1995 Alfa Romeo 164 Ls Sedan 4-door 3.0l V6 5 Speed Manual on 2040-cars

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Alfa Romeo cancels plans for Giulia wagon to focus on Stelvio development

Automotive enthusiasts can talk all day long about the benefits of wagons over their respective crossover stablemates, but despite our protestations the case for the wagon seems to fall on deaf ears, especially in America. That seems to be the reason cash-strapped automaker Alfa Romeo has nixed any plans for a wagon variant of the new Giulia. According to Car, Alfa manufacturing chief Alfredo Altavilla believes the company can engineer the Stelvio SUV to drive as well as a Giulia wagon would – so no need for both. Porsche has shown with the Cayenne and the Macan that an SUV can be an excellent performance machine. That being said, as good as performance crossovers have shown themselves to be, the higher weight and center of gravity puts them at a fundamental disadvantage to a wagon. Killing the Giulia wagon is disappointing, but it's a pure business move. The company needs to focus on expanding it's lineup, not building variants of already existing models. Alfa is hoping to boost sales into the hundreds of thousands, and building a low-volume performance station wagon is not the way to do it. Despite the loss of the wagon, rumors persist that a two-door version of the Giulia is set to debut in Geneva. Related Video:

1938 Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta homage, built by TV's Ant Anstead, coming to Barrett-Jackson

The Alfa Romeo 158 "Alfetta" was the dominant racing car in the inaugural Formula One season of 1950. The car finished 1-2-3 in the first Grand Prix at Silverstone and won all 11 of the races it entered that year. Now, there's a re-creation of that famous Alfa, and it's crossing the block at the upcoming Barrett-Jackson auction. The re-creation is the work of Ant Anstead, who you may know as the mechanic half of the titular duo on the used-car-flip show "Wheeler Dealers." (Anstead replaced Edd China, who served in that role previously.) The car is built on an MGTD ladder frame topped with custom spaceframe and a two-piece composite body. Whereas the original was powered by a supercharged 1.5-liter eight-cylinder engine, the re-creation uses a modern all-aluminum, DOHC 2.0-liter Alfa Romeo inline-four. Modifications to the engine include porting and polishing, dry-sump lubrication, installation of a lighter flywheel and the fitment of Weber side-draft carburetors. An Alfa five-speed manual transmission connects to a limited-slip rear axle. The chassis features adjustable coil-over dampers and disc brakes, and the car rides on wire wheels with knock-off hubs. In the cockpit, there's a leather driver's seat, a period-type four-spoke steering wheel and vintage-style Alfa gauges set in an aluminum dashboard. The build was chronicled in the 12-part series, "Ant Anstead Master Mechanic." This Alfa homage is selling at no reserve. We'll be watching to see if his "Wheeler Dealers" partner, Mike Brewer, raised a paddle. Related Video:

2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study shows there's less quality than last year

Vehicle inventory, vehicle pricing, and the supply chain are finally showing improvement. Vehicle quality, on the other hand, is still going the wrong way. That's the takeaway from the 2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study that found overall problems exceeded last year's record high. The study surveyed owners of 2022-model-year vehicles to assess the average rate of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the first 90 days of ownership. The average figure for the 32 ranked manufacturers in 2020 was about 166 problems per 100 vehicles. In the 2021 IQS, that dropped to an average of 162. For 2022, the average jumped to 180 problems. For 2023, the PP100 is up to an industry average of 192 — an increase of 30 problems per 100 vehicles in just two years. Let's get to the good news first: Dodge reclaimed the crown of having the lowest number of problems per 100 vehicles at 140. Buick won last year with 139 PP100, falling to third this year. Dodge was the first American automaker to top the IQS in 2021. Its return as the least problematic gives parent company Stellantis three wins in four years after Ram was crowned in 2021. It also gives U.S. brands a four-peat after Buick topped the chart in 2022 by having owners report the fewest problems. This year's top 10 is Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Porsche, Cadillac, Kia, and Lexus. Stellantis gathered a few feathers for its cap, in fact. Maserati showed the largest improvement year-on-year, followed by Alfa Romeo, and Alfa Romeo posted the lowest PP100 among the premium class, beating Porsche and Cadillac. Alfa Romeo has been vocal about working to improve quality, mentioning Lexus as a target. Last year the Japanese brand finished sixth, the Italians finished near the bottom, between Jaguar and Mitsubishi. This year Alfa jumped to third, Lexus dropped to tenth. Ram was the third-best on the list of improvers from 2022 to 2023.   The individual model with the lowest PP100 is the Nissan Maxima. Now for the troublesome bits. In the words of Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, "The industry is at a major crossroad and the path each manufacturer chooses is paramount for its future.