1994 Alfa Romeo 164 Ls Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Sergio rethinks FCA-GM merger idea, dismisses critics

After many public overtures, Fiat Chrysler Automotive CEO Sergio Marchionne has claimed his company won't be making a hostile takeover bid for General Motors. This is despite widespread speculation that FCA's desire to merge was motivated by its allegedly dire situation. As one unnamed GM exec who spoke to Automotive News earlier this year put it, "Why should [GM] bail out FCA?" "We are not choking. We are in relatively decent shape," Marchionne told journalists attending an FCA shareholder meeting in Amsterdam, AN reports. "We have been publicly rebuffed, we have been rejected and you cannot force these things. I don't want to. At the moment, we have no intention to do anything hostile." Instead of focusing on merging with GM, or any other partners for that matter, FCA will refocus on implementing its ambitious five-year investment plan, which would see it dump $52 billion into its various brands, with a particular focus on Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Jeep. So far the attempt has largely been unsuccessful, especially as it relates to the Italian brands. Earlier this week, additional reports emerged that claimed Alfa was pushing back the Giulia and an unnamed CUV while reassigning resources to updated versions of the Giulietta and MiTo hatchbacks. This is not the first time we've heard about trouble for the Giulia, of course. For Masearti, though, it was the first we'd heard of delays for Alfieri sports car, which allegedly won't appear in 2016, as promised. We can expect a proper breakdown of FCA's adjusted plans when Marchionne and Company reveal an updated product slate next month. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Alfa Romeo Chrysler Fiat GM Jeep Maserati Sergio Marchionne FCA

Alfa Romeo franchises 86 dealers across North America

Alfa Romeo's return to North America has been a long time coming, which has given us plenty of time to wonder: Will the now-merged Fiat-Chrysler let Fiat dealers sell Alfas, or will the shapely Italians be available in Maserati dealers? The answer we've been waiting for? Both. Auburn Hills has just released the list of 86 initial dealers that will be authorized to sell the Alfa Romeo 4C (Autoblog senior editor Seyth Miersma is driving one today in San Francisco, incidentally), setting the groundwork for a larger Alfa Romeo lineup to follow. The list includes 82 dealers across 33 states and four more in Canada. Though the vast majority are expanding upmarket from Fiat studios, a few are branching downmarket from Maserati dealers - not a one of them, in case you were wondering, having expanded from a Ferrari showroom. The highest concentration of dealers will be found in California, Texas and Florida, but while you might have thought Little Italy would be a prime location, there won't be a single dealer in Manhattan. Not in any of the five boroughs, in fact, so if you live in New York, you'll have to trek out to Larchmont in Westchester or Somerville, New Jersey, to place your order. Of course, that's at least the case for now, as Alfa plans to eventually expand to over 300 dealers in North America. In the meantime, you can check out the full list in the press release below to see how close you are to a new Alfa dealer. ALFA ROMEO FRANCHISES AWARDED TO 86 DEALERS IN U.S. AND CANADA - Alfa Romeo dealer network established in U.S. and Canada - Initial pool of 86 dealers drawn from existing FIAT and Maserati brand dealers - Additional Alfa Romeo franchises to be awarded later this year June 10, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - An initial group of 86 dealers have been awarded Alfa Romeo franchises in the United States and Canada. In the U.S., 82 Alfa Romeo dealers are located in 33 states, with California, Texas, and Florida having the largest concentration of dealerships. There are four Alfa Romeo dealers in Canada in this first group. These 86 dealers will be the first to sell the all-new 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C coupe and limited-edition 4C Launch Edition when the iconic Italian sports car brand returns to the North American market this year. "This group of dealers represents the first phase in the Alfa Romeo dealer network selection process," said Peter Grady, Vice President of Network Development, Chrysler Group LLC.

1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider wins top prize at Villa d'Este

Every year, a selection of the most beautiful automobiles ever made travel to the shores of Lake Como in Italy, for the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. Only one of them can be named the belle of the ball, however, and this year, top honors went to a classic 1930s-era Alfa Romeo. The 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider owned by American collector David Sydorick won the Best in Show award. The deep red roadster is entered the circle of finalists after winning the B class for "Pre-war sports cars which defied the Great Depression." The classic Alfa features coachwork by Zagato. The coachbuilder notes that another one of its creations – a 1956 Maserati A6G/54 also owned by an American collector – won the post-war class. The modern Maserati-powered Mostro, which Zagato revealed at the concours and delivered to its first customer, did not win the Concepts and Prototypes class. (But we've included an updated image gallery below just the same). That award went to the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6. The people's choice Coppa d'Oro was awarded to the 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta by Touring, while a 1973 Munch-4 TTS-E won the motorcycle category. Related Video: Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015: Winners dazzle at the time-honoured Classic Weekend on Lake Como Munich/Cernobbio. An impressive parade of all the cars and motorcycles entered in competition and the announcement of this year's prize winners provided a dazzling Classic Weekend on the banks of Lake Como with a fitting climax late on Sunday afternoon in front of thousands of spectators. The Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este had once again underlined its stand-out status on the exclusive event calendar for historic cars and motorcycles. All eyes were trained on the line-up of precious classic machines and striking concept cars over the two days of the Concorso. Under a pleasantly warm sun, the event's "Seventies Style – the Jet Set is back" banner spanned a host of special exhibitions and highlight features, creating a fitting stage for a weekend that will live long in the memory. As ever, the best was left until last. The jury of experts provided the event with its crowning moment as the Trofeo BMW Group for "Best of Show" was awarded to an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider from 1932. The Coppa d'Oro Villa d'Este prize decided by public referendum was won by a Ferrari 166M Barchetta from 1950.