THE Alfa Romeo 164 it was the top of the range for the Italian brand for a decade (1987-1997), and would be replaced by the 166. However, as the images reveal, there was also an Alfa Romeo 168, which is no more than a 164 with another name. But why the name change?
In a word, superstition. And if we talk about superstition, we have to talk about China, more precisely, Hong Kong — even today they are immensely superstitious and the symbology of numbers is taken very seriously. Something Alfa Romeo discovered the hard way when it found that despite the interest generated, sales for the 164 simply weren't taking off. All because of the three digits sporting the rear.
Not only is the number "4" considered an unlucky number, as it phonetically sounds like the word "death", but the combination 1-6-4, when said in Cantonese, means something like "the further you go, the closer you get to death" — nothing desirable, associated with a car.
The problem would be quickly resolved by changing the digit "4" to "8" , which is one of the luckiest in Chinese culture — phonetically it sounds like “thrive”, so now 1-6-8 sounded something like “the more you go, the more you prosper”. And so the commercial career of the 164 was saved… sorry, the Alfa Romeo 168.
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