Giulia Across America
in New England

By Greg Stidsen
Photos by Greg and John Rowntree

THE AFTERNOON OF MAY 14TH turned out to be a beautiful late Spring day — a perfect day for a drive in a classic Alfa — and eight New England Alfisti  braved Friday rush hour to welcome Ofer Kedem and support his 30-day 11,000-mile journey across America. Michael Ricciardi, owner of European Motorsports, graciously offered his parking area and showroom to host the event and give us tours of his extensive inventory of collector cars. George Dolak arrived early with a great selection of finger foods and refreshments and helped Greg Stidsen, event sponsor, to set it all up in preparation for a 5:00PM arrival.

Apparently, "Murphy" got wind of our event and closed the easy direct route from the highway to the event location, causing everyone to detour around Lawrence in rush hour traffic. But by about 5:30 we had a quorum of AONE members to welcome Ofer and his 2019 Giulia Sport as he arrived from New York City. He was accompanied by wingman Sean and his lovely girlfriend Jennifer driving a 2018 Giulia. Sean and Jennifer live in Watertown, but Sean had driven down to attend the previous evening's event on Staten Island and caravanned with Ofer to our event.

After kicking tires and telling tales in the parking area, we stepped inside for some refreshments and Ofer told us his story.  Living in Fort Worth, Texas, this Israeli ex-pat was frustrated that Americans don't seem to share his passion for all things Alfa Romeo and decided to take matters into his own hands — to travel the continent to evangelize the brand and meet as many 'car nuts' as possible along the way. He explained that Alfa vehicles, even the newest ones, have a 'soul' that other cars lack. He said he survived Covid 19 by acquiring more Alfas, importing two 916s (European models) — a Spider and a GTV — to add to his collection (which includes an Alfetta, a GTV6, a Stelvio, and his 2019 Giulia) while starting a YouTube channel and planning this trip. He was very excited to see so many classic Alfas here in New England and was very grateful for the warm welcome from AONE members.

As the sun started to set, we all started our Alfas and went home as Ofer headed west toward his next stop in Rochester, New York. Check out his Facebook page and Official Tour Website to follow him and see all the events along the way. And here's a video recap of the first 10 days of his adventure. [DO watch that recap — it's very slick! —Ed.]

Attendees
Matt Collins - '85 Graduate
Deb and Dan Donovan - '88 Spider
Frank Maldari - '85 GTV6
Fran O'Connor - '77 Giulia Nuova Super 1300
John & Roberta Rowntree - '87 Spider
Greg Stidsen - '73 GTV2000
Peter Walker - '19 Abarth Cabriolet
George Dolak - Winter beater

My cordial thanks to all who attended, and if you missed it — enjoy the pictures!