The Alfa Romeo Milano (known as the 75 outside of North America) was available on these shores for the 1987 through 1989 model years. Enough roared out of the showrooms to make Milano spottings reasonably frequent through at least the first part of the 1990s, but then most of them disappeared and left no trace (other than at 24 Hours of Lemons races, where they remain plentiful and have proven to be quite fast and reliable). Here’s a 1987 Alfa Romeo Milano that I spotted in a wrecking yard in Charlotte, North Carolina.
These cars needed plenty of regular maintenance, at least for drivers who wanted the windows to roll up and down or the headlights to function after dark, and many American Milano owners weren’t up to the task. The owner or owners of this car took good care of it, though, and it goes to its grave in non-thrashed condition.
The Milano was very quick for the price: $12,850 for the Milano Silver in 1987 (about $29,000 in 2019 dollars). With 154 horsepower, it beat the hell out of the 121-horse 1987 BMW 325, with its $21,475 price tag (and came close to the168-horse power level of the $26,990 325iS). Unfortunately for Alfa Romeo dealers, North American car buyers had become wary of cars from Italy and France by that time, and Alfa fled the continent for well over a decade after the 1995 model year.
Of all the cars on all the road, there’s one unconventional choice: an Alfa Romeo with four doors.
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