Dan's Papers - March 21, 2008 -

Recently, many interesting cars have debuted in the world arena. I'm sure all you Italian car aficionados have seen the new mouth watering $250,000 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione coupe that the Italian press has been touting as Alfa Romeo's ticket back into the US market. I'll bet Ralph Lauren already has one on order. That's just what the world needs, another beautiful, expensive, red Italian sports car. Alfa just doesn't get it. Don't the Italian car executives realize the reason the original, very successful Alfa Romeo was a big success in America was because it was priced as an entry level car, just above the inexpensive British MGs of the period? The '50s Alfa Romeo's claim to fame is that, compared with the dominant British sports cars of the period, the Alfa had sophisticated aluminum twin cam engines coupled with extremely beautiful Italian body work. In looks and sophistication, those '50s and '60s Alfas are truly a poor man's Ferrari. Alfa is planning to import much less expensive models, but my understanding is that they will be in the $40,000 bracket. What I really think they need is a car that's competitive with the Mazda Miata. A PininFarina-designed Alfa priced in the mid 20s could be a world-beater, and truer to Alfa's roots here in America.

The new Fiat 500 that's being introduced in Europe is retro cute, with many design elements of the famous original Fiat 500 that sold by the millions in Europe. There is talk of it being sold here by Ferrari dealers because as we all know, Fiat owns Ferrari. I can't help but laugh at this preposterous proposal. Most Ferrari dealers are the snootiest types to deal with when you are discussing the purchase of a $150,000 Ferrari, so I can just imagine what their attitude will be toward all the "white trash" who would show up at their showroom to purchase a $15,000 Fiat. Fiat should enter the US market as a stand-alone brand. They have great European models with much improved dependability.

The Fiat 500 and the Mini are both small cars. There has been a small car revolution going on in Europe for years. Hopefully, that trend is migrating here to the US. With all this Fiat/Mini/Smart Car stuff going on, there is one real surprise coming from one of the world's leading car manufacturers - Volkswagen. Volkswagen has in the works a new series of small cars called the "Up." They will be on sale in Europe in 2010. These are all craftily designed small cars with two and three cylinder engines of about 50 horsepower. Needless to say, they will get terrific fuel economy. The "Ups" (love the name) are lightweight and quick for their size. They will be entry level priced, just what the world needs with gasoline prices off the wall and climbing toward the ceiling. I hope these cars are available in America.

Speaking of small cars, I have to mention the new small car that will probably go down in history as one of the most important small cars ever made. It was just introduced and is being built by an Indian company called Ratan Tata. The car is called the Nano. The most astounding thing about this car is that it will cost $2,500. Yes, that is not a misprint, two thousand five hundred dollars. It's a real four seater, quite well built and aesthetically pleasing. It has a 633 cc two-cylinder engine that produces 33 horsepower and gets 50 miles to the gallon. There is talk of importing this car to the United States. Imagine owning an actual new car for less than the price of a Vespa scooter or a wheel upgrade on a Lexus? One interesting note - this Indian car company just purchased Jaguar and Range Rover from the Ford Motor Company.

I owned a Fiat 126, which in many ways had the same specifications as the Nano - same size two cylinder motor, and about the same top speed. It also achieved 50 mpg. It was painfully slow in acceleration, but once it got to 65 it was fine as long as there were no long hills. Not a big trip car, but a car of this type is the absolutely perfect city car. A ride from NYC to the Hamptons on the flat LIE would be a perfect little adventure for a Ratan Tata Nano. Strange name but it's quite the deal.

While there is a small car design revolution going on everywhere in the world except in America, with gasoline inching up to four dollars per gallon, all I see on television are ads for big V-8 SUVs and powerful $40,000 luxury sedans. Ford and General Motors are almost bankrupt. Chrysler is closing down completely for two weeks to save money. Detroit is burning and the big V-8 engine rumble keeps playing on. Wake up.

Bob Gelber, an automotive journalist living in the Hamptons, appears regularly on television as an automotive expert. You can email him at bobgelber@aol.com