2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sedan 4d on 2040-cars

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Marchionne to make Alfa Romeo a separate company within Fiat

According to a report in Automotive News that quotes "people familiar with the matter," the next big play in Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne's plan for Alfa Romeo is to break it off from Fiat Group Automobiles and set it up as a separate company within the Fiat empire, giving it the same structure as Ferrari and Maserati. The idea, say the sources, is that a transparent, standalone Alfa Romeo that has to justify its every move could clearly prove its success in the public financial statements it would have to report, finally achieving Marchionne's aim of making Alfa Romeo "a credible business proposition."
That, of course, assumes that Alfa Romeo will make a success of it. The brand hasn't made a profit in any year of Marchionne's decade at the helm; sales last year fell to numbers not seen in almost half a century and its new product offensive might not include the two vehicles currently responsible for 99 percent of its sales. We're told that the brand's six new models will begin arriving in 2016 - a roadster, a midsize sedan and large sedan, a compact SUV and large SUV, and a large coupe.
Marchionne aims to expand Alfa's global appeal in several ways, the first by stressing that they are Italian products that 'belong' to Italy. This is the stance that appears to have put the kibosh on the roadster twinned with the coming Mazda MX-5/Miata. Alfa Romeos will all be made in their home country, and if they take off they'll help bandage Fiat's problem with underused plant capacity, a bugbear that is just as problematic culturally and politically as financially. Top-tier trims would use V6 engines developed by Ferrari, and global access would get a boost by selling Alfa Romeos in Jeep's 1,700 international dealerships.

The cars of notorious dictators

It's good to be the king, at least until your people have had enough of you. Last week, we brought you famous presidential cars. This week, we're going to the opposite end of the political spectrum, looking at what history's mad men drove throughout their repressive and violent regimes. These dictators were absolutely powerful, and absolutely corrupt. More nightmares for their people than rulers, their iron-fisted control gave them the ability to satisfy any wild desire with nearly limitless funds. While they all splurged on luxury goods, cars were a particular passion of many dictators. Cars make a powerful statement to the public about wealth, status and control. It's how you are presented at ground level to your adoring masses or mortal enemies. A custom luxury car with plenty of armor plating reinforced the specialness and "otherness" of the ruler to friend and foe alike. Muammar Gaddafi, Libya, 1969 - 2011 Lybia's President for Life Muammar Gaddafi fancied himself not just a car enthusiast, but a car designer for the masses as well. He supposedly designed a car called the "Saroukh el-Jamahiriya" or Libyan Rocket. It had a 230-horsepower V6 and the nose and tail of a rocket. He was trying to produce a safer car. What makes it safe car? Tough to say. Not a lot was ever released it. Apparently the el-Jamahiriya did come with airbags and collapsible fenders in case of a collision. A spokesperson said "The invention of the safest car in the world is proof that the Libyan revolution is built on the happiness of man." We'll just have to take his word for it. When he wasn't designing his own cars, Gaddafi was ordering up custom rides, large and small. Besides a heavily armored BMW 7 Series and a Mercedes S-Class stretch limo, Gaddafi had this custom Fiat built at a cost of $260,000. The gold in the trim is real gold (of course) and comes with some touches that are pure Gaddafi. For instance, the Fiat badge was replaced with an outline of the continent of Africa, with Libya cut out in green. Rebels seized the Fiat and Gaddafi's other trappings of power after putting an end to Gaddafi's 42 years in control. Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, Haiti, 1971 - 1986 Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was the second-generation dictator of Hati from 1971 to 1986. He made life hell for his people for 15 long years, starting when his father died when he was just 19 years old. Imagine if Justin Beiber was given a tiny island nation to run.

2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia First Drive | All about the little things

ALBEROBELLO, Italy – Little things can make a big difference. And for the 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia, it's the little things that have been addressed, those that have been causing reviewers to kvetch and customers to look elsewhere. The cupholders that cause bottles to bang into the HVAC controls. The shifter and knobs made of cheap plastic that wobble about in your hand. The backwoods entertainment system that makes an Audi's look like it's been beamed in from the far-flung future.  The big things? They've been left untouched, almost entirely for the best. The Giulia's exceptional driving credentials have been well-documented with multiple awards and much gushing about divine steering and an astute chassis. For 2020, they're unchanged apart from some imperceptible tweaks to the steering that iron out an occasional low-speed refinement issue. Even when driven on the regrettably non-winding roads of southern Italy's "heel," the Giulia continues to come across as something different and special. That steering is pleasingly quick and full of feeling, friendly to both those who yearn for man-machine connection and those who'd rather not get an upper body workout when parking at Kroger. The Giulia feels light and playful, with a stiff chassis and adeptly tuned suspension. When people talk about sport sedans losing their edge (cough BMW 3 Series), it can still be found in the Giulia. At the same time, the adaptive dampers available in the Ti trim's Performance package impressively sops up nasty bumps, of which there are a great many around Italy's heel (AKA Puglia). Cars with such a sporting "edge" are often given a pass when it comes to ride quality, as a sore back and kidneys bruised by the seat bolsters are considered par for the course. The Giulia needs no such handicap. If there's a meh moment, it's the engine. Much is rightly made about the Quadrifoglio's 2.9-liter turbo V6 derived from Ferrari and possibly divine intervention. By contrast, the standard 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four doesn't offer much in the way of zest. Oh, its 280 horsepower and 306 pound-feet of torque are class-leading, and its 5.1-second estimated 0-60 time is exceptional. In sound, however, it's just another turbo-four, and most disappointingly, its 5,500-rpm redline is a real buzzkill. It's not exactly diesel-like, but it's close.