2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Standard Alfa Romeo Giulia still looks beautiful in Geneva

No matter how many times we see the Alfa Romeo Giulia, it continues to be a beautiful sports sedan. The top-spec Quadrifoglio is a fantastic looking four-door, but even the base model and Super trim on display in Geneva retain the model's attractive looks. The standard versions lose the big vents and more aggressive look from the Quadrifoglio, but their simplified shape is still gorgeous. Alfa packs the cars with tech, too. At least in Europe, base models get standard forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, and a 6.5-inch infotainment system. The Super adds leather and 17-inch wheels, and an optional Sport Pack includes Xenon headlights a sport steering wheel, and aluminum trim on the dashboard, center console, and door panels. Finally, the Quadrifoglio aims for performance with carbon fiber parts on the roof, hood, and front splitter, and the options include carbon-ceramic brake discs, and carbon fiber seats. In Europe, customers will have the option of a 2.2-liter diesel with 150 or 180 horsepower, a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine with 200 hp, and the fire-breathing 510-hp 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, which is exclusive to the Quadrifoglio. We don't get the oil-burner in this country, but Alfa says the North American version of the 2.0-liter has 276 hp. The Quadrifoglio makes 505 hp here. According to Alfa's latest product plan, the Giulia should arrive at dealers in the US sometime in 2016, possibly late in the second quarter. Prices for the full range still aren't official, but the Quadrifoglio would reportedly sell for around $70,000. Related Video: New Alfa Romeo Giulia • The new Alfa Romeo Giulia , making its debut at the Geneva International Motor Show, will be available in three trim levels (Giulia, Super and Quadrifoglio) and six new engine versions:150 and 180 HP 2.2-litre diesel with 6 speed manual or 8 speed automatic transmission, the 200 HP 2.0-litre petrol engine with 8 speed transmission and 510 HP 2.9-litre V6 BiTurbo petrol engine with 6 speed transmission. • From April 15th it will be possible to order the new Giulia progressively in all markets throughout the EMEA area. • The supreme expression of the meccanica delle emozioni (mechanics of emotion), the new Giulia offers distinctive Italian style and optimal weight distribution across the two axles, the new sophisticated Alfa™Link suspension system (Alfa Romeo patent) and the most direct steering in the market segment.

2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio prices are a mixed bag

Something happened on the way to the end of 2024, and that happening has resulted in higher-than-expected prices for the 2024 Giula and 2024 Stelvio. When Alfa announced changes for both models in April, we were informed the new Giulia Competizione trim would start at $53,115 in rear-wheel-drive form, the Stelvio Competizione trim would start at $57,420 in obligatory all-wheel-drive form. A month later, Cars Direct got wind of price cuts thanks to Alfa Romeo wanting to give buyers even more reason to put money down on la dolce vita instead of a certain Bavarian. In that report, the entry-level Giula Sprint was going to start at $44,795 after destination, the Stelvio Sprint would start at $46,370. An an Alfa Romeo spokesperson even replied to Cars Direct with, "The reduction in pricing is a lifecycle direction for Stelvio and Giulia to enhance market competitiveness." Looking at the 2024 configurator, the Giulia Sprint improves its advantage before options, whereas the Competizione is $2,345 above expectations. Prices for the 2024 Giula range after the $1,595 destination charge are: Sprint: $44,670 Ti: $47,210 Veloce: $50,970 Competizione: $55,460 Quadrifoglio: $82,970 Quadrifoglio 100th Anniversary: $90,070 What's not included here are mandatory additional costs for the Competizione and both Quadrifoglio trims; they don't offer the free white exterior paint option that the Sprint, Ti, and Veloce do. So the above sums will go up by at least $500, the least expensive exterior color option, to as much as $2,200. As for the Giulia Sprint undercutting the BMW 330i, that only happens if you want a white Giulia on the stock 17-inch wheels. The 2024 330i starts at $45,495, which is $825 above the base Giulia. But the BMW comes on 18-inch wheels, the Giulia on 17-inchers, and stepping up a rim size on the Alfa Romeo costs $1,725. BMW also offers black paint as a free option, whereas going dark on the Giulia costs $660. The Giulia does come with 280 horsepower versus the BMW's 255, so there's that. At the very top, a Giulia Quadrifoglio asking $82,970 might be a tough ask against a BMW M3 asking $81,195, never mind a $90,070 Giulia Quadrifoglio 100th Anniversary. It's the same on the Stelvio side of the fence.

China-FCA merger could be a win-win for everyone but politicians

NEW YORK — Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has said the car industry needs to come together, cut costs and stop incinerating capital. So far, his words have mostly fallen on deaf ears among competitors in Europe and North America. But it appears Marchionne has finally found a receptive audience — in China. FCA shares soared Monday after trade publication Automotive News reported the $18 billion Italian-American conglomerate controlled by the Agnelli family rebuffed a takeover from an unidentified carmaker from the Chinese mainland. As ugly as the politics of such a combination may appear at first blush, a transaction could stack up industrially, and perhaps even financially. A Sino-U.S.-European merger would create the first truly global auto group. That could push consolidation to the next level elsewhere. Moreover, China is the world's top market for the SUVs that Jeep effectively invented, so it might benefit FCA financially. A combo would certainly help upgrade the domestic manufacturer; Chinese carmakers have gotten better at making cars, but struggle to build global brands, and they need to develop export markets. Though frivolous overseas shopping excursions by Chinese enterprises are being reined in by Beijing, acquisitions that support the modernization and transformation of strategic industries still receive support, and the government considers the automotive industry to be strategic. A purchase of FCA by Guangzhou Automobile, Great Wall or Dongfeng Motors would probably get the same stamp of approval ChemChina was given for its $43 billion takeover of Syngenta. What's standing in the way? Apart from price (Automotive News said FCA's board deemed the offer insufficient) there's the not-insignificant matter of politics. Even as FCA shares soared, President Donald Trump interrupted his vacation to instruct the U.S. Trade Representative to look into whether to investigate China's trade policies on intellectual property. Seeing storied Detroit brands like Jeep, Chrysler, Ram and Dodge handed off to a Chinese company would provoke howls among Trump's economic-nationalist supporters. It might not play well in Italy, either, to see Alfa Romeo and Maserati answering to Wuhan instead of Turin — though Automotive News said they might be spun off separately. Yet, as Morgan Stanley observes, "cars don't ship across oceans easily," and political considerations increasingly demand local manufacture of valuable products.