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Filed under: Maserati , Ferrari , Alfa Romeo , FIAT , Event Alert If you live in Chicago and have been waiting for the opportunity to check out the most scrumptious of Italian sheetmetal this side of the Atlantic, the Midwest chapter of the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce has got some treats in store for you. Sponsored by Case New Holland - Fiat's American agricultural and construction equipment subsidiary - the annual "Italian Style" event is gearing up for a return from September 19-21 at Navy Pier in Chicago. In addition to all manner of heavy machinery from the CNH catalog, Ferrari will be showcasing its top-selling F430 Spider and the 599 GTB Fiorano, Maserati will be showing off its freshly updated Quattroporte S and Alfa Romeo will bring out the production version of the 8C Competizione for its first public appearance in North America. Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne will be participating, Magneti Marelli and Fiat Powertrain Technologies will be displaying various...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Time Warp , Euro , Lamborghini , Maserati , Misc. Auto Shows , Ferrari , Alfa Romeo , FIAT , Lifestyle Click image above for high-res gallery from Concorso Italiano 2008 The festivities continue around the Monterey Peninsula. We've already shown you pics from Gordon McCall's party and from the Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance , but today's coverage picks up an Italian accent. The Concorso Italiano is one of the largest annual gatherings of all things Italian, be it music, cuisine, fashion, tourism, and of course cars. Previously held at the nearby Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course in Monterey Bay, this year's gathering took place at the Marina municipal airstrip. Just like the past 20-something years, this year's Concorso brought out some stunning examples of Italy's finest, cars designed with passione and intended to be driven con brio . And just like in previous years, a few non-Italian cars that bring that same driving thrill were invited...
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Filed under: Crossovers/CUVs , Hatchbacks , BMW , MINI , Alfa Romeo , FIAT BMW and Fiat have already announced their intentions to collaborate on a new small car platform that will underpin the next MINI, due in 2012 or 2013, along with the successor to the Fiat Grande Punto and Alfa Romeo MiTo. However, a new platform developed by Fiat and dubbed the C-Evo will be used as the basis for a larger MINI, due out in 2015. It's unclear whether the C-Evo architecture will underpin the MINI AWD compact utility vehicle, but according to Automotive News , the platform will be capable of housing both front-wheel- and all-wheel-drive powertrains, and will serve as the platform for the new Alfa Romeo 147, which will be released sometime next year. Fiat and BMW are also in talks to co-develop a new range of new gasoline and diesel engines, including a 1.6-liter four-pot and 1.2-liter, three-cylinder that will be used on FWD vehicles. The decision to share platforms and engines has reportedly been...
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Filed under: Ferrari , Alfa Romeo , FIAT Click above for a high-res gallery of the Fiat 500 Ferrari Edition. If you own an Italian masterpiece adorned with a prancing horse, your good fortune is likely tempered with a few mechanical or electrical maladies. If and when that happens, most of us would expect an expensive loaner to take our minds off of our troubles, but team Ferrari has a "better idea." Fiat has created 200 special edition 500s that are done up to Ferrari standards, including red paint, a top notch sound system, electric sunroof, automatic climate control, a black steering wheel with red stitching and 16-inch aluminum wheels. Although the stock, 100 hp 1.4-liter engine remains, the exhaust has been tweaked to provide a bit more growl. Since Fiat is keeping its run of limited edition 500s to a minimum, the automaker will also provide a numbered kick plate to show off where each model falls in the production run. While the "Ferrari Edition" 500 is a sweet...
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Filed under: Convertibles , Sports/GTs , Alfa Romeo , FIAT Any day in which we bring you news of a new Italian sports car is a good day by any account. Today we bring you news of three new sports cars under development under the Fiat group umbrella, which we needn't point out controls most of the Italian automotive industry, including Fiat, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati and Ferrari. First up to bat is the unique sports car which, as we reported back in March , Fiat is developing for its recently revived Abarth performance brand. Reports now suggest that the Abarth roadster would take an Elise-style approach, and could even borrow underpinnings from Lotus. Power could come from the turbo four in the Punto and 500 Abarth, mounted amidships, but unburdened by a lightweight two-seater chassis. While we wait for more news on that front, there are parallel reports of a new Lancia coupe-cabrio on the horizon. (This in addition to the rumored Aurelia flagship , anticipated for unveiling...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Time Warp , Coupes , Euro , Paris Motor Show , Alfa Romeo , FIAT The 2003 Lancia Fulvia Coupe concept that tantalized showgoers at the Frankfurt Motor Show with its crisp lines that strongly evoked its namesake predecessor was presumed dead after Fiat canned the idea due to financial woes and want of a modern platform. It seems that plans for a new coupe carrying the Lancia badge is resurgent inside Fiat, though the clearly retro styling of the 2003 concept will likely fall by the wayside instead of getting mired in a retro rut. It's rumored that we'll see a Fulvia riding atop the MiTo 's chassis at this year's Paris Motor Show . Rather than relying on the work of 40 years past, the new Fulvia will share nothing but a name with its predecessor. The car may follow the current trend of other Euro coupes and incorporate a folding hardtop, but there are conflicting reports that it may also be a conventional fixed-head-coupe. We certainly wouldn't...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , Plants/Manufacturing , Alfa Romeo , FIAT With Fiat preparing to bring some of its products to the American market, local government leaders have been hard at work courting CEO Sergio Marchionne to produce vehicles in their state or province. Marchionne declared in March that with the weak American dollar, his company would have to strongly consider local production for sales in North America. Among those politicians who have reached out to Fiat, congressional representatives from the states of Kentucky and Georgia have met with executives from the Italian auto giant to discuss the possibility of opening plants in their districts. However the premier of Ontario seemed to take it one step further by flying to Italy to meet with Marchionne, who himself was raised in the same Canadian province. After General Motors announced the closure of two plants in the past couple of months, Ontario is keen to find tenants for the abandoned facilities. Marchionne, meanwhile...
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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing Click above for a high-res gallery of Fiat's Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione As the dollar weakens, European manufacturers continue to scramble for manufacturing opportunities offshore to salvage profits. Fiat is the latest to jump into the fray. Company sources are saying the Italian automaker is currently considering Mexico as a production site -- with their eyes on an existing plant that could be tooled up for 150,000 cars a year. With their Alfa Romeo brand launching in the United States next year, and Fiat sales up significantly in South America, a plant in centrally-located Mexico could easily supply demand for both markets. If approved, the Mexican plant would start building Alfa Romeos and Fiats in 2011. Gallery: 2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione [Source: Automotive News , subs. req'd] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Hirings/Firings , Alfa Romeo , FIAT Iconic automobile designer Frank Stephenson is on the move again. After six years in the Fiat Auto Group, Stephenson is stepping down from his position as head of design for Alfa Romeo. Stephenson denies the conclusion that he's leaving Fiat because of Lorenzo Ramaciotti , the former Pininfarina design chief sho Fiat coaxed out of retirement to head its group design. Stephenson is widely known as the father of the retro-hatch, having designed the MINI while at BMW before designing the Fiat 500, Alfa Mi.To and, it's speculated, the upcoming Lancia Ypsilon . Stephenson also had a hand in designing cars as diverse as the original BMW X5, Maserati MC12 and Quattroporte, and Ferrari F430 and 612 Scaglietti. With a portfolio like his, the big question is where he will turn up next, a subject on which the American-educated designer remains mum. [Source: AutoWeek ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Plants/Manufacturing , Jaguar , Land Rover , Alfa Romeo , FIAT , Tata Click above for high-res gallery of the Alfa Mi.To Hot on the heels of the impending sale official sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata and news that Fiat is looking to start producing Alfa Romeo vehicles in the U.S. are reports that Fiat would be interested in partnering up with the new Jaguar ownership to share rear-wheel-drive platforms for their high-end Alfa models. Tata and Fiat already have close ties, as Ratan Tata , chairman of the Tata Group, is a member of Fiat's board and the two companies jointly produce engines and transmissions in India. In addition to possible platform sharing between Jaguar and Alfa, Fiat is also interested in using the existing Jaguar and Land Rover dealer base in the U.S. as a way to ease Alfa's re-entry the American market. Anything that helps get Alfa Romeo back in the U.S. is fine by us, but there are surely issues...
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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Alfa Romeo , FIAT The weak dollar is driving yet another automaker to the States. On the heels of the announcement earlier this month that BMW will increase production in the U.S , Fiat is considering moving production of both Alfa Romeo cars, and Iveco trucks, to manufacturing plants on our shores. We first broke the news in December , but now it appears Fiat is actively involved in talks with U.S. automakers to build partnerships and share manufacturing facilities with a goal of starting production by 2011 or 2012. This is positive news for consumers as Alfa prepares to once again enter the N.A. marketplace, and great news for the local economies who will benefit from additional jobs and tax revenue. [Source: Reuters ] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: China , Euro , Plants/Manufacturing , Earnings/Financials , Chery , Alfa Romeo , FIAT Hot on the heels of Nanjing Auto's merger with SAIC , Fiat has announced it has pulled out of the automotive joint venture it had embarked upon with Nanjing. The Sino-Italian operation had been a money-losing enterprise for years. Fiat says that Nanjing failed to live up to its commitments to the joint venture after the Chinese auto group took over MG Rover, and that the divorce will enable the Italian automaker to re-strategize its business in China. Fiat is expected to partner instead with Chery Automobiles, which just announced another joint venture with Israel Corp . Fiat and Chery are in the process of setting up another joint venture to produce 175,000 cars annually starting in 2009, and leading to the introduction of Fiat Group division Alfa Romeo to the Chinese market. The separation affects only the cooperation between Fiat and Nanjing on the production of passenger cars, and...
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Filed under: Jaguar , Land Rover , Earnings/Financials , Alfa Romeo , FIAT The upcoming Alfa Romeo 169 flagship sedan is slated to be based on a modified platform from sister-company Maserati , but a potential tie-in with Jaguar could provide an interesting alternative. A report from British magazine Autocar recalls that Alfa's parent company Fiat initially expressed interest in acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, but decided to pass in favor of focusing on the rejuvenation of its own divisions instead. However, Indian automaker Tata, which is tipped to have placed the winning bid for the English marques, shares close relations with the Fiat Group. The Italian auto giant advised Tata on its acquisition bid , and the partnership could stand to benefit the Alfa Romeo division. Borrowing a platform and powertrain from Jaguar could, according to Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne, lead to a "stunning" rear-drive Alfa 169, while optimizing the cost to benefit ratio for the Italian...
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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Alfa Romeo , FIAT Alfa Romeo isn't kidding around about its return to the US market: Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed that Alfa is planning to open a factory in the United States. Citing the drop in the US dollar against the Euro as a principal motivating factor, Marchionne said that manufacturing cars in America was vital to the profitability of Alfa's stateside venture. The Canadian-Italian industrialist anticipated that Alfa would only begin making a profit after three or four years in the US. This won't be the first time a Fiat division has manufactured in the United States. In 1909 the Italian automaker inaugurated a plant in Poughkeepsie in upstate New York which it closed a decade later. Meanwhile, industry sources indicate that Alfa's main factory at Pomigliano d'Arco in southern Italy will close for two months beginning in January as a last-ditch effort to get Alfa Romeo build quality up to spec or else face complete...
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Filed under: Euro , Hirings/Firings , Alfa Romeo , FIAT You'd be smiling, too... According to emerging reports, Luca De Meo is being appointed as the new chief executive of Alfa Romeo, succeeding Antonio Baravalle who recently announced his departure . De Meo is credited with the recent rejuvenation of the Fiat brand, overseeing the introduction of the enormously successful Grande Punto, followed by the new Bravo and most recently the hot new 500 retro-hatch. The industry was shocked when De Meo stepped down as Fiat brand CEO just a few months ago to assume a new position in the parent company as Chief Marketing Officer for the entire Fiat Group. De Meo will be retaining the marketing position in addition to his new responsibilities as head of Alfa Romeo, while keeping his third post as head of the Abarth division, which he launched during his tenure as Fiat brand CEO. With the new appointment, it becomes all the more clear that Luca De Meo is being groomed to take over from Fiat Group...
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