. In Seattle and
needs to be rescued.
Please call Pat Hester at
206-595-1522
For Sale: 1984 Alfa Romeo Spider
The car has always been
stored in a heated garage (the body is rust free), and 2 years ago
was sent down to Alfa of Tacoma to bring it up to good running
condition. The car now runs and drives exceedingly well. Top and
tires are in very good, almost new condition. Interior and body are
basically in original condition with minor detailing required. The car
has been well maintained since I bought it in 1989, and I have all
the service records. The odometer shows 128,000 miles. Asking
price: $6,000. Contact Priscilla at 206-282-6152
For Sale: 1983 GTV6, Charcoal Grey. Had a heater core or
valve issue and roof clearcoat coming off; otherwise, pretty nice,
engine runs well (but does have over 100,000 miles on it), driveshaft is in good condition, Team Dynamics wheels, Recaro
(factory) black seats. Spare engine (2.5). Car comes with a car
cover as well. Contact Randy via email
rjrumley@yahoo.com or at 206-660-7358
FOR SALE: 1979 Alfetta Sport Sedan, 126,000 miles, Beautiful body, $500.00. Also For Sale: 1750 Engine, no miles on rebuild, $400.00. Tilt-bed trailer, flat bed, channel iron frame, 6 x 12 bed, $600.00.
Contact George Bradshaw 425-210-5119 or 425-778-7210
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 11
2014 Calendar of Events

May 10
NWARC Club Meeting on a Saturday at Vintage Customs

May 31
NWARC Garden Tour

June 7, 8
Spokane Festival of Speed

June 11
NWARC Club Meeting

June 13, 14
Mecum Auction Seattle

June 15
French & Italian Car Show

July 4-6
NWARC Car Corral PNW Historics

July 4
NWARC BBQ

July 12
Concours d’Elegance at The Wood

July 19-27
AROC Nat’l Convention Jr. Detroit, MI

Aug 2
NWARC Viva Italia Car Show

Aug 9
NWARC Summer Drive

Aug 16
NWARC Track Day at The Ridge Motorsports Track

Aug 16
Concorso Italiano

Aug 30, 31
Columbia River Classic

Sept 7
PNW Concours d”Elegance

Sept 13-15
NWARC Half Fast Lap of Washington

Sept 27, 28
Festa Italiana

Oct 4-5
Maryhill Hillclimb

Nov TBD
NWARC Performance Driving School

Dec TBD
Bellevue, Maltby, and more
Spokane, WA
(See page 3)
(See page 4)
SOVREN
Wes Ingram Tech Session
Century Link Field
Location TBD
www.mecum.com
Vancouver, BC
Patitz Home
Auburn, WA
(See page 3)
Auburn (See page 11)
Lynnwood, WA
Woodinville, WA
Shelton, WA
Monterey, CA
Portland International Raceway
Portland, OR
Tacoma LeMay-Americas Car Museum
San Juan Island Tour
Seattle Center
Goldendale, WA
NWARC Holiday Party
Event ideas?
Contact Paul Affolter at
(206) 523 8534
or phaffolter @ gmail.com
Make sure you reserve your spot on the May 31 Garden Tour 2014! Details on page 4.
NWARC May 2014 newsletter page 12