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Alfa Romeo cancels plans for Giulia wagon to focus on Stelvio development

Automotive enthusiasts can talk all day long about the benefits of wagons over their respective crossover stablemates, but despite our protestations the case for the wagon seems to fall on deaf ears, especially in America. That seems to be the reason cash-strapped automaker Alfa Romeo has nixed any plans for a wagon variant of the new Giulia. According to Car, Alfa manufacturing chief Alfredo Altavilla believes the company can engineer the Stelvio SUV to drive as well as a Giulia wagon would – so no need for both. Porsche has shown with the Cayenne and the Macan that an SUV can be an excellent performance machine. That being said, as good as performance crossovers have shown themselves to be, the higher weight and center of gravity puts them at a fundamental disadvantage to a wagon. Killing the Giulia wagon is disappointing, but it's a pure business move. The company needs to focus on expanding it's lineup, not building variants of already existing models. Alfa is hoping to boost sales into the hundreds of thousands, and building a low-volume performance station wagon is not the way to do it. Despite the loss of the wagon, rumors persist that a two-door version of the Giulia is set to debut in Geneva. Related Video:

We're not getting the Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce, and that's fine

Alfa Romeo revealed today that a special edition of the Giulia sports sedan called "Veloce" will make its debut in Paris. It's only slated for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but before you start lamenting that the US will once again miss out on a cool Euro-spec sedan, we have some good news: it's nothing special. The Giulia Veloce is just a normal Giulia with an appearance package and a fancy name. It comes with either the 280-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine, which we will get in 276-hosepower trim, or the 210-horsepower diesel four-cylinder. From there, Alfa throws in options like Q4 all-wheel drive, 19-inch 5-hole wheels, a tweaked front bumper, sport seats and steering wheel, rear diffuser and black window trim. That's it. Well that, and one of the Veloces at the show will sport a new color of blue, but it's not clear if that's a package-exclusive color or just another option. Many of these components will be available in the US, including the all-wheel drive, wheels, and, based on the American Alfa website, probably the black window trim. It's just that they won't all come in one package. And even if a few pieces of vehicle flair don't make it here, we're still not going to lose sleep over an appearance package. If you really need to be upset about something, perhaps consider the fact that we probably won't see Giulias on dealer lots until early next year. And that's just our best guess since we don't have an official launch date yet. Now that's something worthy of some frustration. Related Video:

Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider rightfully fawned over by Petrolicious

Following the Top Gear adage "You can't be a true petrolhead until you've owned an Alfa Romeo," is rather difficult for those of us in North America. Faced with a distinct lack of new cars and an equally disturbing abundance of vintage basketcases, the road to Alfa ownership is a difficult one for residents of the new world. Where there's a will, there's a way, though, and the benefits certainly seem worthwhile, as we see with Casey Annis and his gorgeous 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Veloce 1600. Annis is the publisher and editor of Vintage Racecar Magazine, so he knows a thing or six about these classic Alfas. The video discusses his Alfa, which has been upgraded to Veloce specifications, as well as what the Alfa community is like as a whole. Petrolicious has the story on Annis and his Alfa in its latest video. Fans of classic Italians are not going to want to miss this one. News Source: Petrolicious via YouTube Alfa Romeo Convertible Performance Classics Videos petrolicious alfa romeo spider