The reason for the lower price of Alpines, IMHO, is that they are not
as good a sports car as other makes. I'm not trying to start a "my
car is better than yours' flame war here. Anyone who has seen my car
(hi Bob) knows that it is no peach. But I have driven Alpines when
they were new, and they could not hold a candle to an MG in the
handling department. I regularly blew off Alpine with my SAAB 96
sedan in those days, and I couldn't catch an MGB on a bet. A buddy
who ice-raced an Alpine once told me that it had independent rear
suspension. I protested that I knew it to be a live axle. He said
that was not what he meant, that the rear suspension was completely
independent of the rest of the car. I have been told that the
handling of the Tiger was actually better than the Alpine. Too bad
Rootes didn't go back and apply what the Tiger taught them to the
Alpine. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that you can pick up bits to fix
up the hadling somewhat, and maybe that is not your priority. So take
advantage of the low prices if you can, and enjoy the Alpine. I'll
stick with my rustbucket Spridget and the steering and transitional
response it has. phile@pwcs.stpaul.gov
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Login name: phile In real life: Philip J Ethier
Phone: 298-5324
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