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Chrysler appoints new heads of Alfa Romeo and Ram

Chrysler has announced to two key appointments to its senior leadership, both of them taking immediate effect. First up is Reid Bigland, who has been named head of the Alfa Romeo brand for North America. Bigland has served until now as head of the Ram Truck brand, a portfolio he now hands over to Robert Hegbloom, who had served until now as its director.
As a result of the appointments, both Bigland and Hegbloom will take up seats on Chrysler's NAFTA Leadership Team, and Bigland will also join the Fiat Chrysler Group Executive Council - the highest decision-making body in the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire.
As per Sergio Marchionne's leadership style, Bigland will continue to serve in two major capacities, maintaining his role as president and CEO of Chrysler Canada. Other senior executives who hold multiple key portfolios include Harald Wester (who serves as the group's Chief Technology Officer and also overseas Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Abarth), Olivier Francois (group Chief Marketing Officer and head of the Fiat brand) and Michael Manley (head of the Asia-Pacific region and the Jeep brand).

Alfa Romeo Giulia gets top safety award from IIHS

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has awarded a Top Safety Pick+ rating, its highest award, to the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia midsize luxury sedan — but with a caveat. The Giulia must have been built after May of this year, when the car's front-end structure was improved and the door hinge pillar and door sill were reinforced, among other changes. Vehicles that earn the IIHS's Top Safety Pick+ must achieve good ratings in all five crash tests — small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints — an advanced or superior rating in front crash prevention and and acceptable or good rating for headlights. The Giulia's optional front crash prevention system earned a superior rating after it avoided a crash in the 12 mph track test and reduced its impact speed by an average 24 mph in the 25 mph test. The car's optional curve-adaptive headlights earned a good rating, while the base headlights rated poor. It joins 2017 versions of the Lexus ES 350, Audi A3 and A4, Volvo S60 and V60, and BMW 2 series and 3 series, as Top Safety Pick+ awardees for its segment. You can read our First Drive review of the Giulia here. Featured Gallery 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Lusso View 26 Photos Alfa Romeo Luxury Sedan crash test alfa romeo giulia

Alfa Romeo brings back the Quadrifoglio Verde

With a history as rich as Alfa's, the brand has a wealth of symbology to draw on. Of course the Alfa Romeo logo itself has its own clout and allure, as do nameplates like Giulietta, Giulia and Spider. But another symbol from the marque's 104-year history is the Quadrifoglio Verde. The green clover leaf has adorned the most hardcore performance Alfas since 1923. The emblem was brought back to distinguish the top versions of the MiTo and Giulietta in 2009, both of which are now headed to the Geneva Motor Show in even more enticing form. The new three-door MiTo QV packs a 1.4-liter turbo four driving 170 horsepower to the front wheels through Alfa's six-speed dual-clutch transmission, giving it a 0-62 time of 7.3 seconds and a 136-mph top speed. The latest five-door Giulietta QV, meanwhile, packs a 1.75-liter turbo four with 240 horsepower – the same engine and six-speed DCT as the 4C, only turned around to drive the front wheels from the front end. It's good for a 6.6-second sprint to 62 and a 150-mph top speed. Both models come with a host of upgrades both inside and out, details of which you can read in the press release below. But one of the most enticing parts is the matte grey finish which Alfa is offering on both models, and which only makes us anticipate the marque's eventual return to the North American market that much more. The 'Quadrifoglio Verde' is back on Giulietta and MiTo - The legendary 'Quadrifoglio Verde' that has identified the top performing cars by Alfa Romeo since 1923 is back on the new versions - Giulietta celebrates its 60th anniversary with a new 'Quadrifoglio Verde' - True expression of Alfa Romeo's DNA, this car marks the debut of the new 240 HP 1750 Turbo Petrol engine with all-aluminium direct injection - State-of-the-art 'Alfa TCT' 6-speed twin dry clutch transmission - It's the same engine/transmission as the Alfa Romeo 4C supercar - Giulietta's flagship model can exceed 240 km/h and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 6.6 seconds - New intake system highlighting Alfa Romeo's typical full, enveloping engine sound - New steering wheel, new instruments with dedicated graphics and QV logo and new leather and Alcantara seats, wraparound and sporty, with built-in headrest - New matt Magnesio Grey body colour exclusively created for the 'Launch Edition' special series produced in a limited edition of only 500 vehicles.