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Alfa Romeo Giulia is the sexiest starlet in LA

Generally, there's a fair amount of debate about what the best-looking car at any given auto show may be. We, however, humbly submit that for the 2015 LA Auto Show, there's no point in arguing – it's the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Here on US soil for the first time, the troubled Italian brand unveiled the stunning sedan that will herald Alfa Romeo's long-awaited return to the North American market. The handsome red four-door is more or less what we've seen before. That means a thundering 2.9-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 that develops 505 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. No matter where you're from, that qualifies as "a lot." But unlike the Alfa we saw in Milan, there's more to talk about than the top-flight Quadrifoglio model. Alfa let slip that following the fire-breather's arrival, the sedan would also get a more modest 2.0-liter turbo, capable of producing 276 horsepower. Following that, all-wheel drive will join the options list alongside standard rear-wheel drive. We've got a fresh batch of live images of the stylish Italian. Have a look, and then scroll down for a refresher on Alfa's original press release. Related Video: Created With the 'Mechanics of Emotion,' the All-new 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Delivers Italian Style With Benchmark-level Performance and Precision to the Premium Mid-size Sedan Segment - Built in Italy, the Giulia Quadrifoglio Delivers Class-leading 505 Horsepower, 0-60 in 3.8 Seconds and a Record-setting 7:39 Nurburgring Lap Time – the Fastest Ever by a Four-door Production Sedan - Alfa Romeo – the heart and soul of the automotive industry – is returning to the U.S.

Alfa Romeo Giulia, new SUV delayed

Damn it, Alfa Romeo. You had one job. One job. Just return to the North American market. That's it. And just when we thought that long-awaited event was actually in sight, thanks to the new, high-performance Giulia Quadrifoglio sedan, we're being forced to report what we've reported so, so many times before – Alfa's US return has (probably) been delayed. Citing supplier sources, Automotive News Europe reports that not only has the new Giulia's European launch been delayed six months, to mid 2016, but the Italian brand's first SUV also won't arrive until at least early 2017. That's six and nine months later than each vehicle was expected, respectively. US on-sale dates for both vehicles were slated for at least three to six months after hitting European dealers. If ANE's report is correct, this virtually guarantees we won't see the Giulia Quadrifoglio before autumn 2016/winter 2017, while the Giulia-based SUV's US arrival is effectively pushed back to spring or summer of 2017. The delay in the Giulia is being blamed on additional work on safety and ride characteristics, ANE's sources claimed. The Quadrifoglio was to be followed by four-cylinder variants in March, but this delay means the high-performance Giulia will be on its own until the end of 2016 in Europe, and early- to mid-2017 in the US. It's unclear if these issues are to blame for the delay in the SUV, although considering it's based in part on the Giulia, that seems like a reasonable assumption. Naturally, and we're guessing annoyingly for Fiat Chrysler executives, this latest delay is raising further questions about the company's long-term plan for its troubled Turin-based brand. ANE quoted multiple analysts who called out Sergio Marchionne's overly ambitious plans for Alfa, although Morningstar's Richard Hilgert said it best: "I would be impressed if the brand sold 200,000 [units per year]," Hilgert told ANE. "I think Marchionne set an overly-lofty target as a shock treatment to a patient in cardiac arrest. The idea being to get an immediate dramatic response, but his plan for 400,000 units in 2018 would have the patient immediately get up and run a five-kilometer race." Related Video:

FCA inline-six rumored to be real, headed for Jeep Wagoneer

In September, Allpar reported that that clues being dropped at Fiat- Chrysler headquarters, in the carmaker's factories, and on engineer resumes pointed to the development of an inline six-cylinder engine. The site has just proclaimed the rumor is reality, writing that the straight-six, "turbocharged to meet or beat 5.7 Hemi power ratings, with a smoother torque curve, is on the way." The motor's first outing is expected to be either the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, debuting perhaps next year, or the Jeep Wagoneer, debuting in 2020 or 2021. "Tornado" is the purported codename for the power plant said to be just under three liters in displacement, expanding the family begun with the Global Medium Engine 2.0-liter turbo codenamed Hurricane. Engine bay constraints and a long use horizon mean engineers won't simply add two more cylinders to the GME, however. Allpar says the brief is to keep the Tornado GME-T6 — the alphanumeric for "turbocharged six" — no more than three inches longer than the Tigershark 2.4-liter four-cylinder. That means "major design changes" that could include a space-saving head, more closely spaced cylinders, and no cylinder liners. An FCA division called Comau could be called on for its "SmartSpray" plasma lining technology. Allpar muses that the standard version of the engine for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram could get a single twin-scroll turbocharger. Performance trims for Alfa Romeo and Maserati could get different heads and maybe twin turbos, an SRT version might also get both those tweaks. History shows that the Italian versions would make changes to the block, as well. Even so, the Tornado would be less expensive than any Ferrari-supplied V6. A straight-six would put FCA in company with current adopters BMW and Mercedes-Benz, future users like Jaguar, and perhaps Aston Martin. The engine would span the widest range of use cases in the U.S. carmaker's portfolio, though. Potential applications include being a base engine for Ram trucks, serving double duty as a base engine and 5.7-liter Hemi replacement for the Dodge Charger and Challenger, working in the high-end Jeeps, and as a properly hot trim — with Ferrari-designed heads — in the luxury Italian sports cars. The Alfa Romeo Giulia begs for just such motivation to fill the gap between the 280-hp, $42,695 Ti Sport RWD and the 505-hp, $73,700 Giulia Quadrifoglio RWD. And a twin-turbo inline-six in a Maserati Alfieri would stack up nicely with the Germans.