after the 80's.. they dont seem to exist in canada..
the odd fiat pops up once in a while to enthusiist

Alfas had a similar reputation here in Australia, but the 156 & 147 seem to be getting more and more popular.

I considered the 147 GTA a few months ago and took it for a lenghty test drive. The cars performance is great (and the engine/exhaust note sounds pretty nice as well). BUT build quality on the interior was shocking. My test car had loose threads/stitching around the steering wheel and seats. There were big gaps in between the door inserts and overall was dissatisfied with the level of fit and finish. This was also present in other Alfas I'd looked at and wasn't a one-off case.

Pity we don't get any Lancias or Fiats over here. The only Fiat is a commercial vehicle (Ducato) and recent comments by the importer who holds the distribution rights for Fiat suggest that it won't be re-launched until 2006 (and that is being very optimistic).

Older Alfas, Fiats & Lancias are relatively active in the motorsport scene here (club level) and perform well enough.

There are a couple of the Lacia Grp B and earlier rally cars in aus, but they've been imported privately.


Like, 23790554, I'm gonna have to disagree with tyhe comment by '68-998'.
Alfas seem to be getting more and more popular over the last 3-4 years. (the 156 & 147). I'd say Peugeot are doing fairly well out of the Euros (Renault's re-entry in to the local market has fizzled IMO and Citroen are taking baby steps). With regards to price, I agree that they are more expensive than the Jap counterparts, but when you take into account equipment levels and saftey , the difference is reduced (IMO). i.e. Cliosport vs Corolla or C2 vs Toyota Echo.

Peugeot did win the first Redex reliability trials in 1953.

Well till 90's alfa and Fiat had very bad reputations but things are changing, I know lot's of Fiat and Alfa owners that don't have any problems with their car. But in France, If Alfa is now OK, Fiat still suffer from bad reliability reputation, you know when things are anchored in minds :D. I can't says anything about Lancia cause I don't think their new orientation to luxuary car is followed by drivers.

But, in general, we can't say italians (everyday cars) are very less reliables than others cars, I'm thinking about VW, Audi that breakdown too and mainly mercedes.

sorry mate I'm gonna disagree with you aswell, here in Sydney, Alfa's are still Alfa's but they still sell, and Fiat hasn't sold new cars here for a good 20 years now, but you still see Regatta's and 124s and so on floating around the place...

and the only Lancias we get here are imports these days, I saw a Delta Integrale on a trailer the other day, and with regards to the resale value of italian cars here, they seem to do ok as far as I can see at this stage...for example: Delta Integrale = $75k for a good one. Personally I can think of diseases I'd rather have over an Italian car...

Exactly, i think that the Integrale is a different case, for example, the people who buy the integrale is due to a sportive car indeed, the name of the integrale on the rallying world, a car which wont to be driven for many miles a year, a car that wont be bought if someone is going to carry some children.............