1984 Alfa Romeo Spider 2.0 Convertible on 2040-cars

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The mood at this year’s Paris Motor Show: Quiet

The Paris Motor Show, held every other year in the early fall, typically kicks off the annual cavalcade of automotive conclaves, one that traverses the globe between autumn and spring, introducing projective, conceptual and production-ready vehicle models to the international automotive press, automotive aficionados and a public hungry for news of our increasingly futuristic mobility enterprise. But this year, at the press preview days for the show, the grounds of the Porte de Versailles convention center felt a bit more sparsely populated than usual. This was not simply a subjective sensation, or one influenced by the center's atypically dispersed assemblage of seven discrete buildings, which tends to spread out the cars and the crowds. There were not only fewer new vehicles being premiered in Paris this year, there were fewer manufacturers there to display them. Major mainstream European OEM stalwarts such as Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Nissan and Volkswagen chose to sit out Paris this year, as did boutique manufacturers like Bentley, Aston Martin and Lamborghini. This is not simply based in some antipathy on the part of the German, British and Italian manufacturers toward the French market — though for a variety of historical and societal reasons that market may be more dominated by vehicles produced domestically than others. Rather, it is part of a larger trend in the industry. Last year, Mercedes-Benz announced that it would not be participating in the flagship North American International Auto Show in 2019 — and that it might not return. Other brands including Jaguar/Land Rover, Audi, Porsche, Mazda and nearly every exotic carmaker have also departed the Detroit show. Some of these brands will still appear in the city in which the show is taking place, and host an event offsite, to capitalize on the presence of a large number of reporters in attendance. And even brands that do have a presence at the show have shifted their vehicle introductions to the days before the official press opening in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. In many ways, this makes sense. With an expanding number of automakers, with diversification and niche-ification of models and with wholesale shifts that necessitate the introduction of EV or autonomous sub-brands, there is a growing sense that, with everyone shouting at the same time, no one can be heard.

2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia and 2024 Stelvio will be $1,800 less expensive

A month after Alfa Romeo revealed the 2024 Giulia and Stelvio for our market, both are less expensive than at launch. All Giulia and Stelvio trims bar the Quadrifoglio have had their MSRPs cut by $1,800. The discount appears to be another move by Stellantis brands here to reposition themselves to achieve the kinds of success that has eluded them so far. Cars Direct picked up on the price cuts in Alfa Romeo order guides. When it asked the automaker what gives, an Alfa Romeo spokesperson replied, "The reduction in pricing is a lifecycle direction for Stelvio and Giulia to enhance market competitiveness." Read: We want to give German Three shoppers more reason to give us a better look. The coming model year of the sedan and SUV isn't on the Alfa Romeo site yet. Cars Direct says the entry-level Giulia Sprint will start at $44,075 after the $1,595 destination fee, the Stelvio Sprint will start at $46,370. The sedan hides a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine up front making 280 horsepower and 306 pound-feet of torque, all of that sent to the rear axle. Zero to 60 miles per hour takes 5.5 seconds, fuel economy comes in at 24 miles per gallon in the city, 33 mpg highway, 27 mpg combined, and Alfa provides a four-year/50,000-mile basic warranty. The BMW 330i is also powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, this one making 255 hp and 295 lb-ft. The stoplight dash takes 5.6 seconds, fuel economy is rated at 25 city, 34 highway, and 29 combined. Thanks to pruning the price, the 2024 Giulia starts off $720 less expensive than the 2023 330i that opens the bidding at $44,795 after the $995 destination fee. The problem is that once you start comparing like-for-like, it's not clear where you'll end up. For instance, the Giulia comes on 17-inch wheels, the BMW on 18-inch wheels. According to the configurator for the 2023 Giulia, upgrading to 18-inch wheels costs $1,725. The Giulia comes with black leather seats, the only alternate interior option a set of red leather seats for an additional $2,000. The BMW comes with Sensatec seats, but buyers have five choices in leather seat colors, four with contrasting stitching, each of which adds $1,500. Point being, if you upgraded the Alfa Romeo to 18-inch wheels and upgraded the BMW to leather, the sedans are only $495 apart.

Ford GT Mk II at Goodwood, Bentley EXP 100 GT concept EV and driving the Hyundai Veloster N | Autoblog Podcast #588

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale. To kick things off, they talk about driving the Porsche Cayenne S, Hyundai Veloster N and Nissan Armada. Then they recap the Goodwood Festival of Speed, including the Ford GT Mk II that debuted there. Next up is news: the Bentley EXP 100 GT electric concept car, Ford canceling diesel for the Transit Connect and Elon Musk dismissing talk of a refresh for the Model S and Model X. Finally, they take to Reddit to help pick between a 2016 Audi S3 and a 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia. Autoblog Podcast #588 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 Rundown Cars we're driving: 2019 Porsche Cayenne S 2020 Hyundai Veloster N 2019 Nissan Armada Ford GT Mk II debuts at Goodwood, and other impressions from the event Bentley unveils EXP 100 GT electric concept car Ford cancels diesel engine for Transit Connect Tesla Model S and X wonÂ’t get a refresh Spend My Money: Audi or Alfa? Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: