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The troubled Alfa Romeo Giulia needs serious help [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An Alfa Romeo US spokesman responded to this article with the following statement: The safety concerns expressed in the story are false. The all-new 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia is designed and engineered to meet or exceed all federal safety regulations. The Alfa Romeo Giulia will begin production for the North American market in the late second-quarter of this year. Alfa Romeo will have a full product portfolio of premium vehicles that includes plans for (8) all-new Alfa Romeo vehicles by 2020. The product launches are prioritized by segment volumes starting this year with the Alfa Romeo Giulia production for North America starting in late Q2, followed by the Midsize-UV – the 2nd largest premium segment in North America. Even on the day you dragged them kicking and screaming and gesticulating wildly to a table full of concrete evidence, Alfa Romeo executives will never admit the Giulia program is going through a tough patch. But it is. Reports say the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front, side and rear impact tests. Alfa denies it. Automotive News published a report last week saying two suppliers had insisted the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front-, side-, and rear-impact tests. A third supplier source told us the same thing. Alfa is denying it. It was due on sale in Europe late last year and was supposed to be here in the next month or two. But it wasn't, and it won't. It was to be headlined by a twin-turbo V6 that reportedly howled its way around the Nurburgring 14 seconds faster than the BMW M3 could manage. That second part is only true if you believe it's fair to compare a full lap in a standard BMW M3 with a favorable accumulation of sector times to a development prototype Giulia with 220 pounds stripped out of it and rolling on hand-cut racing slicks. No, me neither. A Promising Start The Giulia's all-new architecture was developed in just two years by a skunkworks of young engineers headed by Fiat's engineering prince, Philippe Krief, and (bafflingly) sited inside Maserati's headquarters complex in Modena, about three hours from Alfa Romeo's own Turin HQ.

Best sport sedans for 2022 and 2023

SUVs dominate the car industry at every size and price level, but some people still prefer the looks, and more importantly, the performance and comfort, of the traditional sedan. With a lower ride height, lighter weight and generally smaller size, they often are much more fun to drive, and can even be more comfortable. Sport sedans of course lean harder on the performance side of things, and are among the best options for sheer speed and fun, thanks to those inherent characteristics. We've rounded up the ones in the segment that do the sporty dance better than any others in 2024 to give you a handy guide when you're shopping for one of your own. You'll find a wide array of cars here including gas, electric and hybrid powertrains. They'll have manual and automatic transmissions and drive the front, rear or all four wheels. Technically a few hatchbacks have slipped in, but they're close enough in look and feel that we wanted to include them. And excluding them means you might miss out on some of the best-driving options available. You wouldn't want that, would you? Alfa Romeo Giulia Why it stands out: Punchy four-cylinder; astounding power from Quadrifoglio; light and nimble character; awesome shift paddlesCould be better: Clunky infotainment; sub-par switchgear Read our Alfa Romeo Giulia review We start this list with one of the most predictable inclusions: the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Yes, it's a stereotype that the Italian sport sedan is fun to drive, but the fact is, well, it is. The Giulia comes standard with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 280 horsepower, making it one of the most powerful four-cylinders in the segment. It's paired with a snappy and smooth eight-speed transmission and either rear-wheel or all-wheel drive.  The engine is lively and torquey, if a little short of revs, and the chassis feels super-light. The steering is eager and the car jumps into corners. We also highly recommend getting a version with the enormous and superb aluminum paddle shifters that make clicking through gears much more entertaining. And on the topic of the interior, it's attractive, but the various switches and knobs feels a little cheap, and the infotainment system is clunky. Of course there's also the incredible Giulia Quadrifoglio at the high end. It gets a Ferrari-derived twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 making 505 hp, and it's rear-wheel drive only.

2016 BMW 7 Series slims down, techs up

BMW is finally pulling the wraps off its sixth-generation 7 Series. The flagship boasts a ton of improvements for 2016, including a smattering of onboard tech and weight reduction of 190 pounds. The 7 Series uses a new internal structure called Carbon Core. Derived from the i sub-brand, Carbon Core uses a mix of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic and ultra-high-tensile steel for the 7's major structural components. It's largely responsible for the 190-pound weight reduction, along with the aluminum doors and trunk lid. The weight savings has allowed BMW to maintain a fifty-fifty weight distribution. That new structure underpins the largest sedan BMW has ever produced. At 206.6 inches in total, the long-wheelbase-only 7 Series is over an inch longer than its predecessor. Its 124.6-inch wheelbase and 74.9-inch width, though, remain unchanged. Even with such a modest increase in size, BMW is claiming best-in-class rear legroom, at 44.4 inches – a tenth of an inch more than the current 7. Unlike the old car, though, this new 7 Series gets with the times in terms of chauffeur equipment. The front passenger seat can be slid forward and folded, allowing a lucky rear passenger to take advantage of the new pop-out footrest and optional 42.5-degree seat incline, available as part of the Rear Executive Lounge Seating Package. iDrive now adds a number of 3D sensors that respond to pre-programed hand motions. The 7 Series will debut here in the United States with two engines, both of which should be familiar to BMW consumers. There's a 320-horsepower, 3.0-liter, turbocharged six-cylinder in the nose of the 740i, and a 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 with 445 hp on tap in the 750i xDrive. 60 miles per hour arrives in a relaxed 5.4 seconds for the 740i and 4.3 seconds in the V8 model. Once again, ZF provides the eight-speed automatic transmission used with both engines. Joining the 740i and 750i is the new 740e xDrive. The plug-in-hybrid sedan is motivated by a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder and an electric motor, and is capable of 23 miles per charge and speeds of up to 75 miles per hour in pure electric mode. Tthere's no shortage of tech on the latest 7 Series. While we're familiar with some items, like active grille shutters and BMW's Air Breather system, it's items like the gesture-control-equipped iDrive 5.0 that pique our interest. Alongside the new and standard touchscreen, iDrive now adds a number of 3D sensors that respond to pre-programed hand motions.