1965 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider on 2040-cars

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2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Review & Buying Guide | Same dish, better noodles

When it comes to Italian cooking, the noodles matter less than the sauce. Despite the Alfa Romeo Guilia's robust flavor, especially the arrabiata 505-horsepower Quadrifoglio, there was no disputing the fact that the pasta upon which that delightful gravy was slathered came out a bit under-done. It was beautiful and wildly fun to drive, but it also seemed a bit incomplete due to a dated and relatively cheap-feeling cabin. There were also pervasive, widely reported reliability issues. To address the criticisms and improve the pasta, so to speak, the 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia sees a multitude of updates intended to make it more competitive against its mainly German competitors. These are best noticed in the upgraded switchgear and more modern infotainment features. The driver assistance tech gets a successful upgrade as well. Now, only time will tell regarding the reliability issues, but after some time spent with a 2020 Giulia, we can at least report that it's far closer to the sexy Italian sedan we should have gotten from day one.   What's new for 2020? You’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference from looking at it, but the 2020 Giulia received a lot of upgrades. Alfa upgraded the sedanÂ’s interior materials and added a ton of new technology, including an available Wi-Fi hotspot, over-the-air software updates, and both wireless and USB Type-C device charging capabilities. As an added bonus, the 8.8-inch infotainment screen is now standard and has been upgraded to a touch display, while the driver assistance tech has been upgraded with new systems supplied by Bosch. What's the GiuliaÂ’s interior and in-car technology like? AlfaÂ’s 2020 upgrades focused on improving the GiuliaÂ’s cabin, and itÂ’s much better for it. Materials on the steering wheel, dash and center console were all improved and the control interfaces made less flimsy and toy-like. The overall quality result still doesn't match most competitors, but it's no longer objectionable and the materials generally feel nice to the touch. The design itself stays basically the same, maintaining its attractive and minimalist look. It lacks the Swedish flair of a Volvo S60 or the drama of some of the offerings available from Lexus and Mercedes, but Alfa was sure to pack in just enough Italian flair to keep things interesting. There's even a little Italian tricolore emblem at the base of the shifter.

Future Classic: Alfa Romeo Milano

While the glory that was Alfa Romeo may be in the past on this side of the Atlantic, there still remains evidence of Italianate greatness on used car lots and in new car showrooms: stunning sports cars of graceful lines (if unreliable electronics), colorful sport utility vehicles of modest power and functionality, and a smattering of older sedans — or, “family saloons” — that, in 2023, might be called classic. Take, for example, the Alfa Milano. Why is the Alfa Romeo Milano a future classic? Launched on May 17, 1985, the car was born as the Alfa 75 in Italy, named to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the companyÂ’s founding in Milan. Unlike many Alfas of jaw-dropping beauty, the angular, pseudo-boxy Milano wedge, as it was called in America, was primarily about the engine. Sold between June 1986 and August 1989, the Milano was initially offered in three trim levels: Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each level was equipped with more and more goodies, with the Platinum stocked with leather, a sunroof, ABS brakes, and a limited-slip differential. All of these models had a 2.5-liter, SOHC version of the Busso V6, producing 154 horsepower. It was nicknamed after its creator, Giuseppe Busso.  ItÂ’s worth noting that smaller engines were offered in Europe, and during the carÂ’s lifecycle there, they were replaced by a novel "Twin Spark" four-cylinder unit, which featured two spark plugs per cylinder, allowing for more efficiency and power. Initially, Milano was designed to compete with a new-ish class of European sports sedans like the Mercedes-Benz 190 and the BMW 3 Series. Under the Milano's skin was a modest rear-wheel-drive chassis with bits borrowed from AlfaÂ’s motorsports heritage: torsion bars and shock absorbers up front and a De Dion tube with shocks and coil springs in the rear (the De Dion "Dead Axle" setup was chosen as it reduced the unsprung weight in comparison to a live rear axle). In its day, the Milano was boarderline-quirky in an Italian way, battling an often deserved reputation for questionable reliability but undeniably handsome (in rosso Alfa, of course) and a joy to drive on challenging roads with its gutsy six and rear-wheel-drive platform. What is the best example of the Alfa Romeo Milano?

Mysterious Maserati test mule could be upcoming Alfa Romeo Giulia

Well well well, what have we here? The truth is that we don't know. It seems to be a Maserati Ghibli, but since that model is already out on the market, we're likely looking at something else. Just what is the question, and the answer likely lies in the wheelbase. While this test mule, spied undergoing cold-weather testing in northern Sweden, is clearly wearing the bodywork (and likely most of the mechanical bits) from the Ghibli, it's riding on a shortened wheelbase. Which tells us this could be one of two things: it's likely to be a test mule either for the upcoming Maserati Alfieri sports car, or for the new Alfa Romeo Giulia. The Alfieri was presented in concept form at the Geneva Motor Show back in March, foreshadowing a new sports car to serve as a halo model in the Maserati lineup. The production version is expected to be smaller and nimbler than the existing GranTurismo and positioned against the likes of the Porsche 911, Jaguar F-Type and Mercedes-AMG GT, to name just a few. The Giulia, meanwhile, is slated to be the first all-new Alfa Romeo since the arrival of the 4C last year and the Italian marque's first mainstream model since the launch of the Giulietta in 2010. The new sedan is expected to go after the likes of the BMW 3 Series and the new Jaguar XE, slotting in below the larger Maserati Ghibli that seeks to challenge the 5 Series and XF. If this is indeed a test mule for the new Alfa sedan, the quad tailpipes would seem, as our spy photographers point out, to indicate it's laying the groundwork for the GTA performance version. One way or another, there's something enticing to be coming soon from Italy, so watch this space.