Car Throttle

The Italians are coming, the Italians are coming! Chrysler's takeover (err - partnership) with Fiat has resulted in the planned reemergence of both Fiat and it's performance counterpart Alfa Romeo. The 8C Competizione has already made waves in the United States for it's beautiful styling and high price tag. It also got 1,500 orders for a production run of only 500 units - talk about a smashing success! The question is - what car to kickoff Alfa Romeo's U.S launch? Yes, I know the 8C could be viewed that way. But, what volume model is going to launch the brand? The MiTo and the Milano 147 replacement (pictured above) were rumored to be those vehicles. However, the MiTo has been ruled out due to lack of a profitable

There has been a lot of discussion about what products will make it over to the United States as a result of the Chrysler-Fiat partnership. We know we're getting the Fiat 500 as most likely the Alfa Romeo Milano (147 replacement) and the MiTo was always seen as a likely candidate as well. Hence, my desire to see a GTA model of the car produced. Apparently that prospect might not be as likely as we thought though, if comments from Alfa Romeo's CEO means anything (and trust me, they do). I know small, sporty cars have traditionally done well in the United States but I figured that was changing. Mercedes-Benz has brought over the Smart car, Honda has the Fit and GM has the Aveo - Ford

On Tuesday, it was reported that the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA was on "hold", possibly cancelled for good due to problems in working out the business case for a performance model. An unnamed Alfa Romeo spokeswoman was quoted saying: “The MiTo GTA has been put on hold. It’s hard to justify building such as high performance car at this present time as the financial crisis means that its not economically viable. And, sadly, it may never be.” The MiTo GTA originally made an appearance as a concept at the Geneva Auto Show, supposedly offering a preview of the near-identical production version to follow. Could it have been just that Alfa Romeo was trying to build buzz with that comment? Who knows. But I did say that I thought there

It's amazing what one car can do! Alfa Romeo debuted the stunning 8C Competitzione for model year 2007 and it began a new era for the brand. Inspiration from that design is tricking down to the rest of that lineup, helping to take Alfa Romeo in an entirely different direction. MiTo, upcoming 147 replacement the Milano - they all came after the 8C Competizione. To me it was a brilliant move - what better way to herald it's return to the United States market and whet our appetites? And, not only that - it has immediately vaulted Alfa Romeo into the supercar category. An Alfa Romeo is on the list with Ferrari's and Lamborghinis as cars people want - who would have thought that? When it came

*Sighs* Thanks, economy! Looks like the production Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA that debuted in concept form at the Geneva Auto Show has been put on ice. To me, Alfa Romeo is all about high performance. The MiTo is no doubt good looking but a dose of more sportiness would be much welcomed. I can see the positive press now, magazines fawning over the new MiTo GTA. But alas, according to Alfa Romeo it is not to be. The GTA model would have vaulted the MiTo to the top of the hot hatch class. Styling was to be much more aggressive, along with the suspension tightened and handling improved. Where the action really was though was under the hood. The GTA was to have a 1.6 liter 4-cylinder

The Alfa Romeo Milano is being prepped as a replacement for the successful 147 hatchback. In the Alfa Romeo brand hiercharchy, the 147 is larger than the MiTo and is more in the mainstream for buying tastes in the European market. There has been renderings of the car that have surfaced, and the actual car itself looks very similar to them. It has been caught completely uncloaked- on Facebook, of all places. Blurry picture, I know. That's because it was snapped off (likely from a camera phone) from inside the Italian Alfa Romeo plant where this car is being built. Apparently they must be building a run of test prototypes or something, because there is a large group of the cars caught in the photos and the

Is it just me, or are automakers on a no-common sense streak lately? Fiat has succeeded in it's goal of a partnership (really, takeover) of the Chrysler Group, LLC. The deal has given them access to the United States market in a way that would have taken Fiat years and billions of dollars to achieve. They didn't get Opel, Saab or GM Latin America but they did get Chrysler.  Now, what are they going to do with it? They've instituted some reforms that coupled with the leaner post-bankruptcy Chrysler, should have helped the two to be successful. Then I hear this idea and I think they don't really have any idea what they are talking about. Take Dodge, a brand that has suffered from mismanagement and lack

I'm taking everything about Alfa Romeo and Fiat a lot more serious now that the company is purchasing Chrysler. I love Alfa Romeo's new styling language (who doesn't though?). It's simply amazing, and much different then the style Alfa Romeo had been pursuing prior to the 8C Competizione. The new look is spreading across the lineup and the next car to get the treatment looks like the replacement for the 147, called the Milano. Alfa Romeo is ditching the numerical designations for real names on all their next-generation vehicles. I think it's a good call! Definitely one handsome hatchback! Unmistakably Italian too. Sources at CAR stressed it was wide and low-slung; much different then the MiTo hatchback. Regardless, the new Alfa Romeo style seems to wear well on anything.