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Italy forces Alfa Romeo Milano name change — call it Junior now

The Alfa Romeo Milano is no more, and in its place lies the Alfa Romeo Junior. This tiny Alfa crossover – that wonÂ’t be sold in the U.S. – was only revealed just last week, but Alfa has already been forced to change the name at the request of the Italian government. WhyÂ’s Italy telling its beloved Alfa Romeo brand it canÂ’t use the “Milano” name? It comes down to where the car is being built, and the Milano/Junior will be built at AlfaÂ’s plant in Tychy, Poland. According to ItalyÂ’s Industry Minister, Adolfo Urso, “A car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland. This is against the law.” Said law aims to stop the sale of products that have Italian-sounding names but are not actually produced in Italy. "This law stipulates that you cannot give indications that mislead consumers,” Urso continued. “So a car called Milano must be produced in Italy. Otherwise, it gives a misleading indication which is not allowed under Italian law." Alfa Romeo sent out a press release today in response to the government criticism, agreeing to change the MilanoÂ’s name to Junior. That said, Alfa had plenty to say and still believes the Milano name to be a lawful one. “Despite Alfa Romeo believing that the name met all legal requirements and that there are issues much more important than the name of a new car, Alfa Romeo has decided to change it from “Milano” to “Alfa Romeo Junior” in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding,” the companyÂ’s statement reads. “The Alfa Romeo team would like to thank the public for the positive feedback, the Italian dealer network for their support, journalists for the enormous media attention given to the new car, and the government for the free publicity brought on by this debate." The name Milano was actually chosen through feedback from the public, as Alfa polled ItalyÂ’s citizens on what it believed the little SUV should be called. “Milano” was the winning name, and it makes a whole lot of sense considering AlfaÂ’s history began in Milan, Italy. Of course, “Junior” speaks to AlfaÂ’s history, as well, harkening back to 1966 with the Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior. Course, none of this has much of an impact for what weÂ’ll see on Alfa Romeo lots in the U.S., as the Junior wonÂ’t be sold here. ItÂ’s an entertaining turn of events, though, and if youÂ’re curious to read AlfaÂ’s response in its entirety, you can find it here.

Marchionne says no offers are on the table for Fiat Chrysler

MONZA, Italy (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler (FCA) has not received any offer for the company nor is the world's seventh-largest carmaker working on any "big deal", Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Saturday. Speaking on the sidelines of the Italian Formula One Grand Prix, Marchionne said the focus remained on executing the company's business plan to 2018. Asked whether FCA had been approached by someone or whether there was an offer on the table, he simply said: "No." The company's share price jumped to record highs last month after reports of interest for the group or some of its brands from China. China's Great Wall Motor Co Ltd openly said it was interested in FCA, but had not held talks or signed a deal with executives at the Italian-American automaker. The stock move was also helped by expectations that the company might separate from some of its units. Marchionne reiterated on Saturday that FCA was working on a plan to "purify" its portfolio and that units, such as the components businesses, would be separated from the group. He hopes to complete that process by the end of 2018. "There are activities within the group that do not belong to a car manufacturer, for example the components businesses. The group needs to be cleared of those things," he told journalists. Asked whether an announcement could come this year, Marchionne said it was up to the board to decide and that it would next meet at the end of September. He said the time was not right for a spin-off of luxury brand Maserati and premium Alfa Romeo and the two brands needed to become self-sustainable entities first and "have the muscle to stand on their feet, make sufficient cash". "The way we see it now, it's almost impossible, if not impossible, to see a spin-off of Alfa Romeo/Maserati, these are two entities that are immature and in a development phase," he said. "It's the wrong moment, we are not in a condition to do it." He said the concept of separating the two brands from FCA's mass market business made sense and did not rule out this happening in future, but not under his tenure, which lasts until April 2019. "If there is an opportunity in future, it would certainly happen after I'm gone. It won't happen while Marchionne is around," he said.

Nissan Leaf and the future of auto shows | Autoblog Podcast #525

Related: We obsessively covered the Frankfurt Motor Show — here's our complete coverage On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale. The pair discuss the long-awaited reveal of the second-generation Nissan Leaf as well as the Alfa Romeo Giulia and BMW M550i that recently passed through the office. They also preview the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show and discuss the future and relevance of auto shows. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast@autoblog.com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #525The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Topics and stories we mention Rundown Nissan Leaf reveal Frankfurt Motor Show preview What we're driving: Alfa Romeo Giulia and BMW M550i Unpopular opinion: the relevance of auto shows Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Image Credit: BMW, Nissan Green Podcasts Frankfurt Motor Show Alfa Romeo BMW Nissan Hatchback Electric Luxury Sedan alfa romeo giulia