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REPORT: Alfa Romeo to lead American charge, Fiat 500 to go it alone
Alfa Romeo has been toying with the idea of returning to America for years, but now that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is working from Auburn Hills, the time seems more ripe than ever as details emerge on Fiat/Chrysler's strategy vis-a-vis the North American market. While Marchionne implements management restructuring designed to reduce Chrysler's executive hierarchy and separate its divisions into more independent units, a product strategy is rapidly being put into place to make up for lost time during the bankruptcy procedure and get the company back on track.With Maserati and Ferrari already present in North America and Lancia offering little to entice North American buyers, the Italian side of the partnership looks poised to enter the market with Fiat and Alfa Romeo models. However, while future Chryslers, Dodges and Jeeps will share underpinnings with their Fiat and Alfa Romeo counterparts – including an Alfa GTX to be based on the new Jeep Grand Cherokee – the Fiat brand itself will have a very limited presence in the North American market, offering only the 500 retro hatchback as a stand-alone model... not unlike BMW's Mini brand. Other Fiat models will carry Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep badges, while Alfa Romeo will take the higher profile on this side of the Atlantic, offering cars under the stoic marque to compete with other European luxury brands. As the Freep points out, Chrysler and Alfa had collaborated in the early '90s to bring Alfas Stateside with limited success, but Marchionne evidently thinks it'll have better luck this time around.
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dondonel 10:03AM (6/26/2009)
I just hope that a rwd 200C (Sebring) won't be shelved by FIAT because it's better than any Alfa (save for 8C, which is a Maserati dressed as Alfa) and will compete with them. I fear a rerun of the Daimler story.
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Level 5 10:24AM (6/26/2009)
I disagree. I think it will look better on paper, but that's about it. Look at how far Chrysler's quality has fallen. I'm a Chrysler owner all my life, as are many family members. While the 200C Concept is an undoubtedly GORGEOUS car, and I would love to have a car that LOOKS that beautiful, the same thing was said about the Stratus/Cirrus/Breeze, and I owned 2 of them. Can't say I have the best things to say about them, or my current Sebring, there's a definite decline in quality. My dad, a Chrysler exclusive buyer for 30+ years, now owns a Toyota. I think that says alot. I'd love to see Chrysler prove me wrong.
Bloke 10:27AM (6/26/2009)
I'm curious as to how you define "better". The current Brera and 159 saloon are wonderful machines inside and out, despite being large FWD cars. The Giulia replacement model is set to be a rear-driver.
The 200C, on the other hand, remains a prototype and very much an unknown quantity at this point.
So how is it better?
Dondonel 11:47AM (6/26/2009)
@Bloke
LX platform is hardly an unknown quantity, and a shortened LX with the Chrysler V6 in it is indeed a better platform than anything Alfa has a the moment. I can actually bet that they can hardly wait to get their hand on it, for their future full size sedan. As for Alfa's FWD platforms and the venerable GM V6 they are using, they are, well, old and not sporty enough to fit the image they are projecting.
Bloke 12:37PM (6/26/2009)
Have you driven a Chrysler 200C and have you driven an Alfa 159? Please provide a detailed account of how you found the 200 to be better than the 159.
Here at least, we're unable to buy a 200 (as yet) but we can buy the 159. It's an excellent machine, especially in diesel form. It's beautifully styled, handles well for a large FWD saloon and very spacious and comfortable. It's well-built and feels solid, although still not up to the standards you find from the German Q-car marques with certain details.
So here, we're unable to make a back-to-back comparison of the two. Personally though on looks alone though, I'd choose an Alfa anyday over any Chrysler.
pippin4652 3:26PM (6/26/2009)
The 200C concept is a good looking car, but thats because it is a shameless copy of the Vauxhall/Opel Insignia.
The current Alfa range looks fantastic, and quality is improving all the time, so it seems like a good time for it to return to te US. The same goes for Fiat, but they dont really have a (good) car the size of the 200C in thier range at the moment, and as it is RWD to the 159's FWD I doubt it'll be shelved.
The main problems with Fiats and Alfas now (in the UK at least), are the dealers, who quite often tend to be a the bottom of the pile when it comes to satisfaction surveys.
Dondonel 3:48PM (6/26/2009)
@pippin
Only those who have not seen 200C can say that it looks like Insignia. 200C is a muscular, long hood, short back, short overhangs RWD sedan, nothing like Insignia, which has the typical belly-over-belt FWD euro sedan body.
Dondonel 4:10PM (6/26/2009)
@Bloke
Yes I have driven pretty much every Alfa hatch/sedan made in the past 20 years, including 159 and Brera (I am an European working in US, I travel to Europe at least twice a year). Some of them have nice exteriors (I would also pick Brera and 159, though 159 is getting a little old), but the interiors are below average in their price bracket. In term of performance, they seem weak and heavy, and the diesels are even worse (all Alfas are front heavy, they don't need a diesel to make that obvious on every brake/corner). As for LX, I have driven 300C and I am sure that a shorter, lighter version with a stiffer suspension setup can be real fun and most importantly, unique in its class, littered with FWD cars.
pippin4652 1:11PM (6/27/2009)
I haven't seen a 200C in the flesh, so in that respect, you're right. However, while opinions on styling are very subjective, I think that the insignia is well proportioned. I agree with you that the 200C looks good, but I find it hard to see much originality in the design; the front is very similar to the Insignia, and the back has a BMW-ish flick to the bootlid. and remember, as it is a concept, many of the more striking features will probably be toned down when it makes it to production, so the muscular look may gain a few pounds of flab between now and it's release.
Bloke 12:12PM (7/06/2009)
Dondonel - interesting viewpoint ... because you're the first European I've known to criticise Fiat's diesels in this fashion and I've worked closely to this industry for nigh on 25 years.
hoov23 10:09AM (6/26/2009)
I can't wait!
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Avinash machado 10:10AM (6/26/2009)
I hope they won't water down the Jeep brand.
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Max Palmer 10:28AM (6/26/2009)
Correction- I hope Jeep won't water down the Alfa Romeo brand. :-)
Alex 10:24AM (6/26/2009)
This is the news i was waiting for. I want an Alfa Romeo Mito, not a Chrysler Mito. Call me a brand snob, but I have wanted to own an Alfa Romeo for as long as i can remember.
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zamafir 10:26AM (6/26/2009)
Agreed, the MiTo or the 500, I'll buy one of 'em, but I'd buy neither if they were chrysler-fied. No need to graft the hornet's front end on a 500.
Bloke 10:31AM (6/26/2009)
I agree ... pushing the Alfa marque while keeping Fiat as a simple standalone marque in North America for now is a good idea and makes sense.
The only major issue that stands in the way of success is Americans' old perceptions.
Chase 11:03AM (6/26/2009)
Alfas are sweet. I want to see the next 159...
Throwback 10:24AM (6/26/2009)
This has the makings of a disaster. Chrysler will be back in bankruptcy within 4 years. Check out the European JD Power numbers and see where Fiat is. Now Chryslers will be built on Fiat platforms? Good luck with that.
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Bloke 10:29AM (6/26/2009)
Oh please, do you believe everything you read in the papers? In reality, owning a Fiat these days is no more troublesome than owning a Ford, Vauxhall, VW or Peugeot. And its certainly a more attractive propsition to look at, and to drive, than any Japanese appliance.
Throwback 11:33AM (6/26/2009)
So JD Power is wrong and Fiats are as reliable as Honda's? Read any European magazine and see how Fiats compare with other small cars. The Fiats drive well but every article mentions cheap plastics and build quality. Chrysler will have to make cars better than Honda's and Toyota's to make people think of them as a "car" company. Chrysler has a long road ahead and I don't think they will get there.