91'alfa Romeo 164s Sport 4 Dr,5 Seat,rare Exotic Super Car,150+mph,family Car Nr on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Stellantis ready to kill brands and fix U.S. problems, CEO Tavares says

  MILAN — Stellantis is taking steps to fix weak margins and high inventory at its U.S. operations and will not hesitate to axe underperforming brands in its sprawling portfolio, its chief executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday. The warning for lossmaking brands is a turnaround for Tavares, who has maintained since Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA that all of its 14 brands including Maserati, Fiat, Peugeot and Jeep have a future. "If they don't make money, we'll shut them down," Carlos Tavares told reporters after the world's No. 4 automaker delivered worse-than-expected first-half results, sending its shares down as much as 10%. "We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money." The automaker now also considers China's Leapmotor as its 15th brand, after it agreed to a broad cooperation with the group. Stellantis does not release figures for individual brands, except for Maserati which reported an 82 million euro adjusted operating loss in the first half. Some analysts say Maserati could possibly be a target for a sale by Stellantis, while other brands such as Lancia or DS might be at risk of being scrapped given their marginal contribution to the group's overall sales. Stellantis' Milan-listed shares were down as much as 12.5% on Thursday, hitting their lowest since August 2023. That brings the loss for the year so far to 22%, making them the worst performer among the major European automakers. Few automotive brands have been killed off since General Motors ditched the unprofitable Saturn and Pontiac during a U.S. government-led bankruptcy in the global financial crisis in 2008. Tavares is under pressure to revive flagging margins and sales and cut inventory in the United States as Stellantis bets on the launch of 20 new models this year which it hopes will boost profitability. Recent poor results from global carmakers have heightened worries about a weakening outlook for sales across major markets such as the U.S., whilst they also juggle an expensive transition to electric vehicles and growing competition from cheaper Chinese rivals. Japan's Nissan Motor saw first-quarter profit almost completely wiped out on Thursday and slashed its annual outlook, as deep discounting in the United States shredded its margins. Tavares said he would be working through the summer with his U.S. team on how to improve performance and cut inventory.

2017 Alfa Romeo Model Year Preview and Updates

Having taken a twenty year sabbatical from the U.S. market, Fiat Chrysler Automobile's Alfa Romeo returned for the 2015 model year with the ALFA ROMEO 4C COUPE, a singularly two seat, mid-engined sports car with a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, high-performance 1.7 liter turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain and competition-inspired bodywork. Although the 4C's price point isn't inexpensive, the amount charged is pocket change relative to what is required by Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. The 4C Spider was introduced for 2016, while 2017 brings a modest list of modifications to the sporting two-seater, including Alpine Premium audio, the addition of Giallo Prototipo (yellow) to the 4C Coupe, an available carbon fiber roof treatment and updated wheel selection. GIULIA/GIULIA Ti and GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO: Although the 4C Coupe may have taken the figurative lead in Alfa Romeo's return to the US market, the substantive start will be taken in the 2017 model year by Alfa Romeo's midsize sport sedan, the Giulia. All variants of the Giulia combine a balanced chassis, responsive drivetrains and Italianate bodywork in a compelling four door package. And with a turbocharged V6 drivetrain, sub-4 second 0-60 and a record-setting lap (for a 4-door) of the Nurburgring, the Quadrifoglio will battle BMW's M3 in Europe's super-sedan segment. STELVIO (2018): While final specs are still TBD, following the Giulia later in the 2017 calendar year will be Alfa Romeo's 2018 Stelvio. Based on the Giulia platform and formally introduced to the public at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Stelvio will tap into the country's appetite for compact and midsize crossovers with an upright – albeit curvaceous – platform, responsive four cylinder power and performance-oriented all-wheel drive. The Stelvio should arrive in US showrooms sometime in the 2017 calendar year.

2023 Alfa Romeo Giulia Estrema bridges the Quadrifoglio gap

Alfa Romeo is expanding the 2023 Giulia range with a model named Estrema that was developed for driving enthusiasts. Also available on the 2023 Stelvio, the Estrema trim level bridges the gap between the Veloce variants of both cars and the high-performance Quadrifoglio. "Estrema" is Italian for "extreme," and in this case it denotes a car that — in Alfa Romeo's words — was designed for "a connoisseur of driving." The list of standard features grows with the addition of a limited-slip rear differential and the adaptive Alfa Active Suspension system for both comfort and performance. These updates may not sound major, but they should make a perceptible difference on the kind of twisty roads that the Estrema models were created for. Car-spotters will be able to pick out the Estrema versions in a crowded parking lot by looking for carbon fiber exterior accents (including the piece of trim that underlines the grille), specific wheels that measure 19 inches on the Giulia and 21 inches on the Stelvio, dark "Estrema" emblems and black brake calipers. Inside, there's more carbon fiber, red contrast stitching and a blend of leather and Alcantara upholstery.  The Estrema models aren't any more estrema under the hood than the versions that they're based on. The only engine available in the United States is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged to deliver 280 horsepower and 306 pound-feet of torque. Rear-wheel-drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission come standard on the Giulia, though Alfa Romeo's Q4 all-wheel-drive system is available at an extra cost, and the Stelvio is exclusively offered with all-wheel-drive. With the Q4 system, the Giulia reaches 60 mph from a stop in 5.1 seconds. On sale now, Alfa Romeo's Estrema models are scheduled to reach dealers across the nation in the third quarter of 2022. Buyers have four colors to choose from: Alfa White, Alfa Rosso, Misano Blue, and Vulcano Black. Pricing is set at $56,685 for the rear-wheel-drive Giulia, $58,685 for the all-wheel-drive model, and $60,545 for the Stelvio. Note that these figures include a mandatory $1,595 destination charge. Related Video: