Alfa Romeo To Launch in U.S With Giulia Sedan?

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 business case and the Milano is seemingly up in there air. Apparently, Alfa Romeo is having a difficult time making the choice which vehicle to introduce first.

The comeback to the United States is supposedly all part of a goal to make Alfa Romeo profitable. Bloomberg says the brand sold 103,000 vehicles last year and needs to sell 250,000 to break even. Wow, that's a tall order there - sales need to be more than doubled to reach profitability!

Alfa Romeo Chief Executive Officer Sergio Cravero says that "The Giulia is a car that could be the most interesting for the U.S. market.....we need to build cars together with Chrysler that have an Alfa Romeo soul." The Giulia is rumored to be an athletic RWD sedan based off of either the Chrysler LX platform or  Alfa Romeo's C-EVO platofrm, which would have to be modified significantly to fit the car's size.

Regardless, in order for Alfa Romeo to be profitable in it's return to the U.S, platforms will have to be shared with Chrysler and most likely built here in the United States. One thing is certain though - it's no easy task launching (or relaunching) a brand in the United States. What do you guys think - what Alfa Romeo vehicle should lead the brand's comeback?