1987 Alfa Romeo Spider on 2040-cars

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2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study shows there's less quality than last year

Vehicle inventory, vehicle pricing, and the supply chain are finally showing improvement. Vehicle quality, on the other hand, is still going the wrong way. That's the takeaway from the 2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study that found overall problems exceeded last year's record high. The study surveyed owners of 2022-model-year vehicles to assess the average rate of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the first 90 days of ownership. The average figure for the 32 ranked manufacturers in 2020 was about 166 problems per 100 vehicles. In the 2021 IQS, that dropped to an average of 162. For 2022, the average jumped to 180 problems. For 2023, the PP100 is up to an industry average of 192 — an increase of 30 problems per 100 vehicles in just two years. Let's get to the good news first: Dodge reclaimed the crown of having the lowest number of problems per 100 vehicles at 140. Buick won last year with 139 PP100, falling to third this year. Dodge was the first American automaker to top the IQS in 2021. Its return as the least problematic gives parent company Stellantis three wins in four years after Ram was crowned in 2021. It also gives U.S. brands a four-peat after Buick topped the chart in 2022 by having owners report the fewest problems. This year's top 10 is Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Porsche, Cadillac, Kia, and Lexus. Stellantis gathered a few feathers for its cap, in fact. Maserati showed the largest improvement year-on-year, followed by Alfa Romeo, and Alfa Romeo posted the lowest PP100 among the premium class, beating Porsche and Cadillac. Alfa Romeo has been vocal about working to improve quality, mentioning Lexus as a target. Last year the Japanese brand finished sixth, the Italians finished near the bottom, between Jaguar and Mitsubishi. This year Alfa jumped to third, Lexus dropped to tenth. Ram was the third-best on the list of improvers from 2022 to 2023.   The individual model with the lowest PP100 is the Nissan Maxima. Now for the troublesome bits. In the words of Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, "The industry is at a major crossroad and the path each manufacturer chooses is paramount for its future.

Scrapyard Gem: 2011 Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Alfa Romeo first applied the Giulietta name to its cars in 1954, producing that legendary generation through 1965. The name was revived on a wild-looking sedan for the 1977-1985 period, just before Fiat bought the company, and then returned on a compact hatchback for the 2011 model year. Today's Junkyard Scrapyard Find is one of those first-year third-gen Giuliettas, found in a self-service yard in Yorkshire, England. Copart-owned U-Pull-It has two stores in Great Britain, one in England and the other in Scotland. I have documented quite a few not-available-on-our-side-of-the-water vehicles found during my trip over there, including a 2005 Smart ForFour, a 2002 BMW 320td, a 2005 Vauxhall Tigra TwinTop, a 2008 Mitsubishi i, a 2007 Mitsubishi Colt, a 2006 Peugeot 307 CC, a 2006 Hyundai Matrix, a 2006 Ford StreetKa, a 2000 Honda HR-V, a 1994 Rover 620 Si, a 2010 Peugeot Bipper, a 2009 Alfa Romeo Brera S, a 2010 Citroen C4 Picasso, a 2005 MG ZT 190 and a 1963 Bentley S3. This generation of Giulietta stayed in production through 2020, after which it was replaced by a Jeep Compass-related crossover that you can buy in the United States today. This car's closest U.S.-market relative was the 2013-2016 Dodge Dart, which was built on a widened version of the Giulietta platform; the 2015-2017 Chrysler 200 lived on a longer-wheelbase variation. The current Chrysler Pacifica still rides on a descendant of that chassis. Alfa Romeo managed to get the Giulietta into a starring role in Fast & Furious 6, back in 2013. There was talk in the early 2010s that the new Giulietta might be sold in the United States, but those tales turned out to lead nowhere. Instead, the 4C ended up being the first new Alfa Romeo available here since the last Spider Veloces and 164s were sold as 1995 models. I couldn't get the bonnet open on this car, quickly losing patience thanks to fingers frozen solid by Yorkshire January weather, so we'll just have to speculate about the engine beneath. Giulietta shoppers in the U.K. market could get the '11 with one of eight engine choices, ranging from the base 1.4 MultiAir straight-four petrol-burner and its 120 horsepower all the way up to a screaming 1.75-liter straight-four with 235 horses. Fiat Multijet diesels in 1.6- and 2.0-liter form were available as well. This one has the base six-speed manual, which Dart buyers could get bolted into their cars (few did so).

Just 45% of Fiat dealers are profitable, and they're angry about it

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On average, Fiat dealers have only been selling about 17 cars a month.
We've been wondering for some time how Fiat dealers in North America have been getting along with just one model range in their showrooms up until recently. Franchisees spent millions building, stocking and manning sleek new 'studio' showrooms, only to have but a single model to sell, the cherubic 500. And even with its many derivatives, the Cinquecento is still an inexpensive model with its attendant lower margins. Perhaps it should come as no surprise then, that just 45 percent of US Fiat dealers are said to be profitable.