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If you had to guess what vehicle underpins this Guangzhou GAC Trumpchi, what would you guess? Here’s a hint: if you’re basing your answer on exterior styling, you will definitely get this one wrong…
… because underneath that Chinese designer’s take on the Toyota Avalon lies the platform from one of the more beautiful (if not wildly successful) sedans of the last ten years: the Alfa-Romeo 166. Bet you never saw that one coming! [via AutoBild]
19 Comments on “What’s Wrong With This Picture: Don’t Call Me Alfa Edition...”
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So, take a car renown for its beauty and lousy chassis underneath, put a boring ol’ body design on it while keeping the platform intact… sounds like a winning strategy! :D
Don’t forget the scrumptious name: Trumpchi. There will be a high lux model TrumpchiZ; a hi-power model TrumpchiX; and a multi-purpose TrumpchiMP.
I don’t know where you got the idea that the 166 had a lousy chassis. I had one for 40,000 miles from 2006 to 2009 and the chassis never failed to make me smile as I flew around roundabouts. A wonderful car. I wonder what the Chinese one will be like?
I disagree with Ed about the aesthetics of that alpha. to me the face looks like a bird’s beak–and a rather ugly beak at that.
I think part of the problem with the 166 is that the headlights are too small for the front end. They look like parking lights – where are the real headlights? The small lights make the beak look more prominent than it actually is.
That sad look was replaced with a better one during mid-cycle facelift:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alfa_Romeo_166_front_20071105.jpg
if you’re basing your answer on exterior styling, you will definitely get this one wrong…
The greenhouses appear identical to me. To my eyes, besides the character lines in the sheet metal, the primary difference in shape is that the Alfa is a wedge, with that beautiful tapered nose, and the Trumpchi’s front end is much higher and bulkier. From the A pillar back, they pretty much share the same profile.
Ronnie: To me, the greenhouse on the brown car on top from the “A” pillar back seems to be a dead-ringer for a Pontiac G8!
Actually that Alpha is pretty hideous. It’s got the whole-mid-90s LH sedan ‘small face’ thing going on, and the overhang is huge.
Actually, the 166 is one of the ugliest Alfas in the last 15 years or so. Only the 145/146 is brobably worse.
Anyways, Even the prettiest Alfas are pigs – timebelt changes every 25-30 kmiles and many other interesting… Ahem!.. quirks make attractive as a desktop wallpaper only.
Alfa-Romeo, like Fiat, was known for fine-looking coupes and spyders and ugly sedans.
That might be true in general, but I’d make a huge exception for the 164 – I think that sedan was gorgeous.
I would be hard pressed to agree. The 159 or preceding 156 are both beautes, either in 4 door or wagon form. I only wish them not breaking down this often…
I remarked in an earlier thread about Lancia “All italian sedans should be designed by Pininfarina”. The 164 is a gorgeous PF design, only mucked up by Alfa’s in house styling to become the 166.
The chassis is wonderful, even better with nylon bushings replaced on all 4 corners. Pity the Chinese are getting some old I-4 Mitsubishi motor.
Though the Alfa “beak” is somewhat anachronistic, if properly implemented, it’s a far better trademark than the increasingly over-sized logos (Mercedes, Chevrolet, Ford) these days.
My favorite Alfa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Brera — and it’s a *hatchback*.
A simple re-badge would have been better than re-styling it to resemble a previous-gen Kia Optima.
Its nice that any article about Alfa Romeo brings an rash of comments……There maybe a lot of love/hate opinions…but at least it shows that the marque is still newsworthy!
and I hope worth saving!
I dunno. This is an auto blog and yet half of the posters spell it “Alpha”. I’d say Fiat has their work cut out selling them in the US.
Curse you, TTAC! As soon as I saw your posting a pic of the 166, I just HAD to go find one to buy.
Come to find out, I can’t!!!!
May all your servers catastrophically fail at the same time.