Jason Dutt writes:
> Remember, the
> outside world has a hard time understanding the differences between a
> Triumph, an MG, a Fiat, and an Alpha Romeo.
Hell, even the *inside* world has a hard time *spelling* Alfa Romeo...
:-) Fortunately, this isn't a problem with M.G.
As the resident Anglo-Italian here, I'll clarify something an earlier
poster said about the Alfa Spider and "that smaller one, the 1300."
Without getting into a detailed history of my "other" marque, I'll
simply say that Alfa have used engines of varying displacements at
different times in history as a way of getting around tax laws, as well
as due to changes in development. So it was possible to buy an Alfa
Spider with one's choice of engine at various times; one choice
available through the early Seventies at least was the initial 1300cc
version of Alfa's twin cam engine. The differences between, say, a 1600
Spider and a 1300 Spider are limited to displacement and trim level (the
larger-engined car gets carpets, the smaller gets rubber mats). Oh, and
power -- the 1600 produces 109 bhp, the 1300 110 (at a much higher RPM
level -- it's a *very* special engine).
So if I understand the lookalike question as originally stated, this
doesn't count, any more than an MGA Deluxe and an MGA Twin Cam, or an
MGB-GT and an MGB-V8 (assuming we're only talking about the
factory-produced V8s, all of which used the GT body, and not one of Ken
Costello's cars or a later conversion on a roadster chassis). They're
the same chassis and body, with different engine options and
trim/badging.
I will close by saying that as much as I love my 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia
GT 1300 Junior, I still believe it is better to drive a British car and
eat Italian food, than it is to drive an Italian car and eat British
food.
Safety (urp) Fast!
--Scott Fisher
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