I don’t think anyone will dispute that there are not a lot of Alfa Romeo 164s left in daily use by non-enthusiasts. Those of you living on the two coasts: you must remember when these were still sold new, right? Doesn’t feel that long ago, does it? I think a local dealership chain got by selling Eagles, these, and also Jag-wires. (Although they pronounced it Jag-you-ares in their TV commercials). But Alfa Romeo in the US was in dire straits at the time, and was essentially down to the 164 and the recently facelifted (again) Spider. The Spider 816 was about to come out and start selling in same limited bi-coastal locations, but it never materialized as Alfa Romeo pulled the plug on their US operations in 1995.
Taking over from the Alfa 75 which was sold as the Milano over here, the 164 was only available in the states with the top of the line engine, the 3.0 liter V6. Cause why else would American buyers bother, the thinking went. And they were right, as the Alfas competed with quite heavily optioned cars in America, ignoring for a second the reality that if a customer wanted an Alfa, they probably wouldn’t end up purchasing it because the competition came up short. People bought Alfas because they were Alfas, not because they bested a Volvo 740 in the rear-legroom department. Like the cars of several recently departed brands, the 164s are just now starting to transition from used cars into collectibles, or at the very least, slightly ironic and mechanically adventurous rides.
Alfa Romeo sales in the US had been declining for years, and the economic recession of the early 1990s didn’t help matters. That, coupled with the fact that Alfa really only sold on the two coasts, prevented Alfa from regaining the momentum it had in North America in the late 70s and early 80s.
These are aging really well, and it’s nice to see a 164 in a color other than red or black, even though they look amazing in those colors. It’s kind of a shame that Alfa Romeo didn’t bother to market the 33 in the US, as that car stayed in production till 1995, and could very well have given Alfa the segment flexibility it needed (as the 33 came in sedan and wagon form) to stay in the US just a little longer. But that was a decision that was made long before Alfa’s sales really started to dip in America, to the point that it didn’t make sense staying here. I tend to blame the economic recession of the early 90s, as well as the lack of new models in Alfa’s pipeline around this time. After all, there were only so many customers for the aging Spider, which pretty much carried Alfa’s sales, with the 164 being there just to offer a (quite expensive) alternative to a BMW for the Alfisti.
This is one of those cars that I’ve always wanted to try, but never got around to sheepishly asking for a test drive at a classic car show. You can still find these in Craig’s Listings and Suggestions for south of 3 grand, but you don’t really want those. 164 owners tell me that the later cars are better, and it never hurts to try to source a car (even with spotty service records) from a region that had knowledgeable Alfa mechanics for long after Alfa departed our shores. So, uhh, I guess you may not want a 164 that spent its whole life in Bozeman, Montana, or Dodge City, Kansas.
When was the last time you saw a daily driven Alfa Romeo 164?
[Images: Copyright 2013 Hooniverse/Jay Ramey]
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