Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio ~ As Seen In "wolf Of Wall Street" on 2040-cars

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Buyers resent low inventories, prices over MSRP, study says

Vehicle inventory low, vehicle transaction prices high, customers fretting … welcome, J.D. Power, to the era of supply and demand. In a recently published survey from one of the auto industryÂ’s top analytical firms, findings show that customers' satisfaction with vehicle purchases in the United States this year has dipped for the first time in 10 years. The 2022 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study found that overall sales satisfaction has dropped to 786 (on a 1,000-point scale) from 789 in 2021. In that year, higher than expected trade-in values softened the effect of new vehicle price increases. But in 2022, on top of trade-in prices shrinking, many dealers elected to charge more than the ManufacturerÂ’s Suggested Retail Price, a factor that did not sit well with buyers. “When dealers charge more than MSRP, particularly with long-term loyal customers, they risk a potential long-term negative effect on customer advocacy and service business," said Chris Sutton, vice president of automotive retail at J.D. Power. Satisfaction among buyers who paid more than sticker price is 757, while satisfaction among those who paid the sticker price or less is 850, the Power report said. The lack of dealership inventory was also a customer irritant, J.D. Power found, a point that automakers and their dealers may want to consider. Many have maintained, or considered maintaining, a smaller inventory in the wake of the pandemic, keeping costs down and driving more customers toward factory orders. Regarding those consumers shopping for electric vehicles, the survey said that more than a third of them “failed to get instruction on EV charging before they left the dealership, which notably affects satisfaction.” Said Sutton, “Salespeople donÂ’t need to show gas-powered vehicle buyers how to fill their tank, but they do need to show EV buyers how to charge their vehicle.” There are positives to the Power conclusions, however, especially for Alfa Romeo dealers. The Italian brand ranked highest in customer satisfaction among premium brands with a score of 833, with Porsche a very close second (831) and Lexus (819) third. Alfa is on something of a roll these days, with its compact Tonale crossover due for release in the spring, and a new sports car in the works. Meanwhile, in PowerÂ’s “mainstream brand”” segment, Buick ranked first with a score of 825, followed by Dodge (816) and Subaru (804), all performing higher than the industry average.

Alfa Romeo 4C Spider reportedly dead in Europe, only dealer stock remains

It's been hard to get a reliable prognosis concerning Alfa Romeo in general, and especially hard to figure out what's in store for the brand in the United States. Last year the automaker canceled the 4C coupe, last week the brand's future product roadmap appeared to deep-six the anticipated GTV and 8C sports cars in order to focus on more efficient spending in more important segments. In February of this year, Alfa Romeo launched the 4C Spider Italia in a run of just 15 units, the two biggest surprises about that car being the $73,495 price and the fact that it extended the model's run into 2020. We're not yet into 2020, but it looks like the party's over. The French outpost of Motor1 is said to have confirmed with Alfa Romeo that the 4C Spider has ceased production. According to the report, the only 4Cs left across the Atlantic are the ones currently in dealer inventory.  Autoblog asked Alfa Romeo to confirm the news, a spokesman responded by e-mail, "I can't speak for other markets but the US 4C Spider is not cancelled and is still available for order." Introduced in 2015, the 4C Spider still gets on with a turbocharged four-cylinder putting out 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The 4C Spider needs an irrational generosity to love and drive every day, but the last OEM sports car on sale without power steering knows how to thrill when pushed. Our guess is that, overseas, exotic construction and communicative, go-kart handling couldn't make up for a high price relative to the established competition and lack of interior amenities and ultimate refinement. If the European news is true, sales figures lead us to believe it is but a matter of time before the same ax finds its way to the U.S. Alfa Romeo sold 421 4Cs in Europe last year, compared to 238 in the U.S. This year European dealers sold 196 units through the end of September, U.S. dealers moved 127. If we did lose the open-top sports car before 2021, the move would leave the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV as Alfa Romeo's entire U.S. lineup until more crossover-type vehicles show in 2021. No matter what happens, perhaps by 2021 Alfa Romeo will know precisely where it needs to go and have a clear plan for getting there, and perhaps it will be able to do so with the platform and financial resources within a merged Fiat-Chrysler-PSA Group entity. Even for fun, full-throated products, it's hard to get on in today's market without full-throated focus, support, and marketing.

Dodge Viper-based 2010 Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato rarity could be yours

It has been a decade since it was launched, but the 2010 Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato is just as bizarre and beautiful as the day it was revealed. It's what you get when you have Italian design house Zagato give a Dodge Viper an Alfa Romeo body. And this one, number six of a total of nine examples, could be yours. It's going to be auctioned in Elkhart, Indiana, by RM Sotheby's along with several other rare vehicles. Now when we described this car as a Zagato take on an Alfa but using a Viper, that's exactly what it is. All the mechanical bits are from the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR, down to the 8.4-liter 600-horsepower V10 and six-speed manual transmission. The body does do an impressive job disguising this, from the signature Zagato double-bubble roof, to the unique, almost shooting brake-style rear roofline and Kamm tail. The Alfa grille in the nose also throws off the scent. But look closer, and Viper elements start showing up. On the outside, the push-down flush door handles remain. Inside, the gauges feature the same fonts and layout as in the Viper, the only change being the TZ3 logo sitting in the middle. Particularly glaring is the audio head unit, which was shared with every other Dodge product on the market since the early 2000s. But the leather appointments throughout do make it nicer. Also amusing is the fact that all the owner's manuals are simply Dodge examples, with no changes to the covers or names. One other bizarre thing, since this is a 2010 car, it was built at the very early start of Fiat and Chrysler joining up. As omens go, this was a pretty solid one. Regardless, it is an extremely striking car that's sure to be exhilarating to drive. And that's not something the previous owner experienced much, because the photos suggest it's only been driven about 200 miles. RM Sotheby's doesn't give an estimated sale price, but it should go for well into six figures, if not more. And it will sell, as it's being offered with no reserve. The auction starts May 1. Related Video: