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Alfa Romeo Tonale Edizione Bambini concept is a stylish way to parent

Your grandparents' boots were made for walking, and they're still cool. Your parents' minvans were made for, well, you, and now that you're the car buyer, you've made it clear minivans are uncool. Crossovers and SUVs run family bus routes now, and they're simply not as handy for hauling the kiddie army as the playroom-on-wheels that is a minivan. Alfa Romeo has an idea about how to change that. The automaker's UK arm interviewed 2,000 parents to get insights about parent- and kid-friendly features. The results come together in a one-off called the Alfa Romeo Tonale Edizione Bambini — the Kid's Edition, as it were. The biggest gripe parents had was how hard it is to keep their vehicles clean. A spiffy leather organizer that Alfa Romeo should sell for every Tonale, not just the babyfied ones, hangs over both front seats. It's got shaped slots for a drink bottle, a bento box for snacks, and pens. It also protects the seat backs from the repeated kicks that children are known to apply during journeys. A small trash container sits on the floor behind the center console. And because parents today use a thing called a "reward chart," kids can keep track of their progress keeping the vehicle clean so mum and dad aren't embarrassed to take the boss for a ride. There are more cleaning supplies in the boots, these for the elders. They include a battery-powered vacuum charged by the Tonale, and a collapsible caddy with products like a boot cleaning brush, leather cleaner, tissues, and wet wipes.      Move vital parenting duties are aided by the retractable changing station in the cargo area and the baby monitor in the back seat. A survey by diaper brand Huggies found 86% of parents needed to change their child's diapers "on the move." The custom changing station can slide out from under the parcel shelf after the hatch is raised, and is upholstered in an easy to clean changing mat. The video monitor for kids in the back seat can be placed to watch over rearward- or forward-facing baby seats, the feed available in a smartphone app that guardians in the front row can check. The obligatory entertainment needs come courtesy of screens on the seatbacks, headphones hung from the seatback organizers, tablet pockets for up to three children, and a foldable toy caddy. For parents who consider "minivan" a four-letter word, this one-off Tonale is definitely a stylish solution to managing the warehouse of goods so many kids seem to travel with nowadays.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio 100th Anniversario gets even more power

Alfa Romeo is celebrating its Quadrifoglio emblem's 100th birthday by rolling out limited-edition variants of the Giulia and the Stelvio. The commemorative cars receive a more powerful twin-turbocharged V6, edition-specific visual accents, and carbon fiber interior trim. The green Quadrifoglio (which means "four-leaf clover" in Italian) first appeared on a straight-six-powered RL race car at the 1923 edition of the Targa Florio, a grueling road race that was held in Sicily. Legend has it that pilot Ugo Sivocci had the emblem painted on his car for good luck. He won, and the Quadrifoglio quickly began appearing on Alfa Romeo's race cars before showing up on street-legal production models. Fast-forward to 2023, and the four-leaf clover denotes Alfa Romeo's most powerful models: the Giulia Quadrifoglio is the Italian company's answer to the BMW M3, and the Stelvio Quadrifoglio competes in the same segment as the X3 M. The limited-edition 100th Anniversario models build on these foundations with a 520-horsepower evolution of the twin-turbocharged, 2.9-liter V6 (that's 15 more than in the regular-production variants). Alfa Romeo also added a mechanical limited-slip differential derived from the sold-out, 540-horsepower Giulia GTA. Based on the recently-updated Giulia and Stelvio, the 100th Anniversario models come with LED headlights,19-inch wheels for the Giulia (the Stelvio rides on 21-inch alloys), and edition-specific gold-colored brake calipers. Quadrifoglio emblems with gold-colored accents and "1923-2023" lettering are fitted to the fenders, and the list of equipment also includes a carbon fiber grille and carbon fiber door mirror caps. The interior gets a similar treatment: There's carbon fiber trim, gold-colored stitching, and a "100" logo on the dashboard. Like their regular-production counterparts, both cars get a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster whose layout changes depending on the driving mode selected. Alfa Romeo will build 100 units of the Giulia Quadrifoglio 100th Anniversario and 100 additional examples of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio 100th Anniversario. Pricing and availability haven't been announced yet, and deliveries are scheduled to start in the coming weeks for buyers in European markets. Alfa Romeo confirmed to Autoblog that both models will be sold in the United States. Buyers will have three colors called Rosso Etna, Montreal Green, and Vulcano Black to choose from. More details will be announced in the not-too-distant future.

Alfa Romeo abandoned the Spider to focus on crossovers

As much as enthusiasts like to forget or deny it, automakers are in the business of making money, and sometimes that means doing things that seem counter to a brand's image or history. Alfa Romeo, for example, is attempting to make a comeback in the US. The make has a long history of making sporty vehicles, so news that Alfa has ceased plans on some new cars in order to focus on crossovers should be disappointing, but far from surprising. The new Fiat 124 Spider, based on and build alongside the Mazda Miata, was originally supposed to be a new Alfa Romeo Spider. A while back, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has said that as long as he's in charge, Alfas will be built in Italy. That seemed to be reasoning enough for the new car's switch to Fiat, but Automotive News is reporting that the company actually abandoned the new Spider in order to build SUVs. The Spider isn't the only vehicle that appears to be off the table. While the new BMW 3 Series-sized Giulia is set to hit dealers later this year, larger sedans meant to compete against the 5 Series and 6 Series have been axed. Alfa's first crossover, the Stelvio, is expected to debut later this year. The company has plans for a Giulia-based crossover as well. A lot of this seems counter to Alfa and FCA's five-year plan that was announced fewer than three years ago. Then, the 400,000 annual sales target worldwide by 2018 powered by Italian-designed and -built engines. In actuality, the company has struggled to get even the Giulia to market, delaying everything else in its wake. Related Video: