Report: Alfa's return to the U.S. delayed until 2013

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Apr 10, 2011 | 11:35 AM

Hoovey689

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Report: Alfa's return to the U.S. delayed until 2013

Alfa Romeo is reported delaying its return to the States until 2013 because Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is unhappy with the proposed vehicle designs bound for the U.S. Marchionne cited manufacturing and styling issues that need fixing before the 2013 Alfa Romeo Giulia is ready to be released both in the States and abroad.

The delay pushes the Giulia back from a late-2012 release to sometime mid-2013, which leaves Alfa Romeo in the lurch in two continents. Without the Giulia, Alfa will have a gaping hole in its lineup and nothing to offer in the hotly-contested mid-range market.

Marchionne is also unhappy with efforts from Chrysler designers to retool the Giulia as a replacement for the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger, models which Fiat-Chrysler is hoping to debut in 2013. Since the two new Chryslers and the Giulia will share a platform, a delay for one means a delay for the others.

With the Giulia's release postponed, Alfa will have to make do with a three-model lineup, comprised of the MiTo, the 159 and the Guilietta, until its new small SUV arrives in late 2012, followed by the Giulia the following year.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/10/r...ed-until-2013/

Apr 10, 2011 | 05:24 PM

mmarshall

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As I see it, if Alfa is smart, they will consider bring back the Spyder roadster to the U.S. market. When Alfa last pulled out in 1994, almost nobody here drove Alfa sedans or coupes, but a number of Alfisti-enthusiasts had the roadster.....which was similar, in many ways, to the Fiat/Lancia Spyders.

BTW, a little off-topic, but I really like tha Alfa logo. I think that it is arguably the classiest-looking badge in the industry, with the Subaru, BMW, and Cadillac logos not far behind.