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Only best-performing US Fiat dealers to get Alfa Romeo franchises

Alfa Romeo has been rumored to return to the US market so many times for so many years, it's hard to keep count. This time, though, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne promises that it's for real. Alfa is scheduled to reappear in the States this summer with its 4C sports coupe as its introductory model. However, buyers won't be able to pop into just any Fiat showroom and leave with a 4C – it's planning to only sell Alfas at its best-performing dealers, according to The Detroit News. In fact, the first 4Cs sold here won't be sold at Fiat dealers at all. Instead the first shipment of cars in June will go to Maserati dealers, not unlike the handful of Alfa 8C Competizione coupe and convertible models that trickled in starting in 2008. According to Fiat Chrysler spokesperson Rick Deneau, the company is still deciding which Fiat retailers will participate in Alfa's reentry. Many of Fiat's US dealers are apparently not happy with the meritocracy approach. They built Fiat showrooms partially on the promise that Alfa would enter the US market in 2012, then 2013, and now later this year. Even worse for them, the prospects for more mainstream Alfa Romeo models in the US are still questionable. This isn't the first time that we've heard that Fiat plans to keep Alfa Romeo exclusive in the US. Still, Fiat only plans to export about a 1,000 4C sports coupes a year here. If Alfa wants to be a legitimate player in America and be a money-making concern globally, it will need far more sales than that. Featured Gallery 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C: First Drive View 57 Photos News Source: The Detroit NewsImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Matt Davis / AOL Earnings/Financials Marketing/Advertising Alfa Romeo Fiat Maserati Coupe Performance Sergio Marchionne alfa romeo 4c fiat dealers

2020 Fiat 500X Sport expands lineup and color palette

Fiat trotted out the new and improved 500X at the 2018 LA Auto Show. This year the Italian carmaker follows up at Automobility LA with the new 500X Sport trim intended to bestow a "youthful, sporty appearance" on the 500X lineup. That starts with the Rovente Red hue added to the color palette, "rovente" being Italian for "scorching." The Sport gets a new front fascia that omits the rugged-looking moldings on the Trekking trims, puts fog lights in discrete housings at the lower corners, and paints the lower lip in body color. Along the sides, the normally dark wheel arch liners and side moldings are swapped for body color as well, while the mirrors and door handles get dark-finish accents to go with a Sport badge on the front fender. In back, dark-finish trim across the tailgate and twin, chrome-finish tailpipes let the Fiat clan know this one is the feisty one. Standard fit is a set of 18-inch wheels in a new design. For the first time on the 500X model, 19-inch wheels are an option, wrapped here in Michelin CrossClimate all-season tires. Up top, buyers can take advantage of another new option, a black roof. The interior goes dark top and bottom. Instead of the light-colored upper space, the headliner and pillars have been finished in deep gray materials while the new Sport seats wear black fabric with vinyl inserts and a gray "500" logo. Bright flashes come in the aluminum pedal trim covers and instrument panel bezel finish. The steering wheel invites grip with "techno-leather" and Alcantara, plus proper paddle shifters. Alcantara also adorns the brow over the gauge cluster, the gauges themselves done up with tweaked graphics. Motivation comes from the same 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder found in the rest of the 500X lineup in the U.S., putting out 177 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque through a nine-speed automatic to all four wheels with on-demand all-wheel drive.  When the 500X Sport goes on sale in early 2020, dealers will ask $26,895 plus a $1,495 destination charge, for a total of $29,390. Pricing puts the Sport above the $27,740 Trekking while the top trim remains the $30,990 Trekking Plus.

FCA scion John Elkann tries to pull off a Marchionne-sized merger

MILAN, Italy — When John Elkann lost his ally last year with the sudden death of Sergio Marchionne, some questioned whether the softly-spoken scion of the Agnelli clan would be able to emerge from his shadow to ensure Fiat Chrysler's future. But New York-born Elkann, who became Fiat chairman in 2010, acted decisively to fill the vacuum left by the larger-than-life Marchionne and get closer to the big merger deal the legendary executive was unable to deliver. At just 28, Elkann was thrust into the role of Fiat vice chairman after the deaths of his grandfather and great-uncle "because there was really nobody else" to take the wheel. For Elkann, who got his first taste of the car industry as an intern at a factory producing headlights in Birmingham, England, the first 18 months with responsibility for the family-owned carmaker and its long heritage were "terrible." But from that low point, Elkann, 43, is now trying to merge Fiat Chrysler (FCA) with French rival Renault to form the world's third largest carmaker and tackle new challenges facing the industry. Elkann will become chairman of the merged FCA-Renault if the deal goes ahead, ensuring the Agnelli dynasty plays a central role in the next chapter of automotive history. At an event in Milan on Monday, the usually-shy Elkann looked happy and confident. His first big break came with an instrumental role in persuading Marchionne, who was running one of the businesses owned by the Agnelli family, to become chief executive in 2004 and give Fiat "a new start," Elkann said in a "Masters of Scale" podcast last year. Fiat was at the time almost on the brink of collapse. This involved a "very long night ... and many grappas" but proved to be a turning point in the fortunes of the Italian company founded by Elkann's great-great-grandfather Giovanni Agnelli, which built its first car in 1899. In 2005, Elkann backed Marchionne in negotiating the breakup of an alliance Fiat had entered into with General Motors in 2000, receiving $2 billion from GM in return for canceling a deal that could have required GM to buy the remainder of Fiat Auto. Marchionne then used GM's money to fund a turnaround at Fiat, which involved taking the Italian carmaker into a transformation alliance and then full-blown merger with U.S. automaker Chrysler as Elkann agreed to the Agnellis loosening their grip.