2021 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport Awd on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler's profit boosted by Ram and Jeep in North America

MILAN/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler took the market by surprise by sticking to its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday after a strong performance from its Ram pickup truck in North America helped it defy an industry slowdown. Chief Executive Mike Manley, in FCA's first earnings release since a failed attempt to merge with France's Renault, also left the door open to that or other deals. "We are open to opportunity," Manley said on a call with analysts. "I have no doubt why there still would be interest in it," he added, when pressed on what it would take to revive talks with Renault. Manley declined to comment further. FCA last month abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker. Manley said a merger was not a must-have and Fiat Chrysler's business plan was strong. The company said it remained confident its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would top last year's 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion). Given disappointing forecasts from other automakers this earnings season, FCA's confirmation of the outlook sent Milan-listed shares in the Italian-American automaker, whose other brands include Jeep, up over 4%. A broad-based auto sales downturn has rattled the sector, forcing FCA's competitors — including Renault, Daimler and Aston Martin — to cut their sales forecasts after second-quarter results, while U.S. carmaker Ford gave a weaker-than-expected 2019 profit outlook. Japan's Nissan, a long-term partner of Renault, said it would cut 12,500 jobs by 2023 after its earnings collapsed. In the second quarter FCA's adjusted EBIT totaled 1.52 billion euros, versus analysts' expectations of 1.43 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. FCA's U.S. shipments were down 12% in the second quarter but the group said that the successful performance of its Ram brand resulted in an enhanced share of the large pickup truck market of 27.9%, up 7 percentage points from last year. Adjusted EBIT margin in North America rose to 8.9% from 6.5% in the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for the heavy-duty Ram and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer also said FCA expected to report up to 10% margins in the region in both the third and fourth quarters.

Mazda and Fiat finalize deal for Alfa roadster, next-gen MX-5 Miata

Although a little bit later than expected, Mazda and Fiat have signed a final agreement that will bring a next-generation MX-5 Miata to the Japanese automaker and a new roadster to Alfa Romeo. When the proposed arrangement was announced back in May, the two automakers had hoped to seal the deal last year, but it doesn't appear that the production timeline for these cars has slipped any, with both expected to start rolling off assembly lines in 2015.
Other than a shared chassis with a rear-wheel-drive layout, it sounds like the two cars are still planned to be distinct in their own ways from their styling right down to their engines. Mazda will produce both cars at a plant in Hiroshima, Japan, but it isn't clear what role each automaker will play in the cars' developmental process. The big question, of course, is what clever portmanteau name we can come up with, like Toyobaru. Mazda Romeo is the easy choice, but Alfazda might roll off the tongue a little better.
Scroll down for a brief press release from both automakers.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Luggage Test: How big is the trunk?

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a brilliant little sport sedan to drive, a true delight every time you get a chance to jump behind the wheel. But what might it be like on a road trip? Well, it's a sedan, so obviously you can bring some friends along, but the back seat certainly isn't the largest out there and neither is the trunk. To be clear, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. A bigger Giulia would probably be a worse Giulia to drive. One simply needs to be aware of the trade-off. According to the specs, the Giulia's trunk measures ... um, actually, they're not listed anywhere on the specs provided on the Stellantis media website. For any Giulia from 2024 to 2017. Let's go ahead and check the consumer website then. Wow, nothing there, either. OK then, thank goodness for the luggage test, then. Let's snap to it! OK, so here is the trunk. It is not big, but how might it compare to other sport sedans I've tested, including the Genesis G70 (10.5 cubic-feet), Cadillac CT4 (10.9) and BMW 3 Series (depends on model)? Let's find out.  As in every luggage test I do, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D). There are two options here. On the left, the fancy bag on top of one of the medium black roller bags, plus the biggest bag (gray) and smallest roller (blue). Alternatively, I could fit the small blue and its bigger check-in sibling, plus the two medium-sized bags -- but the small blue one would be a big squished.  Obviously, as you can see here, there's lots of left over space. There's also two bags left out regardless of configuration. Why? There's just not a lot of height in this trunk, and there are things hanging down that hamper it further. Shown above are speakers can might catch on something, plus the fat structural crossmember running above the fold-down seat pass-through that prevents bags from sliding all the way back. The biggest hindrance, though, are these large seat pass-through pulls on the left and right side of the trunk. They got in the way when trying to stack bags on their bellies atop each other.