Cargolex
Forever Young: 1985 Alfa-Romeo Spider Graduate
It seems very odd to me, as I'm sure it does to you, that Dustin Hoffman is (at the time of this writing) now 78 years old, because even though I'm too young to have seen "The Graduate" in the theater, he's still the guy from "Marathon Man" and "Tootsie" to me. 1967's "The Graduate" was, of course, his breakthrough film role - though he was already an accomplished theater actor.
It was a breakthrough vehicle for another star as well - the Alfa Duetto spider, which in time would become the best selling Alfa-Romeo of all time (by a huge margin) in North America and the car that likely comes first to mind when many Americans think of Alfa-Romeo.
The Duetto (never its official name, but one which was chosen by a contest winner in 1966), with its Pininfarina styling and rounded tail, featured prominently in the film. Long scenes of Hoffman driving the car around California became iconic, and the car quickly became Alfa's top seller in the U.S. lineup, a position it would retain for the rest of its career. In 1993, the second "Wayne's World" film would directly parody these scenes. Introduced in 1966, The Spider was still on sale when that film came out. In December of 1993.
Although periodically changed, the Spider evolved slowly after 1970 (when the rear end was squared off), and continued to sell well even after the other 105-series Alfas (the Bertone-styled coupes and the square-rigged sedans) were retired. Though those vehicles were replaced by the Alfetta, the strong sales of the Spider, particularly in North America, were enough to convince Alfa to keep the car going.
At one point, the Spider was Alfa's only U.S. model, at a particular nadir in 1980 when the Alfetta had been dropped but there wasn't a good plan for federalizing any of the other models in the European lineup.
Though the Spider was one of the more sophisticated and expensive cars in its class, it originally competed with cars like the Sunbeam Alpine, Datsun Roadster, and MGB. At various times it would be compared to cars as diverse as the Mazda RX-7, Toyota MR-2, Fiat X1/9, Pontiac Fiero, and ultimately, the Mazda Miata.
By 1985, the last of its original competitors - the Fiat Spider - was retired. That year, Alfa-Romeo unveiled a special entry-level version of the Spider called - of course - the Graduate.
Inspired once again by the film, by then a classic itself, the Graduate featured a more basic interior and fewer features than the regular Spider, and cost $3,000 less - money which in 1985 could probably have bought you a serviceable 1967 Spider, but that's beside the point.
The Graduate became the most popular variant of the Spider in the years it was offered (1985-1990) and it was a U.S. exclusive.
The car seen here is one of the earliest Graduates - in 1986 the black spoiler got a high-mounted brake light where the Alfa badge is.
The Spider continued to sell in quantities large enough to make a profit - and even got a major restyle and some mechanical upgrades for 1991, but could soldier on no further after 1993, with the last run cars being sold into early 1994.
©2015 A. Kwanten.
Forever Young: 1985 Alfa-Romeo Spider Graduate
It seems very odd to me, as I'm sure it does to you, that Dustin Hoffman is (at the time of this writing) now 78 years old, because even though I'm too young to have seen "The Graduate" in the theater, he's still the guy from "Marathon Man" and "Tootsie" to me. 1967's "The Graduate" was, of course, his breakthrough film role - though he was already an accomplished theater actor.
It was a breakthrough vehicle for another star as well - the Alfa Duetto spider, which in time would become the best selling Alfa-Romeo of all time (by a huge margin) in North America and the car that likely comes first to mind when many Americans think of Alfa-Romeo.
The Duetto (never its official name, but one which was chosen by a contest winner in 1966), with its Pininfarina styling and rounded tail, featured prominently in the film. Long scenes of Hoffman driving the car around California became iconic, and the car quickly became Alfa's top seller in the U.S. lineup, a position it would retain for the rest of its career. In 1993, the second "Wayne's World" film would directly parody these scenes. Introduced in 1966, The Spider was still on sale when that film came out. In December of 1993.
Although periodically changed, the Spider evolved slowly after 1970 (when the rear end was squared off), and continued to sell well even after the other 105-series Alfas (the Bertone-styled coupes and the square-rigged sedans) were retired. Though those vehicles were replaced by the Alfetta, the strong sales of the Spider, particularly in North America, were enough to convince Alfa to keep the car going.
At one point, the Spider was Alfa's only U.S. model, at a particular nadir in 1980 when the Alfetta had been dropped but there wasn't a good plan for federalizing any of the other models in the European lineup.
Though the Spider was one of the more sophisticated and expensive cars in its class, it originally competed with cars like the Sunbeam Alpine, Datsun Roadster, and MGB. At various times it would be compared to cars as diverse as the Mazda RX-7, Toyota MR-2, Fiat X1/9, Pontiac Fiero, and ultimately, the Mazda Miata.
By 1985, the last of its original competitors - the Fiat Spider - was retired. That year, Alfa-Romeo unveiled a special entry-level version of the Spider called - of course - the Graduate.
Inspired once again by the film, by then a classic itself, the Graduate featured a more basic interior and fewer features than the regular Spider, and cost $3,000 less - money which in 1985 could probably have bought you a serviceable 1967 Spider, but that's beside the point.
The Graduate became the most popular variant of the Spider in the years it was offered (1985-1990) and it was a U.S. exclusive.
The car seen here is one of the earliest Graduates - in 1986 the black spoiler got a high-mounted brake light where the Alfa badge is.
The Spider continued to sell in quantities large enough to make a profit - and even got a major restyle and some mechanical upgrades for 1991, but could soldier on no further after 1993, with the last run cars being sold into early 1994.
©2015 A. Kwanten.