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Dodge Hornet supposedly snapped inside Alfa Romeo Tonale factory

It appears that someone in Stellantis' Pomigliano d’Arco Assembly Plant in Italy couldn't keep their cellphone to themselves. Video uploaded to the Alfa Romeo Club Italia Facebook page, then quickly removed, purports to show Dodge's brand-engineered version of the Alfa Romeo Tonale in the same factory where the Alfa will be built. The Dodge is expected to be called the Hornet, and there are a few differences between it and and Alfa Romeo, which is understandable. But if the screenshots on Twitter are accurate, then the Dodge looks a lot closer to the Alfa Romeo than perhaps anyone expected. The front fascia and hood fall in line with Dodge's design language. The Alfa grille is replaced by a narrow, stepped upper grille, and the hood is one of the vented units similar to those available for Dodge's R/T performance trims. And as Mopar Insiders noticed, the silhouette of this car's front end matches a vehicle silhouette Dodge showed during Stellantis' 2021 EV Day.   Inside, the Italian brand's crest in the steering wheel center cap is replaced by Dodge's twin slashes, and the steering wheel has been stripped of the large, curved paddle shifters the Tonale showed on its debut. There's still a start/stop button on the steering wheel, but where the Tonale has a driving mode dial on its dash, this supposed Hornet has another start/stop button. Dodge's push-to-start buttons are usually on the instrument panel, so our guess is that the wheel is a holdover for testing. On the center tunnel, the parking alert buttons and Italian Tricolore flag on the Alfa Romeo are replaced by three different buttons.   We've known Dodge has two electrified vehicles on the way, and the Hornet name has been low-key buzzing for two years. Fiat Chrysler applied to trademark the name in the U.S. in March 2020; at the time, it was thought a vehicle with that name could replace the Journey. In 2021, a July rumor out of Italy was the first whisper of the Hornet name being attached to the Alfa Romeo Tonale. In August, when Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said Dodge would get a PHEV in 2024, watchers pegged that model as the Hornet. That hybrid powertrain would show a year after the vehicle's launch, the Hornet anticipated as a 2023 model with the Tonale's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. That engine could get the same 256 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque as the Tonale, or be boosted to satisfy Dodge's performance credentials.

Marchionne offers belated apology for 'wop engine' comment

Automotive News reports Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has issued a written apology for his comments regarding his decision to stick with an Italian engine for the upcoming Alfa Romeo 4C. As you may recall, back in January, Marchionne was quoted as saying, "I cannot come up with a schlock product, I just won't. I won't put an American engine into that car. With all due respect to my American friends, it has to be a wop engine." The CEO penned an apology to the Italian American ONE VOICE Coalition for using the racial epithet, saying that he made the comment in jest. Marchionne also said he realizes his remarks were unacceptable.
ONE VOICE, an organization aimed at fighting discrimination and stereotyping of Italian Americans, thanked Marchionne, Chrysler and Fiat for the apology. Marchionne is an Italian-born Canadian citizen, and he's gotten in trouble for other comments in the past. In 2011, he called high interest rates Chrysler was paying to the Canadian government "shyster rates." He apologized a day later.

2017 Alfa Romeo Model Year Preview and Updates

Having taken a twenty year sabbatical from the U.S. market, Fiat Chrysler Automobile's Alfa Romeo returned for the 2015 model year with the ALFA ROMEO 4C COUPE, a singularly two seat, mid-engined sports car with a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, high-performance 1.7 liter turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain and competition-inspired bodywork. Although the 4C's price point isn't inexpensive, the amount charged is pocket change relative to what is required by Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. The 4C Spider was introduced for 2016, while 2017 brings a modest list of modifications to the sporting two-seater, including Alpine Premium audio, the addition of Giallo Prototipo (yellow) to the 4C Coupe, an available carbon fiber roof treatment and updated wheel selection. GIULIA/GIULIA Ti and GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO: Although the 4C Coupe may have taken the figurative lead in Alfa Romeo's return to the US market, the substantive start will be taken in the 2017 model year by Alfa Romeo's midsize sport sedan, the Giulia. All variants of the Giulia combine a balanced chassis, responsive drivetrains and Italianate bodywork in a compelling four door package. And with a turbocharged V6 drivetrain, sub-4 second 0-60 and a record-setting lap (for a 4-door) of the Nurburgring, the Quadrifoglio will battle BMW's M3 in Europe's super-sedan segment. STELVIO (2018): While final specs are still TBD, following the Giulia later in the 2017 calendar year will be Alfa Romeo's 2018 Stelvio. Based on the Giulia platform and formally introduced to the public at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Stelvio will tap into the country's appetite for compact and midsize crossovers with an upright – albeit curvaceous – platform, responsive four cylinder power and performance-oriented all-wheel drive. The Stelvio should arrive in US showrooms sometime in the 2017 calendar year.