2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Rwd on 2040-cars

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Sergio rethinks FCA-GM merger idea, dismisses critics

After many public overtures, Fiat Chrysler Automotive CEO Sergio Marchionne has claimed his company won't be making a hostile takeover bid for General Motors. This is despite widespread speculation that FCA's desire to merge was motivated by its allegedly dire situation. As one unnamed GM exec who spoke to Automotive News earlier this year put it, "Why should [GM] bail out FCA?" "We are not choking. We are in relatively decent shape," Marchionne told journalists attending an FCA shareholder meeting in Amsterdam, AN reports. "We have been publicly rebuffed, we have been rejected and you cannot force these things. I don't want to. At the moment, we have no intention to do anything hostile." Instead of focusing on merging with GM, or any other partners for that matter, FCA will refocus on implementing its ambitious five-year investment plan, which would see it dump $52 billion into its various brands, with a particular focus on Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Jeep. So far the attempt has largely been unsuccessful, especially as it relates to the Italian brands. Earlier this week, additional reports emerged that claimed Alfa was pushing back the Giulia and an unnamed CUV while reassigning resources to updated versions of the Giulietta and MiTo hatchbacks. This is not the first time we've heard about trouble for the Giulia, of course. For Masearti, though, it was the first we'd heard of delays for Alfieri sports car, which allegedly won't appear in 2016, as promised. We can expect a proper breakdown of FCA's adjusted plans when Marchionne and Company reveal an updated product slate next month. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Alfa Romeo Chrysler Fiat GM Jeep Maserati Sergio Marchionne FCA

Everything we know about the Alfa Romeo Stelvio

Alfa Romeo is working rapidly on putting a crossover onto the road and these latest awkwardly-shaped spy shots are our best look at the upcoming Stelvio. Crossovers and compact SUVs are still outrageously popular with Americans and Alfa Romeo wants in on the ever-growing segment. The upcoming Stelvio, then, would make Alfa more profitable and make the storied brand once again a household name. Here's an overview of everything we know about the Stelvio. October 24, 2016: A moderately-camouflaged Stelvio is spotted testing in broad daylight with minimal updates. The most recent prototype has three strangely-shaped ridges on the hood, while the headlights and taillights, despite being taped off, still appear to be taken straight from the Giulia sedan. The profile mimics that of the Porsche Macan with the bulbous rear end gaining massive exhaust tips. View 12 Photos October 11, 2016: Photographers captured a lightly-camouflaged Stelvio testing in Europe at night, giving us our best look at the SUV's design. The front of the vehicle shares the same front fascia design as the Giulia sedan with two oval-shaped inlets on the side and the automaker's iconic rounded-triangle grille. The headlights also appear to be the same slit-like units on the Giulia, as well. The side profile of the SUV portrays a rounder design than displayed on previous prototypes that photographers have spotted. At the rear, two small tail pipes protrude out of the vehicle, while the taillights appear to be similar to the Giulia's, too. Unsurprisingly, the Stelvio looks comparable to a Giulia on stilts. View 7 Photos June 28, 2016: A prototype of the Stelvio is spotted wearing a massive amount of camouflage, making the shape and overall design of the SUV hard to discern. Again, the automaker's well-known front end is easy to spot, as are the two large exhaust outlets at the back. The rear end, though, features an interesting, rakish design that is more in line with a Sportback than a SUV. Photographers also managed to get pictures of the SUV's interior, which featured birch-like wood, an integrated screen, and large paddle shifters behind the thick steering wheel. Just like on the Giulia, the start-stop button is mounted directly onto the steering wheel. View 10 Photos April 7, 2016: The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is spotted testing for the first time. Alfa Romeo was caught testing a heavily-camouflaged prototype of the Stelvio wearing an insane amount of unsightly black plastic.

Alfa Romeo Tonale drops the non-hybrid 2.0-liter for the U.S.

Until last week, we were expecting the Alfa Romeo Tonale to be sold with two powertrains here. When the compact crossover greeted the world for the first time in February, Alfa Romeo told us our market could expect a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder as the base option, putting out 256 horsepower through a nine-speed automatic to all four wheels. The premium choice would be a plug-in hybrid powertrain that paired a 177-hp, 1.3-liter four-cylinder turning the front axle with a 121-hp electric motor working the rear axle for a combined 275 hp. The PHEV would also be capable of 30 miles of pure-electric motoring in the U.S. Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato told Automotive News Europe during the media drive that the non-hybrid 2.0-liter is no longer an option for the U.S. because Alfa Romeo needs to go especially aggressive on reducing emissions here. In Europe, the Tonale can be ordered with both powertrains as well as a diesel. Here, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently proposed a new set of regulations that lay out tougher benchmarks for an automaker's CO2 emissions. If the regulations pass, 35% of an automaker's sales in the state will need to be zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) by 2026 and 100% by 2035. California, by itself, is on the cusp of passing Germany as the world's fourth-largest economy, according to Bloomberg. Furthermore, 13 states and the District of Columbia adhere to CARB emissions rules, nine of those follow California's ZEV program, and three more states will join the ZEV regulations over the next three years. Alfa Romeo sold just over 18,000 cars here last year, and it needs plenty of Tonales to offset all those Stelvios. Across the Atlantic, the Euro 7 emissions giving carmakers public fits are slated to come into force on July 1, 2025. For these reasons as well as Alfa Romeo's commitment to going all-electric this decade, Imperato told ANE the PHEV is "an existential need" in the lineup. An Alfa Romeo spokesperson in the U.S. elaborated to Car and Driver, "As a premium brand, the PHEV better aligns with what our customers want in this segment as it provides an elevated experience, greater performance, and more than 30 miles of electric range." The subtext here is that the Tonale's corporate twin, the Dodge Hornet, will offer both powertrains when it goes on sale next year.