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Alfa Romeo 4C coupe will be gone for 2019, but the Spider lives on

This post has been updated with confirmation from Alfa Romeo. Not with an expensive bang, but a barely audible whimper: That's the way Alfa Romeo's 4C sports coupe goes out. The slow-selling mid-engined car has been cut from the lineup for next year. An Alfa Romeo spokesperson has confirmed to Autoblog that the 4C coupe will be gone from Alfa's U.S. portfolio after the 2018 model year. It will remain for sale in this country while supplies last, and will still be produced for other markets around the world. View 12 Photos The 4C never sold in enormous numbers during its 2014-on tenure, but monthly sales have slowed down to just a couple dozen cars in the past year. In January, 12 were sold, with October 2017 a particular high point with 45 units delivered. By contrast, the strongest month was January 2015 with 97 4Cs sold. Not a single month has seen three-figure U.S. sales. Those sales figures seem to cover both 4C models, so we can only assume the coupe was the weaker part of those numbers. However, if a 4C is what you want, you don't have to give up on the dream. The open-topped Spider version remains on sale, but Motor Authority reports that it gets a $1,000 price hike for next year, to $66,900; at $55,900 the coupe was $10,000 cheaper than the open version, so those wanting one should act on it quickly. In addition, the racing-oriented Track Package will be unavailable after 2018. That included handling improvements like sturdier sway bars and better shocks, along with sportier wheels and tires. Related Video: Related Gallery 2018 Alfa Romeo 4C Competizione: Geneva 2018 View 11 Photos News Source: Motor AuthorityImage Credit: FCA Alfa Romeo Car Buying Coupe Performance alfa romeo 4c alfa romeo 4c spider

Reid Bigland appointed CEO of Alfa Romeo, Maserati

There's been a big shakeup in Fiat Chrysler's leadership team, as head of US sales and FCA Canada CEO Reid Bigland will replace Harald Wester as the chief exec for Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Wester will retain his position as chief technical officer of FCA. Both men will hang onto their positions on FCA's Group Executive Council. The move is an interesting one considering the widely publicized issues at both Alfa and Maserati. Alfa Romeo's problems are almost too many to list. The brand has promised a full-scale return to the US market for more than a decade, but faced repeated delays. Its latest volume model, the Giulia, is being savaged by reviewers over quality issues, and the company has frequently pushed its upcoming CUV back. If that were the only problem, it'd be annoying, but according to Automotive News, Alfa's relaunch is also considerably over budget. Maserati is an entirely different can of worms. Alongside Alfa, it's been stung by a slow Chinese market. Profits are down, according to Automotive News, and it's been widely rumored that the company will delay its next sports car, the Alfieri, until 2018 – it was previously promised for this year. Meanwhile, two of its three other models, the Quattroporte and GranTurismo, are dangerously long in the tooth, and the Levante is still months away from US sales. Can Bigland sort these issues out? Maybe. As Sergio Marchionne said in his official statement, "[Bigland] has an extraordinary record of growing sales and market share in the US and Canada over the last 7 years at FCA, including leading the growth and positioning of the Ram and Dodge brands for part of that time."

Stellantis wants to outfit cars with AI software to drive revenue

MILAN — Carmaker Stellantis announced a strategy Tuesday to embed AI-enabled software in 34 million vehicles across its 14 brands, hoping the tech upgrade will help it bring in 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) in annual revenue by 2030. CEO Carlos Tavares heralded the move as part of a strategy that would transform the car company into a “sustainable mobility tech company,” with business growth coming from features and services tied to the internet. That includes using voice commands to activate navigation, make payments and order products online. The company is expanding existing partnerships with BMW on partially automated driving, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn on customized cockpits and Waymo to push their autonomous driving work into light commercial vehicle delivery fleets. StellantisÂ’ embrace of artificial intelligence and expansion of software-enabled vehicles is part of a broad transformation in the auto industry, with a race toward more fully electric and hybrid propulsion systems, more autonomous driving features and increased connectivity in automobiles. Ford and General Motors also are banking on dramatically increased revenue from similar online subscription services. But the automakers face immense competition for monthly consumer spending from movie and music streaming services, news outlets, Amazon Prime and others. Stellantis, which was formed from the combination of PSA Peugeot and FCA Fiat Chrysler, said the software would seamlessly integrate into customers' lives, with the capability of live updates providing upgraded services over time. New products will include the possibility to subscribe to automated driving features, purchase usage-based car insurance or even increase the power of the vehicle with a tune-up to add horsepower. As a baseline, Stellantis generates 400 million euros in revenue on software-generated services installed in 12 million vehicles. To meet the targets, Stellantis will expand its software engineering team of 1,000 to 4,500 in North America, Asia and Europe. More than 1,000 of the expanded team will be retrained in house. Stellantis also announced a new partnership with Foxconn to develop semiconductors to cover 80% of the companyÂ’s needs and simplify the supply chain. The first microchips from the partnership are targeted to be installed in vehicles in 2024.