2023 Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce on 2040-cars

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Car and Driver shows off awesome 1960s ads

Someone must have recently rediscovered the keys to the archives at Car and Driver, and the access has been put to good use. Following last month's fantastic look at automotive ads from the '50s, there's now a new gallery running from March 1960 through December 1969. This collection provides a great overview of a decade full of iconic cars. If you're a fan of Carroll Shelby, particularly his Mustangs, then there's a lot to love among this group. One ad from July 1965 aimed to sell the GT350, but with an ocean of text and a tiny picture, it probably could've used a once-over by Don Draper's team. By December '65, the copywriters ironed out the problems with a spot proclaiming boldly "Shelby GT350 is 'Son of Cobra.'" The company offered some great accessories, too. For those into European motoring, there's a humorous attempt to sell the Alfa Romeo Giulia as both a racecar and family hauler. Toyota also boasts about the winning record for the 2000GT. Among the best text comes from BMW for lines like: "What's BMW got? The most advanced high-performance engine in any production car, for a cruising speed of 100 mph." Of course, Volkswagen's famous "Lemon" ad for the Beetle also gets its due here. Separately, each of these ads is fascinating, but taken together they tell the story of a great decade of motoring. Go give them all a read at Car and Driver. Related Video: News Source: Car and DriverImage Credit: GM Heritage Center Marketing/Advertising Read This Alfa Romeo BMW Ford Toyota Volkswagen shelby alfa romeo giulia shelby gt350 toyota 2000gt

2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Luggage Test | Time for an Italian vacation

When it comes to handling and being fun to drive, the 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia is right at the top. From its engaging and tossable Ti trim, to the totally bonkers Quadrifoglio, Alfa Romeo has some excellent options for those who love to drive. However, we aren’t exploring 0-60 mph times or steering feel today, so letÂ’s see how the Italian sedan holds up when it comes to suitcase stacking. Alfa Romeo doesnÂ’t list an official trunk capacity on its media website or its consumer-facing site, but itÂ’s very similar in size to the last luxury sedan I luggage tested: the 2020 Volvo S60. WeÂ’ll place the estimate to be around 12 cubic-feet. Just by eye-balling it, Alfa appears to be on the smaller side of the spectrum here, with its competition being the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and several others. Note that I use different equipment than Riswick out in Portland: Two carry-on suitcases sized (24 inches long, 15.5 wide, 10 deep); one carry-on suitcase (21.7L x 13.7W x 9 D); one medium-size suitcase you have to check (24.5L x 16.8W x 11.5D) and two larger, full-size suitcases (33.8L x 21.5W x 13D) and (28.1L x 18W x 10.5D). It's not a power trunk, but you can pop it via the fob, a button by the driver footwell or a button on the trunk itself. Once open, I started with the carry-on suitcases. All three of those fit when turned on their sides, but a fourth would be impossible to squeeze in using that formation. ThatÂ’s due to the GiuliaÂ’s trunk becoming more restrictive in both depth and width deeper inside of it. YouÂ’ll notice the curved intrusions at the back of the trunk pictured below. They make shoving a suitcase all the way back in there impossible, as there isnÂ’t enough space next to the other three suitcases. The opening itself is rather small, too, forcing me to contort the suitcases as I lay them in. Instead, I decided to stick the fancy bag (22L x 8.8W x 12D) in there. ItÂ’s smaller and better suited to the space that remains, fitting perfectly within that nook. ThatÂ’s not ideal, but plenty of room for two people on a longer getaway. Next up: full-size suitcases. One of them fit right in without issue, but the second full-sizer I use for testing would not. Once again, this is due to the width restrictions imposed by the trunk walls coming in on both sides at the back. I did manage to fit the medium-size suitcase next to the one full-sizer if both were turned on an angle.

Audi rumored to buy Alfa Romeo, officials deny it

For more than two years, Volkswagen has been making public statements about its willingness to buy Alfa Romeo and quadruple the Italian brand's sales, and for just as long, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has replied with some version of "Mr. Piëch, drop it." According to a report in Ward's Auto, all that jousting might be over: it claims that sources close to both Marchionne and Audi CEO Rupert Stadler admit that the two are in talks for Audi to buy not just Alfa Romeo, but a production plant in Italy. In fact, a final deal could possibly include partsmaker Magnetti Marelli.
Against that backdrop, a report by German news weekly Stern quotes a Fiat spokesmen as saying it doesn't comment on rumors and an Audi rep has said flatly that "There is no substance in the news." If a sale is being arranged, the timing would seem to point to how eager Fiat is to raise cash to complete its major initiatives. Even though Alfa Romeo continues to delay its return to the US, it just showed off the production version of the 4C at the Geneva Motor Show (shown above) and said that preferred Fiat dealerships here would get them. Then there's Alfa's recently concluded deal with Mazda to develop a roadster based on the next generation MX-5 Miata - a deal that would seem to help both the Italian and Japanese brands.
The monetary issues are troublesome, though. Fiat is taking a beating in the European market and its weak-kneed balance sheet is delaying gotta-have-it products like the Jeep Cherokee. Fiat has been talking to banks about getting money to buy the rest of Chrysler and those financial institutions have also raised issues about debt and cash reserves, and the nasty game of chess Fiat is playing with the United Auto Workers (and now the court system about the portion of Chrysler it doesn't own) could end up blowing another hole in Marchionne's plans. It is possible that this could finally have convinced Fiat to at least see how serious Audi's parent company, Volkswagen, is about buying Alfa Romeo. Or it could be just another rumor.