2023 Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce Rwd on 2040-cars

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Stellantis lays off salaried workers, cites uncertainty in EV transition

DETROIT — Jeep maker Stellantis is laying off about 400 white-collar workers in the U.S. as it deals with the transition from combustion engines to electric vehicles. The company formed in the 2021 merger between PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler said the workers are mainly in engineering, technology and software at the headquarters and technical center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, north of Detroit. Affected workers were notified starting Friday morning. “As the auto industry continues to face unprecedented uncertainties and heightened competitive pressures around the world, Stellantis continues to make the appropriate structural decisions across the enterprise to improve efficiency and optimize our cost structure,” the company said in a prepared statement Friday. The cuts, effective March 31, amount to about 2% of Stellantis' U.S. workforce in engineering, technology and software, the statement said. Workers will get a separation package and transition help, the company said. “While we understand this is difficult news, these actions will better align resources while preserving the critical skills needed to protect our competitive advantage as we remain laser focused on implementing our EV product offensive,” the statement said. CEO Carlos Tavares repeatedly has said that electric vehicles cost 40% more to make than those that run on gasoline, and that the company will have to cut costs to make EVs affordable for the middle class. He has said the company is continually looking for ways to be more efficient. U.S. electric vehicle sales grew 47% last year to a record 1.19 million as EV market share rose from 5.8% in 2022 to 7.6%. But sales growth slowed toward the end of the year. In December, they rose 34%. Stellantis plans to launch 18 new electric vehicles this year, eight of those in North America, increasing its global EV offerings by 60%. But Tavares told reporters during earnings calls last month that “the job is not done” until prices on electric vehicles come down to the level of combustion engines — something that Chinese manufacturers are already able to achieve through lower labor costs. “The Chinese offensive is possibly the biggest risk that companies like Tesla and ourselves are facing right now,Â’Â’ Tavares told reporters. “We have to work very, very hard to make sure that we bring out consumers better offerings than the Chinese.

2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is like a taller, more practical Giulia

With the Giulia on its way to dealers in the coming months, Alfa Romeo's third current model for the US market is close behind. The 2018 Stelvio will give the company an offering in the ever-popular crossover SUV segment, and should bring Alfa's signature style and driving dynamics to the party. On paper, the Stelvio seems capable of delivering on classic Alfa fun. For starters it shares engines with the Giulia sedan, starting with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the standard Stelvio and Stelvio Ti models making 280 horsepower and 306 lb-ft of torque. Alfa will offer a Quadrifoglio model as well, which has the same twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V6 as the Giulia Quadrifoglio that pumps out 505 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque. The company claims that the Stelvio Quadrifoglio will get to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, just a tenth behind the Giulia. View 11 Photos Regardless of trim level, every Stelvio sends power through an 8-speed automatic transmission connected to Alfa's Q4 all-wheel-drive system. A mechanical limited-slip rear differential is available, and the Quadrifoglio adds a torque-vectoring rear differential. The drivetrain propels an aluminum-intensive chassis. The doors, fenders, front and rear frame assemblies, and various suspension components are all made of the lightweight metal, contributing to a near 50/50 weight distribution front and rear. Suspension is independent all the way around, and the Quadrifoglio gets a sportier, adaptive version. Styling-wise, the Stelvio also lives up to the Giulia. In fact, it looks more or less like a tall Giulia wagon. The front fascia is roughly the same, just with a taller center grille and slightly more swept back lower sides. The slope of the nose is much less raked, too. The character lines along the flanks and even the rear bumper are all very similar to the Giulia Quadrifoglio. The one part that isn't as successful, though, is the tail end. It appears Alfa tried to give the Stelvio a gently sloping hatch, but the result is a bulbous backside with lot of sheet metal. Inside, the Stelvio again echoes its sedan sibling, though in this case the top of the dash peaks above the center screen and slopes down to the right vent. In the Giulia, the top of the dash drops down immediately from the gauge cluster, and only rises again at the right vent. Speaking of gauges, the Stelvio features a 7-inch screen nestled between the tach and speedometer, the latter reading up to 200 mph in the Quadrifoglio.

Leno samples Corvette Z06, steam cars, supercars and the wonders of Pebble Beach

While Jay Leno's Garage was conceived to highlight the wonders of The Big Chin's eponymous storage facility, Leno does occasionally get out an into the larger world. Pebble Beach and the festivities around Monterey recently provided a great excuse for a road trip, and Leno seemingly had a pretty full dance card.
In an episode aptly dubbed The Ultimate Car Week, our host takes us through a pretty representative selection of great things to see in and around Pebble. Starting with a ride-along in a steam car, Jay manages to check in on the latest McLaren supercar and drive the Alfa Romeo 4C along the way. Oh, and he takes a good look at the all-new Corvette Z06 (next to the original Z06) before hitting the Concourse d'Elegance, too.