Recent Comments:
Spy Video: Alfa Romeo 159 GTA mule spotted at the Nurburgring {Autoblog}
Mar 27th 2008 6:14AM Actually 4WD Alfa 159s are ALREADY available on the market... they are labelled 159 Q4...
so I would expect this GTA model to be 4WD
Alfa Romeo releases the new Mi.To {Autoblog}
Mar 14th 2008 11:23AM Mi = Milano (Milan) the city where Alfa Romeo is located
To = Torino (Turin) the city where FIAT auto is located (FIAT owns Alfa Romeo)
This is the reason of the point between "Mi" and "To"
In italian Mito means Myth.
Moreover:
FIAT stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automotive Factory - Turin)
A.L.F.A. Romeo stands for anonima lombarda fabbrica automobili di Nicola Romeo (Anonymous Lombard Automotive Factory property of engeneer Nicola Romeo)
ALFA is an acronym; Romeo is the family name of the founder.
F1 Results: McLaren cleared of wrongdoing in Ferrari tech theft flap {Autoblog}
Jul 26th 2007 3:21PM >>Guilty of receiving a package through the mail?
Guilty of having opened that packet and having kept it saying anything to anyone.
If someone puts a gun in your mailbox, you are supposed to call the police or (if you are paranoic about dealing with police) to get rid of it a soon as possible.
If you keep that gun, then you are considering that gun as something that could be useful in the future, no matter how you did get it.
Craigslist Find of the Day: Propane-powered '86 Suzuki Samurai {Autoblog}
Jul 6th 2007 5:40AM There is nothing special in this car. Propane (LPG) is a fuel commonly sold in many gas stations in europe (and costs less than half of the price of gasoline): for my personal experience it is widely used in italy, france and netherlands.
The frightening thing in this particular car that fuel conversion is home-made and that it is allowed to circulate on public roads! this is unbeliveable.
I have been driving LPG-converted cars for more than a decade... being LPG much cheaper than gasoline so it is quite common to see gasoline-hungry cars converted to LPG powered... by the way: they are BI-FUEL cars, not LPG only cars: there is an additional tank for LPG: it does not replace gasoline. you can switch from gasoline to lpg and vice-versa by simply pressing a button.
It is quite curious that in USA you have never heard of it: Chevrolet, in italy offers the LPG conversion FOR FREE on any gasoline powered model. the same applies for Chrysler! american cars dealers are the more LPG-happy car dealers
Even Mercedes has some methane-powered model (methane and LPG are diffrent fuels, but the conversion kits are nearly the same thing... there are differences only in the tanks - methane can't be stored in liquid form-and the software needed for the ECU)
LPG conversion is professionally made: the lpg tank is usually shaped as a tyre, and takes the place of the spare tire in the car... the car is NOT constrained to use exclusively LPG: it can use BOTH LPG and gasoline... so if you are out of lpg, you can switch to gasoline.
several european firms are producing LPG conversion kits that use direct-injection systems
take a look at this, for example: http://www.ozonlpg.com/systems.html
By the way: LPG and methane powered cars are considered by local laws eco-friendly as hybrid cars, because they cause much less pollution... especially methane powered ones.
I belive that methane would be a far better solution than hybrid cars: has anyone ever made an analysis of wich will be the environmental impact of the disposal of the huge batteries used by hybrid cars?
I don't think so...
Competizione 8C gets its own site and video {Autoblog}
Dec 20th 2006 3:49PM replying to comment #5: The shield in front of this car is the traditional front grille of EVERY alfa romeo ever built.
that shield recall cars built also in the sixties by alfa romeo.
take a look at this one, for example:
www.pidocchio.net/turboland/WRCSardinia2005/shakedown/089%20Alfa%20Romeo%20Giulietta.jpg
The latest subarus' front girlle have been designed by an european designer who said... "these japanese are paying me a lot of money just because I am european: I need an idea... Hey! let's copy the alfa romeo traditional sign and let's use it upside-down. noone will notice it..."
Mazda did the same when they designed the Maxta Xedos 6 and the mazda 6, which are heavilly inspired by the Alfa Romeo 156.
Alfas aren't sold in usa, but Mazdas and Subarus are.
Now every time there is a post about alfa romeos, there is an american who says "hey they copied Subaru! hey they copied Mazda!". They did NOT: it is the opposite.
GT for the PD: Australian police get an Alfa Romeo {Autoblog}
Nov 7th 2006 5:26AM FYI The alfa romeo GT 3.2 JTS has a at least 250 hp V6 engine and can do 0-62 in about 6 seconds.
And it is a 4 seater, so:
- It can chase most of the cars... and it surely has the handling that 99% of american muscle cars do not have.
Alfas are heavily focused on handling more than on power.
- it can easily keep a prisoner in in the back seats.. he won't feel very confortable, but he is a prisoner, right?
- Italian polices has historically ALWAYS adopted only alfa romeo cars... things have changed recently just because alfa romeos are starting to be expensive like BMWs, but they are still the most chosen ones
Anyway I think an alfa 156 GTA would have been a better police car than this one... (anyway the Alfa GT is simply the 2 doors coupè version of the alfa 156, with some restyling)
Scion xB Release Series 4.0 coming in November {Autoblog}
Oct 15th 2006 8:51AM My God! this is one of the ugliest car I have ever seen.
It beats even the previous series of the Fiat Multipla!
it looks more like a dumpster than a car.. damnit! it' made of 3 square boxes: it is the stereotype of a van drawn by a 3-years old boy.
Paris Preview: methane-powered Fiats {Autoblog}
Sep 18th 2006 6:38AM In some countries of europe is quite common to use LPG or methane powered cars (in the city where I live there are 2 methane fuel resellers and 12 LPG resellers).
almost ANY gasoline car can be turned in a dual-fuel car (cng+gasoline or lpg + gasoline). it is not rocket science: we are doing it since 30 years ago. (Chevrolet and Chrysler do offer this conversion for ALL the models sold here... from the matiz to the Escalade, for example).
there are 2 main reasons for paying 2000 euros for this conversion:
1) CNG costs of 1/4 of gasoline. LPG costs 1/2 of gasoline.
2) circulation of cng/lpg cars is always allowed, also during "green sundays".
in other words: if you own a < EURO 4 car you can convert it to CNG or GPL in order to have a car that is considered "environment friendly" and is not subject to blocks during "green sundays".
there are several producers of these conversion kits.
this is the conversion kit I installed on my hyundai tiburon 2.7 V6 (which is considered a VERY expensive car to mantain here, if you want to keep using it with gasoline): http://www.landirenzo.com/prodotti/scheda_sistema_gpl07.html.
Peugeot announces twin-turbo, performance diesel {Autoblog}
Aug 30th 2006 11:52AM only 170 hp? I would expect MUCH more power from a 2.2 twin-turbo diesel engine....
The Alfa Romeo 2.4 jtd engine (used on the 159 and Brera models) , which is not a Twin-turbo engine, does 200 hp, just to name one.
VW Scirocco may go for $28,000 {Autoblog}
May 12th 2006 9:11AM Hey... this 22,000 euros (or 28,000US$) is a CHEAP price here in europe.
for example: I own a Hyundai Tiburon V6 (it is called Coupè, here in italy) and I paid it 24,000 euros!
Do not ask me why but prices for cars are MUCH MORE higher in europe than in USA. I think it is related to the higher prices of gasoline: it costs 80 Euros to fill my gas tank. Car sellers, here must think that if you can afford a car that costs 80 euros every 400 kms, you will be also willing to pay LOT MORE for having that car.
Someone mentioned the Mazda RX-8 as a car cheaper than this 22,000 euros Scirocco. WAKE UP! THE MAZDA RX-8 IN EUROPE COSTS 36,000 EUROS!!!.
speaking of american cars: A Dodge viper SRT-10, here, costs 113,000 euros, that is 143,000 US$.
in usa A viper costs just 85,000 US$.
Damnit.
