[alfa] Tire & paint distinctions (was: Tire dilemma)

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Give the Lady What She Wants" was the title of a 1952 book which was both a biography of the 19th century Chicago merchant Marshall Field and a history of the once highly regarded store he founded; Field had overheard one of his sales clerks trying to correct a customer on a matter of taste, and he in turn advised the salesman on a matter of serving clients. Another formulation attributed to Field was "The customer isn't always right, but he is always the customer." Conversely I once watched another Chicago businessman eject a customer from his store simply because she had been disrespectful to one of his clerks; he told me afterwards that one of the few benefits of owning one's own business was that you were free to maintain your own standards at your own loss. Good for him; he accepted that personal integrity has a price.
 
Whitewall tires were apparently fairly popular on coachbuilt Alfas in the late forties; I found period photos of 6C 2500s by Ghia, Boano, Boneschi, Touring and others with whitewalls. One was a 1947 Superleggera coupe by Touring which Touring exhibited in the Prima Mostra della Carrozzeria Italiana at the Palazzo dell'Arte di Milano in 1947, suggesting that Touring considered it an appropriate finishing touch rather than an accommodation of a tasteless client; another was a Boneschi cabriolet which was awarded first in class in concorsi d'eleganza both at Nervi and at Lido di Venezia in 1950, suggesting that concours judges found them entirely appropriate on the best of the best. The same cursory search did not turn up any whitewalls in period photos of 1900s or Giuliettas, the Alfas of the early and late fifties, suggesting that this distinction may be more a question of anachronism and changing tastes than of classical purity. Personally, I wouldn't want whitewalls on anything, but I would hope to be at least equally picky in choice of cars.
 
On a parallel question about paint Biba writes "I do Not clear coat solid colors. I use only single-stage, high solids urethane. If I received a metallic car, then I would of course clear coat." In both cases I would question "why?". On my various bought-new Alfas the solid color Giulia Super, metallic 1750 GT Veloce and metallic 2000 Berlina were all equally bereft of clear-coat, while my solid-color 1987 Milano and metallic 1991 164 were both clear-coated. There are probably exceptions, but I assume that the clear-coat/non-clearcoat distinction generally followed chronology rather than paint type. But it is Biba's business, and the client's car; if the client is hiring and paying Biba for his scholarship and taste, more power to both of them.
 
Enjoy yours, 
 
John H.
Raleigh N.C. 
Milano (clearcoat non-metallic black)
164 (clearcoat metallic gray)
MBz C 230 K coupe (clearcoat white)
115 projects (non-clearcoat metallic lacquers)
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