I spent almost 5 years to get an ideal specimen of the Alfa Romeo 164S and this one is the result. It came into my possession in Dec 2002. One thing I don't like about this car is always the colour: silver is just too vanilla popular these days. Car was originally red, nothing wrong with the paint I was told, but the previous owner, an Italian boutique shopowner repainted it all silver. It was an expensive good repaint job and was only 0ne year new when I bought the car so I'll just have to live with it. Other than this annoyance there is really not much I can complain: for a 14 year old car, it still has very low mileage, nearly spotless inside out, the interior features the very rare Recaro upgrades with perforated leather pleats. Well personally I still prefer the stock 164S seats which are larger, more supportive, and have the embossed Alfa logo on seatbacks. However there're only two 164S with Recaro here in the Greater Toronto Area, everyone loves Recaro, so I should be happy with what I've got. The previous owner also upgraded the stock 15" to Momo 16" wheels which have already aged quite a bit as shown in closeup picture. Well whatelse this guy had spent on this car? a Clarion CD, pretty colourful display, but again I'm not quite crazy about these extras. All I want is a clean, solid-quality Alfa Romeo 164S, and this one is the best I can get. Why it has to be a 164S? Seriously because I do think the 164S with the skirts enhancement, is still so far the best-looking sedan mankind ever made. This is truly a 4-door Ferrari, and since I like 4 door only so fortunately no Ferrari is required/desired.

The car's 200 horses are no longer competent compared to todays standard. Any new Japanese cars with 6-cyl has more horsepower bragging right. But I am a prof visual artist, and when it comes to automobile design, the Alfa Romeo runs light years ahead of all those more powerful or reliable. A car is more than a ride, it is a piece of 3D art for men to create and appreciate.

A few pictures here also feature my other ride, now sold, the Saab 9000 Carlsson with the factory 12-pc big spoiler kit and Aero/Recaro leather interior upgrade. The 9000 lacks the Latinate sexiness, but has a massive Nordic stance that is also visually enchanting. Plus its cargo space is second to none other sedans ever. You don't need an SUV to haul all your stuffs.

More pictures of my toy cars collection featuring the Alfa Romeo 155 DTM to follow!